Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 10:24
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD of hosts, O my people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrian: he shall smite thee with a rod, and shall lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt.
24. O my people that dwellest in Zion ] Cf. ch. Isa 14:32, Isa 30:19. Dwelling in Zion is the emblem of security, since it is there that Jehovah will beat back and destroy the Assyrian ( Isa 10:32-34).
he shall smite thee and shall lift up ] These are relative clauses attached to “the Assyrian.” Render: who smites thee and lifts up his staff, &c. (cf. Isa 9:4).
after the manner of Egypt ] As the Egyptians did in the time of the Oppression, Exodus 5 (cf. for the expressions Amo 4:10).
Isa 10:25 . For yet a very little while ] Cf. ch. Isa 29:17, (Isa 16:14).
and mine anger in their destruction ] A more grammatical rendering would be: and mine anger ( is directed) to their (the Assyrians’) annihilation. The two clauses of the verse appear to be antithetical; indignation (against Israel) comes to an end, wrath (against Assyria) culminates in its utter destruction.
Isa 10:26 . For stir up for him render brandish over him, a sense authenticated by 2Sa 23:18.
according to the slaughter Oreb ] Transl. like the smiting of Midian at the rock Oreb. For the incident referred to, see Jdg 7:25 (cf. Psa 83:9; Psa 83:11; Isa 9:4).
and as his rod Egypt ] To be paraphrased thus: “and his rod (which was stretched out) over the (Red) Sea (at the Exodus from Egypt), he shall lift up as it was lifted up to destroy the Egyptians.” The last phrase is used in effective antithesis to the use in Isa 10:24.
Isa 10:27 . The figures of the burden and the yoke are combined exactly as in ch. Isa 14:25.
and the yoke anointing ] A very difficult sentence. The closest rendering is that of the margin of R.V.: and the yoke shall be destroyed by reason of fatness. This has usually been interpreted to mean that the animal (Judah) will “wax fat and kick” (Deu 32:15) and break its yoke; or that its increasing fatness will burst the yoke on its neck (a very odd comparison!). Neither of these senses is at all tolerable; according to Isaiah’s teaching the prosperity of the nation only commences after Jehovah has destroyed the Assyrian yoke. Dillmann’s interpretation Judah will become so vigorous after its emancipation that no one will ever think of putting it under the yoke again is equally unsatisfying. The text is almost certainly corrupt, and of the various emendations that have been proposed the most plausible are those which find in the clause a mutilated introduction to Isa 10:28-32. Prof. Robertson Smith has suggested instead of the last four words: . The twenty-seventh verse would end with the first word (“the yoke shall cease from off thy neck”), and the next would begin thus: “A destroyer comes up from the north; he comes to Aiath, &c.” The alterations are considerable, but undoubtedly we thus obtain a suitable commencement to the sketch of the Assyrian advance. Duhm follows on the same lines, but reads, “he comes up from Pene-Rimmon” (i.e. the Rock Rimmon, a few miles north of Aiath, Jdg 20:45). This however plunges us in medias res as abruptly as before.
Isa 10:28-32 . A free delineation (mostly in prophetic perfects) of the march of an Assyrian army towards Jerusalem. The verses are not to be taken as a prediction that the enemy will actually come by this route, still less of course are they an oraculum post eventum. They simply present a graphic picture of the unresting energy and eagerness of an Assyrian army, and the ease with which it might invade Judah from the north now that Samaria has fallen. And this is done in order to introduce the assurance that when the invader does come, and the prize is just within his grasp, Jehovah will smite him down ( Isa 10:33 ff.). A passage of very similar character is Mic 1:10-16.
The strategic point in the itinerary here sketched is the Pass of Michmash, the scene of Jonathan’s famous exploit against the Philistines (1 Samuel 14), and at this time probably marking the northern frontier of the kingdom of Judah. It is situated in the modern Wadi Suweint, and is guarded by the villages of Michmash on the north and Geba on the south. The road from Michmash crosses the valley in a south-westerly direction, and about midway between Michmash and Geba (the whole distance is about two miles) traverses an extremely narrow defile, where a large army might easily be checked by a handful of resolute defenders, In Isa 10:28 f. Isaiah alludes to the precautions that would naturally be taken to secure a safe passage of this difficult ravine.
Isa 10:28 . He comes upon Aiath ] ‘Ayyath (cf. 1Ch 7:28 [R.V. marg.]; Neh 11:31) is no doubt the ancient ‘Ai, and was probably two miles N.W. from Michmash.
Migron ] The only known place of this name lay on the south side of the pass (1Sa 14:2). Prof. Robertson Smith thinks the operation indicated is the seizing of this post on the southern side by a coup de main before attempting to lead the main army through the defile. Most other commentators, however, hold that some place, not to be certainly identified, between Ai and Michmash is intended.
laid up his carriages ] R.V. layeth up his baggage, deposits his impedimenta. “Carriages” in old English means of course not that in which one is carried, but that which one carries (cf. Act 21:15).
Isa 10:29 . They go through the pass; they make Geba their encampment for the night. The latter clause might also be translated as the eager cry of the Assyrians: “Geba is our night quarters.” From this point the road to Jerusalem lies open; hence the remaining verses simply describe the terror spread amongst the villages along the route of the Assyrians. Ramah ( Er-Rm) is less than two miles due west of Geba, Gibeah of Saul is probably Tull el-Fl, about halfway between that place and Jerusalem.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Therefore … – In this verse the prophet returns to the main subject of this prophecy, which is to comfort the people of Jerusalem with the assurance that the army of the Assyrian would be destroyed.
O my people – An expression of tenderness, showing that God regarded them as his children, and notwithstanding the judgments that he would bring upon them for their sins In the midst of severe judgments, God speaks the language of tenderness; and, even when he punishes, has toward his people the feelings of a father; Heb 12:5-11.
That dwelleth in Zion – literally, in mount Zion; but here taken for the whole city of Jerusalem; see the note at Isa 1:8.
Be not afraid … – For his course shall be arrested, and he shall be repelled and punished; Isa 10:25-27.
He shall smite thee – He shall, indeed, smite thee, but shall not utterly destroy thee.
And shall lift up his staff – Note, Isa 10:5. The staff here is regarded as an instrument of punishment; compare the note at Isa 9:4; and the sense is, that by his invasion, and by his exactions, he would oppress and punish the nation.
After the manner of Egypt – Hebrew, In the way of Egypt. Some interpreters have supposed that this means that Sennacherib would oppress and afflict the Jews in his going down to Egypt, or on his way there to attack the Egyptians. But the more correct interpretation is that which is expressed in our translation – after the manner of Egypt. That is, the nature of his oppressions shall be like those which the Egyptians under Pharaoh inflicted on the Jews. There are two ideas evidently implied here.
(1) That the oppression would be heavy and severe. Those which their fathers experienced in Egypt were exceedingly burdensome and cruel. So it would be in the calamities that the Assyrian would bring upon them. But,
(2) Their fathers had been delivered from the oppressions of the Egyptians. And so it would be now. The Assyrian would oppress them; but God would deliver and save them. The phrase, in the way of, is used to denote after the manner of, or, as an example, in Amo 4:10, I have sent among you the pestilence after the manner of Egypt; Hebrew, In the way of Egypt; compare Eze 20:30.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Isa 10:24-34
O My people, that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrian
Forbidden fear
It is against the mind and will of God that His people, whatever happens, should give way to that fear which has torment and amazement.
They that dwell in Zion, where God dwells, and where His people attend Him, and are employed in His service, that are under the protection of the bulwarks that are round about Zion, need not be afraid of any enemy. Let their souls dwell at ease in God.
1. The Assyrian shall do nothing against them but what God hath appointed and determined. He shall smite thee by the Divine permission, but it shall be only with a rod to correct thee, not with a sword to wound and kill. Nay, he shall but lift up his staff against thee, threaten thee and frighten thee, and shake the rod at thee, after the manner of Egypt, as the Egyptians shook their staff against your fathers at the Red Sea, when they said, We will pursue, we will overtake, but could not reach to do them any hurt. We should not be frightened at those enemies that can do no more than frighten us.
2. The storm will soon blow over (Isa 10:25). Gods anger against His people is but for a moment; and when that ceaseth, and is turned away from us, we need not fear the fury of any man, for it is impotent passion.
3. The enemy that threatens them shall himself be reckoned with. The rod with which He corrected His people shall not only be laid aside, but thrown into the fire. The prophet, for the encouragement of Gods people, quotes precedents; and puts them in mind of what God had done formerly against the enemies of His Church that were very strong and formidable, but were brought to ruin. It is good to observe a resemblance between Gods latter and former appearances for His people, and against His and their enemies.
4. They shall be wholly delivered from the power of the Assyrian, and from the fear of it (Isa 10:27). (M. Henry.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 24. After the manner of Egypt – “In the way of Egypt.”] I think there is a designed ambiguity in these words. Sennacherib, soon after his return from his Egyptian expedition, which, I imagine, took him up three years, invested Jerusalem. He is represented by the prophet as lifting up his rod in his march from Egypt, and threatening the people of God, as Pharaoh and the Egyptians had done when they pursued them to the Red Sea. But God in his turn will lift up his rod over the sea, as he did at that time, in the way, or after the manner, of Egypt; and as Sennacherib has imitated the Egyptians in his threats, and came full of rage against them from the same quarter; so God will act over again the same part that he had taken formerly in Egypt, and overthrow their enemies in as signal a manner. It was all to be, both the attack and the deliverance, bederech, or kederech, as a MS. has it in each place, in the way, or after the manner, of Egypt.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Therefore: this is an inference, not from the words immediately foregoing, but from the whole prophecy. Seeing the Assyrian shall be destroyed, and a remnant of my people preserved and restored.
In Zion; in Jerusalem, which is frequently called Zion, as Psa 48:12; 87:2; Isa 1:8,27; 33:20, &c.; which he mentions, because this was the principal object of the Assyrians design and rage, and there were the temple, and thrones of justice, and the king and his princes, and multitudes had fled thither from the Assyrian.
He shall smite thee with a rod; he shall afflict thee, but not destroy thee. Compare 1Ki 12:11.
After the manner of Egypt; as the Egyptians formerly did, and with the same ill success to themselves, and comfortable issue to you.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
24. ThereforeReturn to themain proposition, Assyria’s ultimate punishment, though employed asGod’s “rod” to chastise Judea for a time.
O my peopleGod’stenderness towards His elect nation.
after the manner of EgyptasEgypt and Pharaoh oppressed thee. Implying, too, as Israel wasnevertheless delivered from them, so now it would be from theAssyrian Sennacherib. The antithesis in Isa10:26 requires this interpretation [MAURER].
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Therefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts,…. Since there is such a decree, and this will certainly be executed:
O my people, that dwellest in Zion; the inhabitants of Jerusalem; such of them especially as feared the Lord, and worshipped him, and served him in the temple:
be not afraid of the Assyrian: the king of Assyria; neither Sennacherib, that threatened them with ruin, having taken the cities of Judah, and laid siege to Jerusalem; nor Nebuchadnezzar, who carried them captive, since he would not be able utterly to destroy them, they would return and dwell in the land again; for there was a decree concerning the salvation of a remnant, which would certainly take place; and till that was executed, it was impossible the nation should be destroyed.
He shall smite thee with a rod; be an instrument of chastising and correcting, but not of destroying; Jarchi interprets it of smiting with the rod of his mouth, by means of Rabshakeh reproaching, and blaspheming:
and shall lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt; which Kimchi explains of the tribute the Assyrians exacted of them, in like manner as the Egyptians set taskmasters over them, and afflicted them with hard bondage, in Egypt: the sense is, that though the Assyrians should annoy and distress them, yet should not utterly consume them; there would be an end of their oppression, and a deliverance out of it; even as when they were in Egypt, and oppressed there, the Lord appeared for them, and supported them, and at length saved them, and so he would now. Mention is made of a rod and a staff, in allusion to what the Assyrian is said to be in the hand of the Lord,
Isa 10:5.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
In these esoteric addresses, whoever, it is not the prophet’s intention to threaten and terrify, but to comfort and encourage. He therefore turns to that portion of the nation which needs and is susceptible of consolation, and draws this conclusion from the element of consolation contained in what has been already predicted, that they may be consoled. – “Therefore thus saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, My people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of Asshur, if it shall smite thee with the rod, and lift its stick against thee, in the manner of Egypt.” “Therefore:” lacen never occurs in Hebrew in the sense of attamen (Gesenius and Hitzig), and this is not the meaning here, but propterea. The elevating appeal is founded upon what has just before been threatened in such terrible words, but at the same time contains an element of promise in the midst of the peremptory judgment. The very words in which the people are addressed, “My people that dwelleth on Zion,” are indirectly encouraging. Zion was the site of the gracious presence of God, and of that sovereignty which had been declared imperishable. Those who dwelt there, and were the people of God (the servants of God), not only according to their calling, but also according to their internal character, were also heirs of the promise; and therefore, even if the Egyptian bondage should be renewed in the Assyrian, they might be assured of this to their consolation, that the redemption of Egypt would also be renewed. “ In the manner of Egypt: ” b’derek Mitzraim , lit., in the way, i.e., the Egyptians’ mode of acting; derek denotes the course of active procedure, and also, as in Isa 10:26 and Amo 4:10, the course of passive endurance.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| Encouragement to Israel. | B. C. 740. |
24 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD of hosts, O my people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrian: he shall smite thee with a rod, and shall lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt. 25 For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease, and mine anger in their destruction. 26 And the LORD of hosts shall stir up a scourge for him according to the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb: and as his rod was upon the sea, so shall he lift it up after the manner of Egypt. 27 And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing. 28 He is come to Aiath, he is passed to Migron; at Michmash he hath laid up his carriages: 29 They are gone over the passage: they have taken up their lodging at Geba; Ramah is afraid; Gibeah of Saul is fled. 30 Lift up thy voice, O daughter of Gallim: cause it to be heard unto Laish, O poor Anathoth. 31 Madmenah is removed; the inhabitants of Gebim gather themselves to flee. 32 As yet shall he remain at Nob that day: he shall shake his hand against the mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem. 33 Behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, shall lop the bough with terror: and the high ones of stature shall be hewn down, and the haughty shall be humbled. 34 And he shall cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one.
The prophet, in his preaching, distinguishes between the precious and the vile; for God in his providence, even in the same providence, does so. He speaks terror, in Sennacherib’s invasion, to the hypocrites, who were the people of God’s wrath, v. 6. But here he speaks comfort to the sincere, who were the people of God’s love. The judgment was sent for the sake of the former; the deliverance was wrought for the sake of the latter. Here we have,
I. An exhortation to God’s people not to be frightened at this threatening calamity, nor to be put into any confusion or consternation by it. Let the sinners in Zion be afraid (ch. xxxiii. 14): but O my people, that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrian, v. 24. Note, It is against the mind and will of God that his people, whatever may happen, should give way to that fear which has torment and amazement. Those that dwell in Zion, where God dwells and where his people attend him, and are employed in his service, that are under the protection of the bulwarks that are round about Zion (Ps. xlviii. 13), need not be afraid of any enemy. Let their souls dwell at ease in God.
II. Considerations offered for the silencing of their fear.
1. The Assyrian shall do nothing against them but what God has appointed and determined. They are here told before hand what he shall do, that it may be no surprise to them: “He shall smite thee by the divine permission, but it shall be only with a rod to correct thee, not with a sword to wound and kill; nay, he shall but lift up his staff against thee, threaten thee, and frighten thee, and shake the rod at thee, after the manner of Egypt, as the Egyptians shook their staff against your fathers at the Red Sea, when they said, We will pursue, we will overtake (Exod. xv. 9), but could not reach to do them any hurt.” Note, We should not be frightened at those enemies that can do no more than frighten us.
2. The storm shall soon blow over (v. 25): Yet a very little while–a little, little while (so the word is), and the indignation shall cease, even my anger, which is the staff in their hand (v. 5), so that when that ceases they are disarmed and disabled to do any further mischief. Note, God’s anger against his people is but for a moment (Ps. xxx. 5), and when that ceases, and is turned away from us, we need not fear the fury of any man, for it is impotent passion.
3. The enemy that threatens them shall himself be reckoned with. God’s anger against his people shall cease in the destruction of their enemies; when he turns away his wrath from Israel he shall turn it against the Assyrian; and the rod with which he corrected his people shall not only be laid aside, but thrown into the fire. He lifted up his staff against Zion, but God shall stir up a scourge for him (v. 26); he is a terror to God’s people, but God will be a terror to him. The destroying angel shall be this scourge, which he can neither flee from nor contend with. The prophet, for the encouragement of God’s people, quotes precedents, and puts them in mind of what God had done formerly against the enemies of his church, who were very strong and formidable, but were brought to ruin. The destruction of the Assyrian shall be, (1.) According to the slaughter of Midian (which was effected by an invisible power, but effected suddenly, and it was a total rout); and as, at the rock of Oreb, one of the princes of Midian, after the battle, was slain, so shall Sennacherib be in the temple of his god Nisroch, after the defeat of his forces, when he thinks the bitterness of death is past. Compare with this Ps. lxxxiii. 11, Make their nobles like Oreb and like Zeeb; and see how God’s promises and his people’s prayers agree. (2.) As his rod was upon the sea, the Red Sea, as Moses’ rod was upon that, to divide it first for the escape of Israel and then to close it again for the destruction of their pursuers, so shall his rod now be lifted up, after the manner of Egypt, for the deliverance of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Assyrian. Note, It is good to observe a resemblance between God’s latter and former appearances for his people, and against his and their enemies.
4. They shall be wholly delivered from the power of the Assyrian, and from the fear of it, v. 27. “They shall not only be eased of the Assyrian army, which is now quartered upon them and which is a grievous yoke and burden to them, but they shall no more pay that tribute to the king of Assyria which before this invasion he exacted from them (2 Kings xviii. 14), shall be no longer at his service, nor lie at his mercy, as they have done; nor shall he ever again put the country under contribution.” Some think it looks further, to the deliverance of the Jews out of their captivity in Babylon; and further yet, to the redemption of believers from the tyranny of sin and Satan. The yoke shall not only be taken away, but it shall be destroyed. The enemy shall no more recover his strength, to do the mischief he has done; and this because of the anointing, for their sakes who were partakers of the anointing. (1.) For Hezekiah’s sake, who was the anointed of the Lord, who had been an active reformer, and was dear to God. (2.) For David’s sake. This is particularly given as the reason why God would defend Jerusalem from Sennacherib (ch. xxxvii. 35), For my own sake, and for my servant David’s sake. (3.) For his people Israel’s sake, the good people among them that had received the unction of divine grace. (4.) For the sake of the Messiah, the Anointed of God, whom God had an eye to in all the deliverances of the Old-Testament church, and hath still an eye to in all the favours he shows to his people. It is for his sake that the yoke is broken, and that we are made free indeed.
III. A description both of the terror of the enemy and the terror with which many were struck by it, and the folly of both exposed, v. 28, to the end. Here observe,
1. How formidable the Assyrians were and how daring and threatening they affected to appear. Here is a particular description of the march of Sennacherib, what course he steered, what swift advances he made: He has come to Aiath, c. “This and the other place he has made himself master of, and has met with no opposition.” At Michmash he has laid up his carriages, as if he had no further occasion for his heavy artillery, so easily was every place he came to reduced or the store-cities of Judah, which were fortified for that purpose, had now become his magazines. Some remarkable pass, and an important one, he had taken: They have gone over the passage.
2. How cowardly the men of Judah were, the degenerate seed of that lion’s whelp. They were afraid; they fled upon the first alarm, and did not offer to make any head against the enemy. Their apostasy from God had dispirited them, so that one chased a thousand of them. Instead of a valiant shout, to animate one another, nothing was heard by lamentation, to discourage and weaken one another. And poor Anathoth, a priests’ city, that should have been a pattern of courage, shrieks louder than any, v. 30. With respect to those that gathered themselves together, it was not to fight, but to flee by consent, v. 31. This is designed either, (1.) To show how fast the news of the enemy’s progress flew through the kingdom: He has come to Aiath, says one; nay, says another, He has passed to Migron, c. And yet, perhaps, it was not altogether so bad as common fame represented it. But we must watch against the fear, not only of evil things, but of evil tidings, which often make things worse than really they are, Ps. cxii. 7. Or, (2.) To show what imminent danger Jerusalem was in, when its enemies made so many bold advances towards it and its friends could not make one bold stand to defend it. Note, The more daring the church’s enemies are, and the more dastardly those are that should appear for her, the more will God be exalted in his own strength, when, notwithstanding this, he works deliverance for her.
3. How impotent his attempt upon Jerusalem shall be: he shall remain at Nob, whence he may see Mount Zion, and there he shall shake his hand against it, <i>v. 32. He shall threaten it, and that shall be all; it shall be safe, and shall set him at defiance. The daughter of Jerusalem, to be even with him, shall shake her head at him, ch. xxxvii. 22.
4. How fatal it would prove, in the issue, to himself. When he shakes his hand at Jerusalem, and is about to lay hands on it, then is God’s time to appear against him; for Zion is the place of which God has said, This is my rest for ever; therefore those who threaten it affront God himself. Then the Lord shall lop the bough with terror and cut down the thickets of the forest,Isa 10:33; Isa 10:34. (1.) The pride of the enemy shall be humbled, the boughs that are lifted up on high shall be lopped off, the high and stately trees shall be hewn down; that is, the haughty shall be humbled. Those that lift up themselves in competition with God or opposition to him shall be abased. (2.) The power of the enemy shall be broken: The thickets of the forest he shall cut down. When the Assyrian soldiers were under their arms, and their spears erect, they looked like a forest, like Lebanon; but, when in one night they all became as dead corpses, the pikes were laid on the ground, and Lebanon was of a sudden cut down by a mighty one, by the destroying angel, who in a little time slew so many thousands of them: and, if this shall be the exit of that proud invader, let not God’s people be afraid of him. Who art thou, that thou shouldst be afraid of a man that shall die?
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Verse 24-34: ENCOURAGEMENT FOR THE REMNANT
1. Since the Assyrian is to be tamed, the inhabitants of Zion are not to be afraid of him, (Verse 24; comp. Isa 7:4; Isa 37:6; Isa 12:2).
2. The Lord’s indignation against His people will soon be past; then His anger will be turned toward destroying the Assyrian tyrant, (Verse 25; Isa 26:20).
3. The manner of his destruction will be so marvelous that it is comparable to what God did to the Egyptians in the Red Sea (Verse 26-27; Exo 14:16; Exo 14:21-30), and the great slaughter of Midian, (Jdg 7:19-25).
4. Verses 28-32 describe the progressive march of the aggressor to the very gates of Jerusalem, where he shakes his fist in defiance of the God of heaven and earth.
5. Then the prophet returns to the figure that was dropped in verse 19 and describes the catastrophe that overtakes the Assyrian in terms of the felling of a great forest, (Verse 33; comp. Isa 18:5; Isa 37:36-38; comp. Amo 2:9).
6. It is the Lord (Jehovah of Hosts) Himself Who brings down the pride of the Assyrian by the power of His outstretched hand, (Verse 34; Eze 31:3; Eze 31:10-14).
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
24. Therefore, thus saith the Lord Jehovah of hosts. He goes on with the same consolation, which belongs to the godly alone, who at that time, undoubtedly, were few in number. A great number of persons gloried in the name of God, and wished to be accounted his people; but there were few who actually performed what they professed in words; and, therefore, he does not address all without reserve, but only those who needed consolation. The kingdom having been destroyed, they might entertain fears about themselves and their affairs, and might judge of their own condition from that of others, and therefore it was necessary to comfort them. This distinction ought to be observed, for otherwise it would be inconsistent to address to the same persons statements so different.
And shall lift up his staff against thee in the way of Egypt (171) He adds a ground of consolation, namely, that that calamity will be nothing else than the lifting up of a rod to chastise, but not to destroy them. The preposition ב ( beth) denotes resemblance. דרך ( derech) means a pattern, and therefore I render it, after the pattern of Egypt. As if he had said, “Though the Assyrian be cruel, and in many ways aim at thy destruction, yet he shall only wound, he shall not slay thee.” He therefore mentioned the pattern of the Egyptian bondage, which was indeed very wretched, but yet was not deadly. (Exo 1:14.) It is customary with the Prophets, amidst perplexity or disorder, to remind the people to contemplate that deliverance by which God miraculously rescued them from the hands of Pharaoh, who was a most cruel tyrant. The meaning therefore is, “As the Lord was at that time victorious, and destroyed the Egyptians who had leagued for your destruction, so now he will quickly vanquish the Assyrians.”
Others render it, in the way of Egypt, because the Assyrians made war against the Jews on account of the Egyptians. But that exposition cannot be admitted; and if we carefully examine the matter, it will be found that there is none more appropriate than that which I have proposed, and which is also approved by the most learned commentators. There are two clauses which form a contrast; the oppression which the Egyptians laid upon them, and the calamity which should be inflicted soon afterwards by the Assyrians. “As the oppression of the Egyptians was not deadly, so neither will the oppression of the Assyrians be. You have had experience of my strength and power against Pharaoh, and so will you find it on Sennacherib.” If we did not explain the clauses in this way, they would not agree with each other.
(171) After the manner of Egypt. — Eng. Ver.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(24) O my people . . . be not afraid of the Assyrian.The practical conclusion of all that has been said is, that the people should not give way to panic as they had done in the days of Ahaz (Isa. 7:2), but should abide the march of Sargon, or his successor, with the tranquillity of faith. They were not to faint beneath the blows of the rod and staff, even though it were to reproduce the tyranny of Egypt. In that very phrase, after the manner of Egypt, there was a ground of hope, for the cruelty of Pharaoh was followed by the Exodus. As the later Jewish proverb had it, When the tale of bricks is doubled, then Moses is born.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
24. More public, probably, was the following encouragement.
O my people Zion The inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.
Be not afraid of the Assyrian As regards the Assyrian, the destinies of Israel and Judah were involved, though differently; the former, to be at once crippled and finally overthrown, the latter to be, for the time being, threatened only. Hence this encouragement.
He shall smite Better, though he smite thee, or inflict partial chastisement as thou deservest.
With a rod staff These are equivalent figures for oppression.
After the manner of Egypt The best exegetical authorities favour reading this not, as on the way to Egypt, alluding to Sennacherib’s inflicting a blow on Judah when he was on the way to conquer Egypt, but, as in the manner, or after the example of Egypt; the same formula (proverbial) is also found in Amo 4:10.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
And While Zion Will Also Come Under Assyria’s Rod They Too Will Be Finally Delivered ( Isa 10:24-27 ).
Zion too will come under Assyria’s rod. But they are not to be dismayed. For eventually God will remove the yoke from off their necks.
Analysis.
a Therefore thus says the Lord, Yahweh of hosts, “O My people who dwell in Zion, do not be afraid of Assyria” (Isa 10:24 a).
b “Though he smite you with the rod, and lift up his staff against you after the manner of Egypt” (Isa 10:24 b).
c “For yet a very little while and the indignation will be accomplished, and My anger in their destruction” (Isa 10:25).
c And Yahweh of hosts will stir up against him a scourge, as in the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb (Isa 10:26 a).
b And His rod will be over the sea, and He will lift it up after the manner of Egypt (Isa 10:26 b)
a And it will come about in that day, that his burden will go from your shoulder, and his yoke from off your neck, and the yoke will be destroyed because of oil (Isa 10:27).
In ‘a’ the people of the Lord, Yahweh of hosts do not need to be afraid of Assyria, and in the parallel this is because Assyria’s yoke will be broken from their necks because they are the anointed of Yahweh. In ‘b’ Assyria might smite them with a rod and lift up their staff against them as the Egyptians did, but in the parallel Yahweh will use His rod against them as He did at the Reed sea, and will lift it up as He did against the Egyptians. In ‘c’ Yahweh’s anger will be vented on Assyria while in the parallel it can be compared to how He stirred up a scourge to slaughter Midian.
Isa 10:24
‘Therefore thus says the Lord, Yahweh of hosts,
“O my people who dwell in Zion,
Do not be afraid of Assyria.
Though he smite you with the rod,
And lift up his staff against you after the manner of Egypt,
For yet a very little while and the indignation will be accomplished,
And my anger in their destruction,
And Yahweh of hosts will stir up against him a scourge,
As in the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb,
And his rod will be over the sea,
And he will lift it up after the manner of Egypt.’
Here Isaiah under inspiration compares Judah and Jerusalem’s present state to that of their bondage under the Egyptians (Exo 1:13-14; Exo 2:23) and their miserable state under the Midianites in the time of Gideon (Jdg 6:1-6), from both of which they were finally delivered after much suffering. And their sufferings under Assyria were indeed a distressing time. For although it is true that Jerusalem was (or would be, depending on when the prophecy was given) finally delivered, the nation as a whole would have been crushed and its cities destroyed, and the boot of Assyria would lay heavily on them. So in their extremity and their groaning he lifts their eyes to God.
They must first remember that He is the Sovereign Lord, Yahweh, over the hosts of heaven and earth. Then they must remember again that they are His people within the covenant, and dwell in Zion, the city of both David and the Davidic promises, in which is mount Zion where from an earthly point of view Yahweh dwells. Thus they need not finally be afraid of Assyria. Although they are being chastened they are not forgotten by God. (Indeed as he had said earlier, had they trusted in Yahweh from the beginning none of this need have happened).
Like Egypt (and Midian) Assyria has been permitted to smite them with the rod, and raise his staff against them (the rod and staff of God’s indignation – Isa 10:5), but in a short while God’s anger against His people will be assuaged and that anger revealed in His destruction of Assyria. God will Himself be another Gideon and another Moses. God will lift up a scourge and scourge Assyria as Egypt had scourged Israel, and He will slaughter them as He slaughtered Midian at Oreb (as symbolised by their slain prince – Jdg 7:25), He will raise His rod over the sea (whatever instrument He chooses to destroy Assyria) and the hosts of Assyria will be destroyed, as had happened to the Egyptians long before.
Note the contrasts. Assyria came with a rod and a staff, so God will deal with them with a scourge and a rod. The slaughter of the first of the princes of the Midianites at Oreb is seen as depicting the defeat of the whole, and what followed (Jdg 7:25). In the same way the assassination of Sennacherib by his sons is seen as symbolising the total defeat of Assyria by Yahweh at Jerusalem, and what followed – Isa 37:38.
Isa 10:27
‘And it will come about in that day ,
That his burden will go from your shoulder,
And his yoke from off your neck,
And the yoke will be destroyed because of oil.’
Finally Isaiah assures Judah and Jerusalem that their burden will be removed and the yoke will be taken off them. Assyria will no more burden them, neither by demanding tribute or other services, nor by controlling and driving them at their will.
‘The yoke will be destroyed because of oil.’ Oil refers in Isa 5:1 to fertility, as ‘a son of oil’. It often represents joy and gladness and it can represent fatness. But none of these really fit here. (Although some have suggested that God’s goodness so fattens them that the yoke breaks).
There are various other ways in which we can see this reference to oil.
1) Oil can signify anointing of either king or priest to a holy purpose, compare ‘the sons of oil’ in Zec 4:14. The thought would then be that Assyria would be destroyed because they were ill treating those under God’s protection, once, of course, those people had rededicated themselves to Yahweh..
2) In Hos 12:1, in parallel with making a covenant with Assyria, ‘oil was carried into Egypt’. There it would seem to represent the sealing of a treaty or covenant, (or to be tribute or a gift offered for that purpose, but even then it is connected with a covenant). Olive oil was produced in Palestine in abundance and was sought after by the nations. The thought might be that oil would buy friends. But it is not likely that Isaiah would look favourably on that idea. He was constantly declaring against it.
3) Oil was also used as an offering where it was poured out on a pillar which symbolised the presence of God, probably also with a dedicatory purpose (Gen 28:18; Gen 35:14), and it was often used as a part of offerings. Thus the thought might be that when Israel rededicated themselves to God, He would deliver them from Assyria. Indeed the demise of Assyria did begin during the life of the good king Josiah.
4) Furthermore oil was used in the lamp that burned perpetually in the Tabernacle (Exo 27:20; Lev 24:1-4). Perhaps God was saying that He could see the light of Israel in His temple and would not allow it finally to die.
Thus we may see ‘because of oil’ either as indicating an offering of dedicatory worship, or as a ‘sanctifying’ act, setting apart for a holy purpose (Lev 8:10; Lev 8:12; Lev 8:30), or as symbolisng the sealing of a covenant with God, or as looking to the anointing of the son of David to the purposes of God (Isa 11:1; Psa 45:7; Psa 89:20), or as an offering of oil to God in prayer for deliverance, or as representing the light of Israel which burned perpetually before God, or even possibly as an indication that Judah owes its deliverance to the fact that it was itself seen as anointed by Yahweh through the anointing of the high priest who represented the people before God.
In some way or other therefore the oil symbolises a dedicatory act of the people, and/or a symbol of their position before God, which brings about the activity and deliverance of God and destroys the yoke in response to His people’s approach to Him. It probably also signifies the fact that they were therefore seen as sanctified to Him and that their light burned continually before Him. These were reasons why He delivered them.
The bare usage here does not fit with any usage in this way found elsewhere. It is in that sense unique. But Isaiah knew that his hearers would read into it all that oil symbolised to the Israelites mentioned above. Oil represented God’s ways of blessing His people.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Isa 10:24-27. Therefore thus saith the Lord We have here the fourth part of the enarration, in which the above prophecy is applied to the consolation of the people of God, and wherein is first the proposition, Isa 10:24 and, secondly, the reason of the proposition: Isa 10:25-27. Having digressed a little, the prophet returns to the true and proper scope of his discourse; which is, to comfort the pious with respect to the evils that threatened their nation: wherefore, having clearly predicted the fall of the Assyrian, as a faithful teacher he applies this prophecy to the consolation and confirmation of the truly pious. The discourse of the prophet in the name of Jehovah, the Lord of Hosts, the God superior to all human power, is turned to the people of God inhabiting mount Zion; that is, the true Israelites, the sincere observers of that holy religion which was celebrated at Jerusalem and Sion, and who were not only attached to this place in body, but in soul and spirit. See chap. Isa 12:6. He dissuades these his people from anxious fear; Be not afraid of the Assyrian, when he shall smite thee with a rod, and shall lay his yoke upon thee, after the manner, or, in the way of Egypt, that is, “when the Assyrian shall treat, or purpose to treat thee as a slave, and shall vex thee by his edicts, or the imperious execution of those edicts, as heretofore the Egyptians have treated you, laying heavy burdens upon you, and exacting severe tributes from you.” See Exo 1:14; Exo 20:2; Exo 20:26. In the next verses the reasons are given why the Lord would not have his people fear the Assyrians, because in a short time he would take vengeance upon them, Isa 10:25 and that in a singular and extraordinary manner, as he did upon the Midianites and Egyptians, Isa 10:26. The consequence of which should be, the removal of the yoke now imposed or to be imposed upon them. Instead of, in their destruction, Isa 10:25 we may read, with their destruction. The latter part of the 26th verse describes the manner of that judgment wherewith God would destroy the Assyrian without any human aid; and therefore the slaughter to be brought upon him is here compared as well to that singular and extraordinary one wherewith the Midianites were smitten, as to that tremendous judgment of God upon the Egyptians, who, upon the lifting up of the rod of Moses, were overwhelmed in the Red Sea. Each of these comparisons is elegant and expressive. Vitringa reads,a scourge for him, such as the blow upon Midian at the rock Oreb, and that of his rod upon the sea; and he shall lift, &c. and the latter clause of Isa 10:27 he reads,and the yoke shall be dissolved by means of the oil. According to the common interpretation, it is supposed that the meaning is, “For the sake of God’s believing people, called by the Psalmist his anointed; and also for the preservation of the kingdom and priesthood, both which offices were conferred by the ceremony of anointing.” But Vitringa is of opinion, that the prophet in this last passage rises in his ideas, and, having expressed the temporal deliverance of the church in the preceding clauses, here seals up the period with a consolatory clause, admonishing the pious of their deliverance from a spiritual yoke, that is to say, from all the power of sin and Satan, and of their entrance into the full and perfect liberty of the sons of God, through Jesus Christ, the king of his church; who, for this purpose, would communicate an abundance of the anointing spirit of wisdom, knowledge, prayer, liberty, and adoption. See Zec 4:6. We refer the reader to Vitringa for an explication and defence of this interpretation.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
2. THE CONDEMNED WORLDPOWER IS NOT TO BE FEARED EVEN IN THE PRESENT
Isa 10:24-27
24Therefore thus saith the 25Lord God of hosts,
O my people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrian:
He shall smite thee with a rod,
26And shall lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt.
25For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease,
And mine anger 27in their destruction.
26And the Lord of hosts shall stir up a scourge for him
According to the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb:
And as his rod was upon the sea,
So shall he lift it up after the manner of Egypt.
27And it shall come to pass in that day,
That his burden 28shall be taken away from off thy shoulder,
And his yoke from off thy neck,
And the yoke shall be 29destroyed because of the anointing.
TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL
On Isa 10:25. another form for (Gen 19:20; Isa 63:18, etc.) = parvitas, paucitas, beside here is found only Isa 29:17; Isa 16:14; Isa 24:6. It is thus a word peculiar to the first part of Isaiah.The expression occurs only here and Dan 11:36, which is taken from our passage. Comp. Isa 26:20. It is needless to change the reading . Supply after (comp. e.g. Isa 9:20) and construe in a pregnant sense = directs, turns itself. is employed then just as Isa 10:3. (from tritum, consumtum esse) is . . It means consumtio, i.e., of the Assyrians. Thus the words form a fitting transition to Isa 10:26.
On Isa 10:26. used of wielding a scourge only here: it is used 2Sa 23:18; 1Ch 11:11; 1Ch 11:20 of brandishing a spear. Notice the paronomasia and . again in Isaiah only Isa 28:15, Kri must be conceived as dependent on .
On Isa 10:27. The last clause is obscure. It defines the manner of releasing from the yoke. Pual occurs only here and Job 17:1. The original meaning of is to twist (thence a rope) to bind ligare, pignore obligare. Piel, cum tormentis eniti, parere, but also to twist round and round, to turn the bottommost to the topmost (French bouleverser); Isa 13:5; Isa 54:16; Mic 2:10; Son 2:15; Ecc 5:5. In Isa 32:7 there seems beside to lie in the word the meaning of ensnaring. So there seems here, beside the notion of destruction, to be that of a reference to a rope or cord. Delitzsch represents, on the authority of statements of Schegg, that to this day in the Orient the yoke is fastened to the pole by a cord about the neck. Thus the Prophet would evidently say that, because of the fat ( causal as it often is, Isa 2:10; Isa 7:2, etc.) which grows on the well-fed Israel, the rope breaks, and thus the yoke apparatus falls off. On this account it seems to me probable that , (though otherwise comes from and not the reverse), is still here to be regarded as a Pual denominativum and privativum coined ad hoc (comp. on Isa 10:33).The figure in is drawn from beasts of burden. In Isa 9:3, the two words are combined; but separated here as Isa 14:25.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Therefore thus saithof the anointing (fat).
Isa 10:24-27. If all that is true that the Prophet, from Isa 10:5 on, has said of Assyria as the momentary instrument of Gods chastening,and how shall Gods word not be sure?then Israel need not fear Assyria even in present impending danger. Assyria will, indeed, execute chastisement on Israel, but only a discipline with a staff and rods (Isa 10:5), not with the sword, i.e. only a transitory one, not such as ends in destruction. The Prophet intimates that the captivity by the northern world-power will be, as it were, a continuation of that suffered from the southern. Assyria therefore will tread in the footsteps of Egypt. He will raise the staff over Israel in the way (Isa 10:26, Amo 4:10), i.e. in the manner of Egypt. For as Egypt could not attain his object of extirpating the Israelite by killing the male children that were born and by hard labor, just as little should Assyria succeed. For only a very little, and the wrath would cease. The Prophet, therefore, conceives of the wrath as in progress, but presents its speedy end in prospect.
The Lord will brandish the scourge over Assyria as He smote Midian at the rock of Oreb (comp. Isa 9:3). That was one of the most glorious victories of the Israelites; but the glory of it belonged neither to Gideon nor to his army, but to the Lord (Jdg 7:2 sqq., 25). The second clause of Isa 10:26 contains a magnificent figure full of art. First from Assyrias hand is taken the staff that he is to raise over Israel and put into the hand of Jehovah. This appears from the relation of Isa 10:26 b. to the last clause of Isa 10:24. Then this staff in the hand of Jehovah is transformed to the likeness of the rod with which Moses in Egypt prepared the Red Sea for a way of escape for Israel (Isa 11:16). The sea here is that which spreads out before Israel in the distress occasioned by Assyria. The raising up of the rod here () corresponds to that raising it over Israel ( Isa 10:24) for which Assyria used it. A twofold raising of the rod took place in Egypt: one over Israel, the other over the sea. Both are repeated now. Neither the rod flourished over Israel for chastisement shall be wanting, nor the rod of God, which, as there, shall open a way through the deep sea of trouble. As is familiarly known, the passage through the Red Sea is often mentioned and turned to account in a variety of ways: comp. Isa 43:16; Isa 51:2; Isa 51:10; Isa 63:11; Psa 66:6; Psa 74:13; Psa 77:20; Psa 77:13; Psa 114:3, etc.
At the time referred to Israel shall be freed from the yoke of Assyria (Isa 9:3; Isa 14:25), which is signified first by the figure of the load of a beast of burden, second by that of the yoke.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. On Isa 7:1. Hierosolyma oppugnatur, etc. Jerusalem is assaulted but not conquered. The church is pressed but not oppressed.Foerster.
2. On Isa 7:2. Quando ecclesia, etc. When the Church is assaulted and Christ crucified over again in His elect, Rezin and Pekah, Herod and Pilate are wont to form alliance and enter into friendly relations. There are, so to speak, the foxes of Samson, joined indeed by the tails, but their heads are disconnected.Foerster.He that believes flees not (Isa 28:16). The righteous is bold as a lion (Pro 28:1). Hypocrites and those that trust in works (work-saints) have neither reason nor faith. Therefore they cannot by any means quiet their heart. In prosperity they are, indeed, overweening, but in adversity they fall away (Jer 17:9). Cramer.
3. On Isa 7:9. (If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.) Insignis sententia, etc. A striking sentiment that may be adapted generally to all temptation, because all earnest endeavor after anything, as you know, beguiles us in temptation. But only faith in the word of promise makes us abide and makes sure whatever we would execute. He warns Ahaz, therefore, as if he said: I now promise you by the word, it shall be that those two kings shall not hurt you. Believe this word! For if you do not, whatever you afterwards devise will deceive you: because all confidence is vain which is not supported by the word of God.Luther.
4. On Isa 7:10-12. Wicked Ahaz pretends to great sanctity in abstaining from asking a sign through fear of God. Thus hypocrites are most conscientious where there is no need for it: on the other hand, when they ought to be humble, they are the most insolent. But where God commands to be bold, one must be bold. For to be obedient to the word is not tempting God. That is rather tempting God when one proposes something without having the word for it. It is, indeed, the greatest virtue to rest only in the word, and desire nothing more. But where God would add something more than the word, then it must not be thought a virtue to reject it as superfluous. We must therefore exercise such a faith in the word of God that we will not despise the helps that are given in addition to it as aids to faith. For example the Lord offers us in the gospel all that is necessary to salvation. Why then Baptism and the Lords Supper? Are they to be treated as superfluous? By no means. For if one believes the word he will at the same time exhibit an entire obedience toward God. We ought therefore to learn to join the sign with the word, for no man has the power to sever the two.
But do you ask: is it permitted to ask God for a sign? We have an example of this in Gideon. Answer: Although Gideon was not told of God to ask a sign, yet he did it by the impulse of the Holy Spirit, and not according to his own fancy. We must not therefore abuse his example, and must be content with the sign that is offered by the Lord. But there are extraordinary signs or miracles, like that of the text, and ordinary ones like Baptism and the Lords Supper. Yet both have the same object and use. For as Gideon was strengthened by that miraculous event, so, too, are we strengthened by Baptism and the Lords Supper, although no miracle appears before our eyes. Heim and Hoffmann after Luther. Eliezer, the servant of Abraham, also asked the Lord to show him the right wife for Isaac by means of a sign of His own choosing, (Gen 24:14).
It ought to be said that this asking a sign (opening the Bible at a venture, or any other book) does not suit Christian perfection (Heb 6:1). A Christian ought to be inwardly sensible of the divine will. He ought to content himself with the guarantees that God Himself offers. Only one must have open eyes and ears for them. This thing of demanding a sign, if it is not directly an effect of superstition (Mat 12:39; Mat 16:4; 1Co 1:22), is certainly childish, and, because it easily leads to superstitious abuses, it is dangerous.
5. On Isa 7:13. Non caret, etc. That the Prophet calls God his God is not without a peculiar emphasis. In Zec 2:12 it is said, that whoever touches the servants of God touches the pupil of Gods eye. Whoever opposes teacher and preacher will have to deal with God in heaven or with the Lord who has put them into office.Foerster.
6. On Isa 7:14. The name Immanuel is one of the most beautiful and richest in contents of all the Holy Scripture. God with us comprises Gods entire plan of salvation with sinful humanity. In a narrower sense it means God-man (Mat 1:23), and points to the personal union of divinity and humanity, in the double nature of the Son of God become man. Jesus Christ was a God-with-us, however, in this, that for about 33 years He dwelt among us sinners (Joh 1:11; Joh 1:14). In a deeper and wider sense still He was such by the Immanuels work of the atonement (2Co 5:19; 1Ti 2:3). He will also be such to every one that believes on Him by the work of regeneration and sanctification and the daily renewal of His holy and divine communion of the Spirit (Joh 17:23; Joh 17:26; Joh 14:19-21; Joh 14:23). He is such now by His high-priestly and royal administration and government for His whole Church (Mat 28:20; Heb 7:25). He will be snch in the present time of the Church in a still more glorious fashion (Joh 10:16). The entire and complete meaning of the name Immanuel, however, will only come to light in the new earth, and in the heavenly Jerusalem (Rev 21:3; Rev 21:23; Rev 22:5).Wilh. Fried. Roos.
Isa 8:7. On Isa 8:5 sqq. Like boastful swimmers despise small and quiet waters, and on the other hand, for the better display of their skill, boast of the great sea and master it, but often are lost in it,thus, too, did the hypocrites that despised the small kingdom of Judah, and bragged much and great things of the power and splendor of the kingdom of Israel and of the Syrians; such hypocrites are still to be found now-a-dayssuch that bear in their eye the admiranda Romae, the splendor, riches, power, ceremonies and pomp of the Romish church, and thereupon set their bushel by the bigger-heap. It is but the devils temptation over again: I will give all this to thee.Cramer.Fons Siloa, etc. The fountain of Siloam, near the temple, daily reminded the Jews that Christ was coming.Calvin on Joh 9:7.
8. On Isa 8:10. When the great Superlatives sit in their council chambers and have determined everything, how it ought to be, and especially how they will extinguish the gospel, then God sends the angel Gabriel to them, who must look through the window and say: nothing will come of it.Luther.Christ, who is our Immanuel, is with us by His becoming man, for us by His office of Mediator, in us by the work of His sanctification, by us by His personal, gracious presence.Cramer.
9. On Isa 8:14-15. Christ alone is set by God to be a stone by which we are raised up. That He is, however, an occasion of offence to many is because of their purpose, petulance and contempt (1Pe 2:8). Therefore we ought to fear lest we take offence at Him. For whoever falls on this stone will shatter to pieces (Mat 21:44). Cramer.
10. On Isa 8:16 sqq. He warns His disciples against heathenish superstition, and exhorts them to show respect themselves always to law and testimony. They must not think that God must answer them by visions and signs, therefore He refers them to the written word, that they may not become altogether too spiritual, like those now-a-days who cry: spirit! spirit! Christ says, Luke 16 : They have Moses and the prophets, and again Joh 5:39 : Search the Scriptures. So Paul says, 2Ti 3:16 : The Scripture is profitable for doctrine. So says Peter, 2Pe 1:9 : We have a sure word of prophecy. It is the word that changes hearts and moves them. But revelations puff people up and make them insolent. Heim and Hoffmann after Luther.
Chap. 911. On Isa 9:1 sqq. (2). Postrema pars, etc. The latter part of chap. 8 was (legal and threatening) so, on the other hand, the first and best part of chap. 9 is , (evangelical and comforting). Thus must ever law and gospel, preaching wrath and grace, words of reproof and words of comfort, a voice of alarm and a voice of peace follow one another in the church. Foerster.
12. On Isa 9:1 (2). Both in the Old Testament and New Testament Christ is often called light. Thus Isaiah calls Him a light to the gentiles, Isa 42:6; Isa 49:6. The same Prophet says: Arise, shine (make thyself light), for thy light is come, Isa 60:1. And again Isa 9:19 : The Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light. In the New Testament it is principally John that makes use of this expression: The life was the light of men, Joh 1:4, and the light shined in the darkness, Joh 9:5. John was not that light, but bore testimony to the light, Joh 9:8. That was the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world, Joh 9:9. And further: And this is the condemnation that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, Joh 3:19. I am the light of the world, (Joh 8:12; Joh 9:5; comp. Joh 12:35).
13. On Isa 9:1 (2). The people that sit in darkness may be understood to comprise three grades. First, the inhabitants of Zebulon and Naphtali are called so (Isaiah 8:23), for the Prophets gaze is fixed first on that region lying in the extreme end of Palestine, which was neighbor to the heathen and mixed with them, and on this account was held in low esteem by the dwellers in Judah. The night that spreads over Israel in general is darkest there. But all Israel partakes of this night, therefore all Israel, too, may be understood, as among the people sitting in darkness. Finally, no one can deny that this night extends over the borders of Israel to the whole human race. For far as men dwell extends the night which Christ, as light of the world, came to dispel, Luk 1:76 sqq.
14. On Isa 9:5 (6). Many lay stress on the notion child, inasmuch as they see in that the reason for the reign of peace spoken of afterwards. It is not said a man, a king, a giant is given to us. But this is erroneous. For the child does not remain a child. He becomes a man: and the six names that are ascribed to Him and also the things predicted of His kingdom apply to Him, not as a child, but as a man. That His birth as a child is made prominent, has its reason in this, that thereby His relation to human kind should be designated as an organic one. He does not enter into humanity as a man, i.e. as one whose origin was outside of it, but He was born from it, and especially from the race of David. He is Son of man and Son of David. He is a natural offshoot, but also the crowning bloom of both. Precisely because He was to be conceived, carried and born of a human mother, and indeed of a virgin, this prophecy belongs here as the completion and definition of the two prophetic pictures Isa 7:10 sqq.; Isa 8:1 sqq.He came down from heaven for the sake of us men, and for our bliss (1Ti 1:15; Luk 2:7). For our advantage: for He undertook not for the seed of angels, but for the seed of Abraham (Heb 2:16). Not sold to us by God out of great love, but given (Rom 5:15; Joh 3:16). Therefore every one ought to make an application of the word to us to himself, and to learn to say: this child was given to me, conceived for me, born to me.Cramer.Cur oportuit, etc. Why did it become the Redeemer of human kind to be not merely man nor merely God, but God and man conjoined or ? Anselm replies briefly, indeed, but pithily: Deum qui posset, hominem, qui deberet. Foerster.
15. On Isa 9:5 (6). You must not suppose here that He is to be named and called according to His person, as one usually calls another by his name; but these are names that one must preach, praise and celebrate on account of His act, works and office. Luther.
16. On Isa 9:6. Verba pauca, etc. A few words, but to be esteemed great, not for their number but for their weight. Augustine. Admirabilis in, etc. Wonderful in birth, counsellor in what He preaches, God in working, strong in suffering, father of the world to come in resurrection, Prince of peace in bliss perpetual. Bernard of Clairvaux. In reference to a child is born, and a son is given, Joh. Cocceius remarks in his Heb. Lex. s. v. : respectu, etc., in respect to His human nature He is said to be born, and in respect to His divine nature and eternal generation not indeed born, but given, as, Joh 3:16, it reads God gave His only begotten Son.
In the application of this language all depends on the words is born to us, is given to us. The angels are, in this matter, far from being as blessed as we are. They do not say: To us a Saviour is born this day, but; to you. As long as we do not regard Christ as ours, so long we shall have little joy in Him. But when we know Him as our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption, as a gift that our heavenly Father designed for us, we will appropriate Him to ourselves in humble faith, and take possession of all His redeeming effects that He has acquired. For giving and taking go together. The Son is given to us; we must in faith receive Him. J. J. Rambach, Betracht. ber das Ev. Esaj., Halle, 1724.
On Isa 9:6 (7). The government is on His shoulders. It is further shown how Christ differs in this respect from worldly kings. They remove from themselves the burden of government and lay it on the shoulders of the privy counsellors. But He does not lay His dominion as a burden on any other; He needs no prime minister and vicegerent to help Him bear the burden of administration, but He bears all by the word of His power as He to whom all things are given of the Father. Therefore He says to the house of Jacob (Isa 46:3 sq.): Hearken unto me ye who were laid on my shoulders from your mothers womb. I will carry you to old age. I will do it, I will lift, and carry and deliver,on the contrary the heathen must bear and lift up their idols, (Isa 46:1; Isa 46:7).Rambach. In the first place we must keep in mind His first name: He is called Wonderful. This name affects all the following. All is wonderful that belongs to this king: wonderfully does He counsel and comfort; wonderfully He helps to acquire and conquer, and all this in suffering and want of strength. (Luther, Jen. germ. Tom. III. Fol. 184 b.). He uses weakness as a means of subduing all things to Himself. A wretched reed, a crown of thorns and an infamous cross, are the weapons of this almighty God, by means of which He achieves such great things. In the second place, He was a hero and conqueror in that just by death, He robbed him of his might who had the power of death, i.e., the devil (Heb 2:14); in that He, like Samson, buried His enemies with Himself, yea, became poison to death itself, and a plague to hell (Hos 13:14) and more gloriously resumed His life so freely laid down, which none of the greatest heroes can emulate.Rambach.
17. On Isa 9:18 (19) sqq. True friendship can never exist among the wicked. For every one loves only himself. Therefore they are enemies one of another; and they are in any case friends to each other, only as long as it concerns making war on a third party.
Isaiah 10-18. On Isa 10:4. (Comp. the same expression in chap. 10). Gods quiver is well filled. If one arrow does not attain His object, He takes another, and so on, until the rights of God, and justice have conquered.
19. On Isa 10:5-7. God works through men in a threefold way. First, we all live, move and have our being in Him, in that all activity is an outflow of His power. Then, He uses the services of the wicked so that they mutually destroy each other, or He chastises His people by their hand. Of this sort the Prophet speaks here. In the third place, by governing His people by the Spirit of sanctification: and this takes place only in the elect.Heim and Hoffmann.
20. On Isa 10:5 sqq. Ad hunc, etc. Such places are to be turned to uses of comfort. Although the objects of temptation vary and enemies differ, yet the effects are the same, and the same spirit works in the pious. We are therefore to learn not to regard the power of the enemy nor our own weakness, but to look steadily and simply into the word, that will assuredly establish our minds that they despair not, but expect help of God. For God will not subdue our enemies, either spiritual or corporal, by might and power, but by weakness, as says the text: my strength is made perfect in weakness. (2Co 12:9).Luther.
21. On Isa 10:15. Efficacia agendi penes Deum est, homines ministerium tantum praebent. Quare nunc sibilo suo se illos evocaturum minabatur (cap. Isa 5:26; Isa 7:18); nunc instar sagenae sibi fore ad irretiendos, nunc mallei instar ad feriendos Israelitas. Sed praecipue tum declaravit, quod non sit otiosus in illis, dum Sennacherib securim vocat, quae ad secandum manu sua et destinata fuit et impacta. Non male alicubi Augustinus ita definit, quod ipsi peccant, eorum esse; quod peccando hoc vel illud agant, ex virtute Dei esse, tenebras prout visum est dividentis (De praedest Sanctt.).Calvin Inst. II. 4, 4.
22. On Isa 10:20-27. In time of need one ought to look back to the earlier great deliverances of the children of God, as to the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt, or later, from the hand of the Midianites. Israel shall again grow out of the yoke.Diedrich.
Isaiah 11-23. On Isa 11:4. The staff of His mouth. Evidence that the kingdom of Christ will not be like an earthly kingdom, but consist in the power of the word and of the sacraments; not in leathern, golden or silver girdles, but in girdles of righteousness and faith.Cramer.
24. On Isa 11:10 sqq. If the Prophet honors the heathen in saying that they will come to Christ before Israel, he may be the more readily believed, when Isa 11:11 sqq., he gives the assurance that the return out of the first, the Egyptian exile, shall be succeeded by a return out of the second, the Assyrian exile, (taking this word in the wider sense of Isaiah). It is manifest that the return that took place under Zerubbabel and Ezra was only an imperfect beginning of that promised return. For according to our passage this second return can only take place after the Messiah has appeared. Farthermore, all Israelites that belong to the remnant of Israel, in whatever land they may dwell, shall take part in it. It will be, therefore, a universal, not a partial return. If now the Prophet paints this return too with the colors of the present (Isa 11:13 sqq.), still that is no reason for questioning the reality of the matter. Israel will certainly not disappear, but arise to view in the church of the new covenant. But if the nation is to be known among the nations as a whole, though no more as a hostile contrast, but in fraternal harmony, why then shall not the land, too, assume a like position among the lands? But the nation can neither assume its place among nations, nor the land its place among lands, if they are not both united: the people Israel in the land of their fathers.
25. On Isaiah 11 We may here recall briefly the older, so-called spiritual interpretation. Isa 11:1-5 were understood of Christs prophetic office that He exercised in the days of His flesh, then of the overthrow of the Roman Empire and of Antichrist, who was taken to be the Pope. But the most thorough-going of those old expositors must acknowledge, at Isa 11:4, that the Antichrist is not yet enough overthrown, and must be yet more overthrown. If such is the state of the case, then this interpretation is certainly false, for Isa 11:4 describes not a gradual judgment, but one accomplished at once. There have been many Antichrists, and among the Popes too, but the genuine Antichrist described 2 Thessalonians 2, is yet to be expected, and also the fulfillment of Isa 11:4 of our chapter. Thereby is proved at the same time that the peaceful state of things in the brute world and the return of the Jews to their native land are still things of the future, for they must happen in that period when the Antichristian world, and its head shall be judged by Christ. But then, too, the dwelling together of tame and wild beasts is not the entrance of the heathen into the church, to which they were heretofore hostile, and the return of the Jews is not the conversion of a small part of Israel that took place at Pentecost and after. The miracles and signs too, contained in Isa 11:15-16 did not take place then. We see just here how one must do violence to the word if he will not take it as it stands. But if we take it as we have done, then the whole chapter belongs to the doctrine of hope (Hoffnungslehre) of the Scripture, and constitutes an important member of it. The Lord procures right and room for His church. He overthrows the world-kingdom, together with Antichrist. He makes of the remnant of Israel a congregation of believers filled with the Spirit, to whom He is near in an unusual way, and from it causes His knowledge to go out into all the world. He creates peace in the restless creatures, and shows us here in advance what more glorious things we may look for in the new earth. He presents to the world a church which, united in itself, unmolested by neighbors, stands under Gods mighty protection. All these facts are parts of a chain of hope that must be valuable and dear to our hearts. The light of this future illumines the obscurity of the present; the comfort of that day makes the heart fresh. Weber, der Prophet Jesaja, 1875.
Chap. 1226. On Isa 12:4 sq. These will not be the works of the New Testament: sacrificing and slaying, and make pilgrimage to Jerusalem and to the Holy Sepulchre, but praising God and giving thanks, preaching and hearing, believing with the heart and confessing with the mouth. For to praise our God is good; such praise is pleasant and lovely (Psa 147:1). Cramer.
27. On Chap. 12 With these words conclude the prophetic discourses on Immanuel. Through what obscurity of history have we not had to go, until we came to the bright light of the kingdom of Christ! How Israel and the nations had to pass through the fire of judgment before the sun arises in Israel and the entire gentile world is illumined! It is the, same way that every Christian has to travel. In and through the fire we become blessed. Much must be burnt up in us, before we press to the full knowledge of God and of His Son, before we become entirely one with Him, entirely glad and joyful in Him. Israel was brought up and is still brought up for glory, and we too. O that our end too were such a psalm of praise as this psalm! Weber, Der Pr. Jes. 1875.
Footnotes:
[25]Lord Jehovah of hosts.
[26]Or, But he shall lift up his staff for thee.
[27](turns) to.
[28]Heb. shall remove.
[29]unlaced because of fat.
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
I do not think it necessary to swell the page of my Commentary, by making particular observations on this passage. What might be said here, may be said, and hath been indeed said often, and one general remark will suit all. The Reader wilt observe, that what is here said by a gracious Lord, is continually said by him to comfort his people, under their exercises and sufferings. Their own backslidings correct them, and their own transgressions bring the rods of Assyrians upon them. But though corrected, it is but in measure; though cast down, they are not cast off; though persecuted, yet not forsaken. In Jesus they are taken into covenant with God, and therefore there is still one invariable, unceasing love of God to their persons, while to their sins, the Lord manifests displeasure. Reader! look over this portion in the chapter with this view, and it will be blessed. Oh! the felicity of perceiving Jesus in all; whose rich salvation runs through all. Blessed, forever blessed be God, for Jesus Christ!
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Isa 10:24 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD of hosts, O my people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrian: he shall smite thee with a rod, and shall lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt.
Ver. 24. O my people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid. ] Quam paterne omnia. As a father bespeaketh his little son passing with him through a dark entry, &c.
He shall smite thee with a rod.
And shall lift up his staff against thee.
a Non occidet te, quamvis vapulet. – Oecolamp.
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Isa 10:24-27
24Therefore thus says the Lord GOD of hosts, O My people who dwell in Zion, do not fear the Assyrian who strikes you with the rod and lifts up his staff against you, the way Egypt did. 25For in a very little while My indignation against you will be spent and My anger will be directed to their destruction. 26The LORD of hosts will arouse a scourge against him like the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb; and His staff will be over the sea and He will lift it up the way He did in Egypt. 27So it will be in that day, that his burden will be removed from your shoulders and his yoke from your neck, and the yoke will be broken because of fatness.
Isa 10:24-27 The paragraph again stresses YHWH’s moral righteousness which is reflected in judgment against evil.
1. Israel experienced YHWH’s righteous anger (cf. Isa 10:22)
2. Assyria (cf. Isa 37:26-28)
3. Like His wrath in Egypt during the Exodus (cf. Exo 14:16; Exo 14:27)
4. Like Gideon against the Midianites (Judges 6-8)
YHWH’s actions, past and future, described in Isa 10:27, are parallel to His action (cf. Isa 14:25) through the Messiah in Isa 9:4, which also mentions the battle against Midian (an idiom of YHWH’s total defeat of an enemy cf. Isa 9:4; Psa 83:9-11).
Isa 10:24 do not fear the Assyrian This VERB (BDB 431, KB 432, Qal IMPERFECT) is used as a JUSSIVE. The implication is fear YHWH who will bring judgment on them (Isa 10:25-27).
Isa 10:26 the rock of OREB Gideon summoned the Ephraimites to help him wipe out the remaining retreating Midianites. Two of the leaders were caught and killed (cf. Jdg 7:24-25). The place where this occurred took on the names of the Midianite leaders, Oreb and Zeeb. The exact location is unknown.
Isa 10:27
NASBthe yoke will be broken because of fatness
NKJVthe yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil
LXX, REBthe yoke will be destroyed from off your shoulders
PESHITTAthe yoke shall be destroyed from your neck because of your strength
From these translations you can see the options.
1. leave out the phrase because of fatness, LXX, REB
2. refers to the Messiah, NKJV (i.e., anointed)
3. Peshitta sees it as a reference to strength and growth (cf. Deu 32:15), which may contrast Isa 10:16.
Since Isaiah 7-12 relates to the special children of the New Age, including the Messiah, I like NKJV’s understanding as the one that makes the most sense in this large literary unit.
smite thee with = smite thee [indeed] with, &c.
rod = club.
O my people: Isa 4:3, Isa 12:6, Isa 30:19, Isa 46:13, Isa 61:3, Heb 12:22-24
be not afraid: Isa 8:12, Isa 8:13, Isa 33:14-16, Isa 35:4, Isa 37:6, Isa 37:22, Isa 37:33-35
smite thee: Isa 10:5, Isa 9:4, Isa 14:29, Isa 27:7
and shall lift up his staff against thee: or, but he shall lift up his staff for thee
after the manner: Exo 1:10-16, Exo 14:9, Exo 14:21-31, Exo 15:6-10
Reciprocal: 2Ki 19:32 – He shall not come 2Ki 20:6 – I will defend 2Ch 32:22 – Lord Psa 9:6 – destructions Ecc 7:8 – Better Isa 10:26 – his rod Isa 10:32 – shake Isa 14:25 – then Isa 30:31 – which smote
Isa 10:24. Therefore, &c. We have here the fourth part of the enarration, or unfolding of the proposition, mentioned Isa 10:5, namely, the application of it to the consolation of the people of God: to which, having digressed a little, the prophet returns, it being the true and proper scope of his discourse, to comfort the pious with respect to the evils that threatened their republic. The words are an inference, not from the verses immediately foregoing, but from the whole prophecy: as if he had said, Seeing the Assyrian shall be destroyed, and the remnant of my people preserved and restored, thus saith the Lord God of hosts The Lord of all the armies of earth and heaven, the God superior to all human, yea, to all crested power; O my people that dwellest in Zion Where I dwell; where are the ordinances of my worship and service, my temple, my priests; the thrones of justice which I have established, and the princes of the house of David mine anointed; where my people assemble to worship me, and where I am present to defend them: Be not afraid of the Assyrian A man that shall die, the son of man that shall be as grass; forgetting the Lord thy maker, that stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth. With his staff indeed shall he smite thee, (as Bishop Lowth translates it,) and his rod shall he lift up against thee. He shall threaten and correct, yea, afflict thee, but not destroy thee; after the manner of Egypt As the Egyptians formerly did, and with the same ill success to themselves, and comfortable issue to you.
10:24 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD of hosts, O my people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrian: he shall smite thee with a rod, and shall lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of {s} Egypt.
(s) As the Egyptians punished you.
The Lord used reminders of two previous deliverances to encourage the residents of Jerusalem to believe that they would survive the attack of a stronger and larger foe. He had delivered their forefathers from Egypt and the Midianites, and He had destroyed the Egyptians and the Midianites (Jdg 7:25). The rock of Oreb got its name from the Midianite Prince Oreb, who escaped death in the battle with the Israelites, but died when he fled. Similarly, Sennacherib did not perish with his army but died after he returned home. The Assyrian oppression would not last long (cf. Isa 9:4), and God would then punish the disciplinarian of His people. God’s blessing on His people would be responsible for the breaking of the yoke of bondage on them.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)