Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 19:11
Surely the princes of Zoan [are] fools, the counsel of the wise counselors of Pharaoh is become brutish: how say ye unto Pharaoh, I [am] the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings?
11. Surely fools ] Mere fools are the princes of Zoan. Zoan (Tanis, between the two most easterly mouths of the Nile), an ancient city (Num 13:22), had played an important part in Egyptian history. Formerly the seat of the Hyksos kings, it had subsequently given its name to two native dynasties (21st and 23rd). Partly because of its proximity to Canaan it is frequently mentioned in the O.T. as representing Egypt. The next clause runs literally: the wisest counsellors of Pharaoh stupid counsel (sc. is theirs)!
how say ye unto Pharaoh ] The wisdom of Egypt was the hereditary possession of the priestly caste to which the early dynasties belonged. The counsellors are here introduced boasting of the purity of their descent from these kings and sages of the olden time. Read (in both cases) a son.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
11 15. The stultification of Pharaoh’s advisers.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Surely the princes – The following verses, to Isa 19:16, are designed to describe further the calamities that were coming upon Egypt by a want of wisdom in their rulers. They would be unable to devise means to meet the impending calamities, and would actually increase the national misery by their unwise counsels. The word princes here is taken evidently for the rulers or counselors of state.
Of Zoan – The Vulgate, Septuagint, and Chaldee, render this Tanis. Zoan was doubtless the Tans of the Greeks (Herod. ii. 166), and was a city of Lower Egypt, built, according to Moses Num 13:22, seven years after Hebron. It is mentioned in Psa 78:12; Isa 19:11, Isa 19:13; Isa 30:4; Eze 30:14. It was at the entrance of the Tanitic mouth of the Nile, and gave name to it. Its ruins still exist, and there are seen there at present numerous blocks of granite, seven obelisks of granite, and a statue of Isis. It was the capital of the dynasty of the Tanitish kings until the time of Psammetichus; it was at this place principally that the miracles done by Moses were performed. Marvellous things did he in the sight of their fathers in the land of Egypt; in the field of Zoan Psa 78:12. Its ruins are still called San, a slight change of the word Zoan. The Ostium Taniticum is now the Omm Faredje.
Are fools – They are unable to meet by their counsels the impending calamities. Perhaps their folly was evinced by their flattering their sovereign, and by exciting him to plans that tended to the ruin, rather than the welfare of the kingdom.
The wise counselors of Pharaoh – Pharaoh was the common name of the kings of Egypt in the same way as Caesar became afterward the common name of the Roman emperors – and the king who is here intended by Pharaoh is probably Psammetichus (see the note at Isa 19:4).
How say ye … – Why do you flatter the monarch? Why remind him of his ancestry? Why attempt to inflate him with the conception of his own wisdom? This was, and is, the common practice of courtiers; and in this way kings are often led to measures most ruinous to their subjects.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Isa 19:11
How say ye . . . I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings?
—
On the pride of birth
The charge which the prophet makes upon the Egyptian nobles may, with some justice, be extended to those in modern times who are perpetually reminding the world, directly or indirectly, of the dignity of their ancestors; and who, because they have no living merit to boast of, are ever shrining themselves in the glories of the dead.
1. Not only does the world set a high value upon illustrious birth, but it commonly obtains the preference over talents and virtues. There must be a certain rule of precedence in society, an arrangement of those pretensions we all exhibit for public notice and respect; and those causes which confer superiority must be obvious and not liable to be mistaken; not chemical distinctions, discoverable upon analysis, but natural marks, perceptible to the eye. Such, in some degree, are wealth and birth, the notoriety of which is much greater than that of talents and virtues.
2. But how comes birth to be respected at all? History teaches us to connect courage to one name, and counsel to another; to connect them even to an eye or a look; and it is difficult to behold the son or the descendant of an eminent man without deluding ourselves into an idea that some share of the virtues as well as some trait of the features has been transmitted from one to the other. A person placed in a liberal situation of life, above the necessity of increasing his fortune, is supposed to have derived from education a cultivated understanding and correct moral taste; to be careful of reputation and worthy of trust; and, when a family has been long in this situation, we associate these qualities to them much more strongly, and are apt to conceive that a certain propriety of sentiment has been transmitted, with hereditaments and lands, from one generation to another. It is therefore well to recollect that the reverence mankind pay to birth is founded upon its supposed connection with great and amiable qualities; that it is unjust to inhale the incense without possessing the attributes to which it is offered up; and that no disapprobation is so complete as that which succeeds to detected imposture and misplaced regard.
3. Pride of birth, in common with every other species of pride, is utterly incompatible with the Christian character, the very essence of which is lowliness of spirit, and, in common with every other species of pride, is marked by narrow and erroneous views of human nature. The peculiar objections to it are, that birth may frequently prove a source of the most serious misfortunes; that, at a certain period of depravity, it gives splendour to shame, and inflames the contempt of mankind; that it justifies the painful suspicion of being beloved from name, and not from nature; that, considered singly by itself, without the virtues which sometimes do, and are always expected to, accompany it, it is of all causes of self-approbation the least rational and just.
4. Though pride be the excess of self-approbation, it can only rest ultimately upon the approbation of others. It is always upon the esteem of others, present and future, or upon a title to it, conceived to be extremely strong, that pride is founded. A proud man may not possess esteem, but he must believe that he does possess it, or shall possess it, during life, or after death, or that he deserves to possess it; for, if he conceives himself justly contemptible, he must cease to be proud. Now, all pride proceeds from a wrong, notion of the method by which the approbation of others is secured; from a misappreciation of ourselves, and of the sagacity of mankind, who are so far from adopting a mans standard of himself as their own, that they commonly value a human being inversely as he values himself. It proceeds from an ignorance of that captivating modesty which lulls rivalry to sleep, and gives all the benevolent affections their free influence upon the judgment. Pride, then, is only another name for ignorance, because it takes the most shortsighted and inefficacious means to effect its object.
5. Travellers tell us that there is a tree, the roots of which afford bread or poison, according as they are managed and prepared. Such is the doubtful nature of illustrious birth: it may be a blessing or a curse, the source of virtue or the cradle of shame; eminence it must ever give, eminence of infamy or eminence of good. God forbid we should not think of ancient days, if thus doing we can add virtue or happiness; forbid us to stifle that solemn pleasure which we feel in gazing at the dead, if that solemn pleasure teach us to live aright. If you will look upon nobleness of birth as a promise to be fulfilled and a debt to be paid to society; if you will recompense mankind, by your personal merit, for their fervent love to your name and fathers, and think exalted birth a solemn pledge for exalted virtue, a covenant for honourable labour and unspotted faith, an oath taken to the shades of the dead, never to pollute their blood or sully their fame; if you hasten to fix this admiration of words and sounds upon some more solid foundation, to reflect more lustre on your race than you take from it, and to be the chief of the people in thought and action as well as by chance and law–then think forever on the greatness of your name, and the splendour of your fathers fathers; and when a prophet shall ask you, yea, when more than a prophet, when God shall ask you, How have ye said upon earth, I am the son of wise counsellors and ancient kings? ye may answer, We have so said, not ignorant that all things on earth are the shadows of a shadow, and the dust of the dust; but hoping like them to walk in the pure and perfect law of Him who made us, and to do the good and righteous things which our fathers have done of old time, that we may draw down upon us Thy blessings, and finally partake of that dear and unknown world which Thy blessed Son has promised us in Thy name. (Sydney Smith, M. A.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 11. The counsel of the wise counsellors of Pharaoh is become brutish – “Have counselled a brutish counsel”] The sentence as it now stands in the Hebrew, is imperfect: it wants the verb. Archbishop Secker conjectures that the words yoatsey pharoh should be transposed; which would in some degree remove the difficulty. But it is to be observed, that the translator of the Vulgate seems to have found in his copy the verb yaatsu added after pharoh: Sapientes consiliarii Pharaonis dederunt consilium insipiens, “The wise counsellors of Pharaoh gave unwise counsel.” This is probably the true reading: it is perfectly agreeable to the Hebrew idiom, makes the construction of the sentence clear, and renders the transposition of the words above mentioned unnecessary. – L.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Zoan; the chief city, in which the king and court frequently resided. See Psa 78:12.
Brutish; exceeding foolish, and destructive to themselves.
How say ye unto Pharaoh? why do you put such false and foolish words into Pharaohs mouth?
I am the son of the wise; wisdom is hereditary and natural to me. This vain opinion of himself they cherished by their flatteries, although he undid himself and his people by his folly.
The son of ancient kings: he derides the vanity of the Egyptians, who used to make great brags of the antiquity of their nation, and especially of their kings, who, as they pretended, had reigned successively for above ten thousand years; which number of years they made up by this craft, by making those successive kings, which reigned together at the same time, in their several Nomi, or provinces.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
11. ZoanThe Greeks called itTanis, a city of Lower Egypt, east of the Tanitic arms of the Nile,now San; it was one the Egyptian towns nearest to Palestine(Nu 13:22), the scene of Moses’miracles (Psa 78:12; Psa 78:43).It, or else Memphis, was the capital under Sethos.
I am . . . son of the wise .. . kingsYe have no advice to suggest to Pharaoh in thecrisis, notwithstanding that ye boast of descent from wise and royalancestors. The priests were the usual “counsellors” of theEgyptian king. He was generally chosen from the priestly caste, or,if from the warrior caste, he was admitted into the sacred order, andwas called a priest. The priests are, therefore, meant by theexpression, “son of the wise, and of ancient kings”; thiswas their favorite boast (HERODOTUS,2.141; compare Amo 7:14; Act 23:6;Phi 3:5). “Pharaoh” wasthe common name of all the kings: Sethos, probably, is here meant.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Surely the princes of Zoan [are] fools,…. Zoan was a very ancient city of Egypt, it was built within seven years of Hebron in the land of Judah, Nu 13:22 here it was that the Lord did those miracles, by the hands of Moses and Aaron, before Pharaoh and his people, in order to oblige him to let Israel go, Ps 78:12 by which it appears that it was then the royal city, as it seems to have been now; since mention is made of the princes of it, who usually have their residence where the court is. The Targum, Septuagint, and Vulgate Latin versions, call it Tanis, which was the metropolis of one of the nomes or provinces of Egypt, called from it the Tanitic nome q; near it was one of the gates of the Nile, which had from it the name of the Tanitic gate r; the princes of this place, the lords of this nome, though they had princely education, acted a foolish part, in flattering their sovereign, as afterwards mentioned, and in putting him upon doing things destructive to his kingdom and subjects:
the counsel of the wise counsellors of Pharaoh is become brutish; the men of whose privy council were esteemed very wise, and greatly boasted of, and much confided in; and yet the counsel they gave him were such as made them look more like brutes than men:
how say ye unto Pharaoh; the then reigning prince, for Pharaoh was a name common to all the kings of Egypt. Some think their king Cethon is meant, said to be a very foolish king: others Psammiticus; which seems more likely; though there is no need to apply it to any particular king, they being used to say what follows to all their kings:
I [am] the son of the wise; suggesting that wisdom was natural and hereditary to him; though this may not merely respect his immediate ancestors, but remote ones, as Menes or Mizraim, the first king of Egypt, to whom is attributed the invention of arts and sciences; and his son Thoth, the same with Hermes, the Mercury of the Egyptians. The Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions, make these words to be spoken by the wise counsellors of themselves, “we are the sons of wise men”, and so the next clause; likewise Aben Ezra and Jarchi, also the Targum:
the son of ancient kings? according to these, it is spoken to Pharaoh thus, “and thou the son of kings of old”; of Ham, Mizraim, Thoth, c. the Egyptians boasted much of the antiquity of their kingdom and kings; and they say, from their first king Menes, to Sethon the priest of Vulcan, who lived about the time of this prophecy, were three hundred and forty one generations or ages of men, in which were as many kings and priests; and three hundred generations are equal to ten thousand years s; and so many years, and more, their kings had reigned down to the prophet’s time; which was all vain boasting, there being no manner of foundation for it. Vitringa renders it the son of ancient counsellors; this, as the former, being spoken by the counsellors, not of Pharaoh, but themselves.
q Herodot. l. 2. c. 166. Plin. l. 5. c. 9. Ptolem. Geogr. l. 4. c. 5. r Ptolem. ib. Plin. l. 5. c. 10. s Herodot. l. 2. c. 142.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The prophet now dwells upon the punishment which falls upon the pillars of the land, and describes it in Isa 19:11-13: “The princes of Zoan become mere fools, the wise counsellors of Pharaoh; readiness in counsel is stupefied. How can ye say to Pharaoh, I am a son of wise men, a son of kings of the olden time? Where are they then, thy wise men? Let them announce to thee, and know what Jehovah of hosts hath determined concerning Egypt. The princes of Zoan have become fools, the princes of Memphis are deceived; and they have led Egypt astray who are the corner-stone of its castes.” The two constructives do not stand in a subordinate relation, but in a co-ordinate one (see at Psa 78:9 and Job 20:17; compare also 2Ki 17:13, Keri), viz., “the wise men, counsellors of Pharaoh,”
(Note: Pharaoh does not mean “the king” (equivalent to the Coptic – ), but according to Brugsch, “great house” (Upper Egyptian peraa , Lower Egyptian pher – ao ; vid., aus dem Orient, i. 36). Lauth refers in confirmation of this to Horapollo, i. 62, , and explains this Coptic name for a king from that of the ( ) upon the head of the king, which was a specifically regal sign.)
so that the second noun is the explanatory permutative of the first. Zoan is the Tanis of primeval times (Num 13:22), which was situated on one of the arms through which the Nile flows into the sea (viz., the ostium Taniticum ), and was the home from which two dynasties sprang. Noph ( per aphaer . = Menoph , contracted into Moph in Hos 9:6) is Memphis, probably the seat of the Pharaohs in the time of Joseph, and raised by Psammetichus into the metropolis of the whole kingdom. The village of Mitrahenni still stands upon its ruins, with the Serapeum to the north-west.
(Note: What the lexicons say with reference to Zoan and Noph needs rectifying. Zoan (old Egyptian Zane , with the hieroglyphic of striding legs, Copt. ‘Gane ) points back to the radical idea of pelli or fugere ; and according to the latest researches, to which the Turin papyrus No. 112 has led, it is the same as ( ), which is said to mean the house of flight ( Ha – uare ), and was the seat of government under the Hykshos . But Memphis is not equivalent to Ma – m – ptah , as Champollion assumed (although this city is unquestionably sometimes called Ha – ka – ptah , house of the essential being of Ptah ); it is rather equivalent to Men – nefer (with the hieroglyphic of the pyramids), place of the good (see Brugsch, Histoire d’Egypte, i. 17). In the later language it is called pa – nuf or m a – nuf , which has the same meaning (Copt. nufi , good). Hence Moph is the contraction of the name commencing with m a , and Noph the abbreviation of the name commencing with m a or pa by the rejection of the local prefix; for we cannot for a moment think of Nup , which is the second district of Upper Egypt (Brugsch, Geogr. i. 66). Noph is undoubtedly Memphis.)
Consequently princes of Zoan and Memphis are princes of the chief cities of the land, and of the supposed primeval pedigree; probably priest-princes, since the wisdom of the Egyptian priest was of world-wide renown (Herod. ii. 77, 260), and the oldest kings of Egypt sprang from the priestly caste. Even in the time of Hezekiah, when the military caste had long become the ruling one, the priests once more succeeded in raising one of their own number, namely Sethos, to the throne of Sais. These magnates of Egypt, with their wisdom, would be turned into fools by the history of Egypt of the immediate future; and (this is the meaning of the sarcastic “how can ye say”) they would no longer trust themselves to boast of their hereditary priestly wisdom, or their royal descent, when giving counsel to Pharaoh. They were the corner-stone of the shebatim , i.e., of the castes of Egypt (not of the districts or provinces, ); but instead of supporting and defending their people, it is now very evident that they only led them astray. , as the Masora on Isa 19:15 observes, has no Vav cop.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
11. Surely the princes of Zoan are fools. Here he joins wisdom with folly, and not without reason; for it is impossible to take away from men a conviction of their wisdom, which leads them to believe, in opposition to God himself, that they are wise. It is therefore a kind of acknowledgment, when he calls those persons wise whom he at the same time accuses of folly or stupidity. Though the Hebrew particle אך, (ă ch,) sometimes means but, yet as the Prophet appears to attack the Egyptians, I choose rather to render it “surely,” or “truly,” or “now at least;” for he scoffs at the counselors of Pharaoh for wishing to be regarded, and believing themselves to be, exceeding wise, though they are the most foolish of all men. Thus it is an exclamation: “Where is that wisdom of Egypt? Where are the counselors who held all men in contempt? Why do they not preserve their kingdom?” Now, at least, it is evident what kind of wisdom they had. This tends to confirm and seal the prophecy, in which the Prophet obviously does not speak of things unknown, but has before his eyes, as it were, the destruction of Egypt. “Armed therefore with the authority of God, I venture to pronounce all those princes to be fools, though they think that they are wise.”
Finally, the Prophet shews that vain is the glory of men who, without God, claim for themselves even a spark of wisdom; because their folly is at length exposed, and when the actual trial comes, they shew that they are children. The Lord permits them, indeed, to achieve many exploits, that they may obtain reputation among men, but in the end he infatuates them, so that, notwithstanding their sagacity and long experience, they act more foolishly than children. Let us therefore learn to seek from the Lord the spirit of wisdom and counsel, and if he shall bestow it upon us, let us use it with propriety and moderation; for God opposes the wisdom of men when they claim more than they have a right to claim, and those who are too ambitious to exalt themselves, must be punished for their folly; and therefore he often puts them to shame, that it may be made manifest that their wisdom is nothing but empty smoke. There is no wisdom but that which is founded on the fear of God, which Solomon also declares to be the chief part of wisdom. (Pro 1:7.)
How say ye to Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings? He reproves the counsellors of Pharaoh for flattering him, as courtiers are wont to flatter princes; for they utter nothing but what is intended to soothe and gratify the ears of princes, because this is the way by which they succeed and obtain favor. Thus, amidst many flatteries and lies, there is no room for truth. Though this vice is commonly found in the courts of great princes, yet at that time it abounded chiefly among the Egyptians. They boasted that they were the most ancient of all nations, and that they were the inventors of the arts, and of all liberal education; and if such a conviction existed even among the common people, how much stronger must it have been in the kings themselves?
The boasting related to two points, antiquity and knowledge; and Isaiah reproves both, or at least says that they will be of no value. Pharaoh boasted both of the antiquity and of the wisdom of his nation; and indeed this was common among the whole people; but he speaks chiefly of the king as the head, in whom this haughtiness was more conspicuous than among ordinary persons. Now, we ought not to boast of the wisdom of our ancestors, as if it belonged to us by hereditary right, but we must look to heaven and ask it from its Author. So far as relates to antiquity, it is a foolish and idle boast; and yet princes are so deeply infected by this vice, that they would willingly seek their birth and descent out of the world, and cannot easily be drawn away from that vanity. This madness is heightened by flatterers, who have contrived, as we perceive, many things about the genealogy of certain princes. No song is more delightful to them than when they are separated from the common herd of men, like demigods or heroes. But it frequently happens, that when they carry their curiosity to excess in inquiring about their grandfathers and great-grandfathers, they lay themselves open to ridicule, because it is found that they are descended from one of the common people.
I have heard an amusing anecdote, related by persons worthy of credit, about the Emperor Maximilian, who was very eager to inquire into his descent, and was induced by a silly trifler to believe that he had traced his lineage to Noah’s ark. This subject made so powerful an impression on his mind, that he left off all business, applied himself earnestly to this single investigation, and would allow no one to draw him away from it, not even the ambassadors who came to treat with him about important matters. All were astonished at this folly, and silently blamed him for it, but no one had power or courage to suggest a remedy. At length his cook, who was likewise his jester, and often entertained him with his sayings, asked leave to speak, and, as one who was desirous to uphold the Emperor’s dignity, told him that this eagerness to trace his descent would neither be useful nor honorable; for, said he, at present I revere your majesty, and worship you as a god; but if we must come to Noah’s ark, there we shall all be cousins, for we are all descended from it. Maximilian was so deeply affected by this saying of the jester, that he became ashamed of his undertaking, though formerly neither friends, nor counsellors, nor business could dissuade him from it; for he perceived that his name which he wished to render more illustrious by inquiring into his remote ancestors, would be altogether degraded if they came to its earliest source, from which princes and peasants, nobles and artisans, are descended.
What is blamed even by jesters and fools must be great madness; and yet it is not a vice which has lately sprung up, but is deeply rooted in the minds of almost all men. In order to avoid it, let us learn to depend on God alone, and let us prefer the blessedness of adoption to all riches, and lineage, and nobility. So far as relates to the kings of Egypt being descended from very ancient kings, who had kept possession of the throne for many ages, they were as proud as if wisdom had been born with them. (35)
(35) Bogus footnote
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(11) Surely the princes of Zoan are fools.Zoan, the great city of the Delta, was known to the Greeks as Tanis, founded, as stated in Num. 13:22, seven years after Hebron. Here the great Rameses II. fixed his capital, and the city thus acquired the name of Pi-Rameses.
How say ye unto Pharaoh . . .?The princes of Zoan, probably priest-princes and priest-magicians (Exo. 7:11), boasting at once of their wisdom and their ancestry, are represented as speaking to the Pharaoh of the time (probably, as in Isaiah 18, of Ethiopian origin) in something like a tone of superiority. They claim to be the only counsellors; and the prophet challenges their claim. Can they disclose, as he can, the future that impends over their country?
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
11-13. Princes of Zoan “Zoan,” the ancient Tanis, the present Tsan, was the capital of the northeastern kingdom, as Noph, (Isa 19:13,) or Memphis, was of Central Egypt. These are representative cities for all Egypt in this prophecy. Pharaoh was a name, not of a person but of the royal house, personified in the ruling head at the time. His princes or counsellers are a stupified cabinet in these prophetic times, though they boast royal descent and great wisdom. See Herodotus. 2:141. They were the priestly caste out of which kings were chosen.
Where are they A sarcastic asking what they amount to as pretended wise-men.
Let them know If they cannot tell, then let them learn from the Lord of hosts, and so obtain certain knowledge what is designed upon Egypt. In themselves the whole priestly class are very fools.
The stay of the tribes Literally, the corner-stone of her tribes. Still the priestly class is meant. They probably assured safety as against Assyria, or as against their only dreaded foe in the far northeast.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘The princes of Zoan are utterly foolish. The counsel of the wisest counsellors of Pharaoh has become brutish. How can you say to Pharaoh, “I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings”? Where then are your wise men? Then let them tell you (the truth) now, and let them know what Yahweh of hosts has purposed concerning Egypt. The princes of Zoan have become fools, the princes of Noph are deceived. They have caused Egypt to go astray, who are the corner stone of her tribes.’
Isaiah points derisively to those in the capital city Zoan, in the north-eastern Delta, who are responsible for major national decisions. They will become fools, the advice of even the wisest will be like the advice of brute beasts. They make strong claims for themselves, tracing their descent to previous wise men and to ancient kings. Well, if they are so wise let them speak the truth about what is happening. Let them appreciate what Yahweh has purposed concerning Egypt. Let them face up to the facts and declare them.
The wisdom of Egypt was proverbial (see 1Ki 4:30; Act 7:22). But it will be so no more. Indeed men will wonder at how foolish they have become. His verdict is then repeated, and Noph brought into the reckoning. Noph is better known as Memphis, a former capital city in the southern Delta and an important city. At this time of civil war it would be the headquarters of one of the factions. But in these cities the tribal cornerstones will let them down. The ‘cornerstone’ refers to the leadership, who by their behaviour will reveal themselves as anything but cornerstones.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Isa 19:11-15. Surely the princes of Zoan are fools, &c. Surely the princes of Zoan are fools; the very wisest of Pharaoh’s counsellors: counsel is become brutish. How will you boast unto Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings? Isa 19:13.They have also seduced Egypt, even the chiefs of the tribes thereof; Isa 19:14. The Lord hath mingled in the midst of them a spirit of giddiness, &c. From the 11th to the 18th verse, we have the immediate causes of the Egyptian calamity; the first of which, contained in the present passage, is their want of salutary counsel; and here occurs, first, a proposition concerning the folly of the counsellors of Pharaoh, in Isa 19:11. Secondly, an upbraiding of their imprudence; the discourse being first turned to these counsellors themselves, and then to Pharaoh,middle of Isa 19:11 and Isa 19:12. Thirdly, a confirmation of the proposition, Isa 19:13. Fourthly, the cause of this imprudence and stupidity, namely, the divine judgment, Isa 19:14-15. The meaning of the last verse is, that there should be such confusion in the state, such perturbation of judgment, and want of counsel, that there should be no man in the state, of political or sacerdotal order, fit to give honest and salutary advice; they should all labour under the same disease of mind, ch. Isa 9:14. The reader will observe with how fine a gradation the prophet rises in this passage; wherein he alludes to the high antiquity of the Egyptian government, and their same for wisdom, and acknowledges their claim to both these particulars; and indeed the very force of his exultation depends upon the truth of it: for, what reason is there for insisting so much on the power and wisdom of God, in destroying the council of Egypt, if Pharaoh and his counsellors only pretended to be, but were not, wise, nor yet the sons of ancient kings? In general it may be said, that Egypt would not have become so easy a prey to so many foreign enemies, but through the excessive weakness of the Egyptians, both in counsel and action. They had not the courage to defend themselves. They trusted to their Grecian and other mercenaries, who, instead of defending, were often the first to betray them. To finish this particular, let any one shew us now the least trace of learning or wisdom, which is similar to what this nation was formerly celebrated for, if he can; and if he cannot, let him own that this prophesy is fulfilled, even in the present state of Egypt. See Divine Leg. Newton, and Vitringa.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
In these verses the subject of lamentation is carried on, under various descriptions, and all corresponding to denote the burden of Egypt. Their senators and wise men became unable to guide the helm of public affairs. Egypt was remarkable for learning; for Moses, we are told, was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians. But now the whole nation is sunk into ignorance. And the cause is from the Lord; for it is said that the Lord had mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof. And so great was the dread of the Lord and his people upon the minds of the Egyptians, that everyone that made mention only thereof became a terror to himself. Reader, improve the subject spiritually, and it will indeed be very profitable. Is not this account of Egypt similar to what the mind of man feels under the awakenings of a sense of sin, and a dread of divine wrath in consequence thereof? Are not the humblings of the mind under fear and apprehension of a judgment to come, infinitely greater than those which arise from the dread of temporal evils? And when the Lord convinceth of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment, will not the soul be more convulsed, than with any other terror? Joh 16:8 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Isa 19:11 Surely the princes of Zoan [are] fools, the counsel of the wise counsellors of Pharaoh is become brutish: how say ye unto Pharaoh, I [am] the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings?
Ver. 11. Surely the princes of Zoan are fools. ] Otherwise they would never have so ill-advised their king so to drain the river, for his pleasure, to the public detriment. Zoan was an ancient city in Egypt. Num 13:22 The Septuagint and Vulgate versions call it Tunis. Here it was that Moses did all his wonders. Psa 78:12 Exo 7:8-9 Here Pharaoh’s princes “took counsel, but not of God; and covered with a covering, but not of his Spirit, that they might add sin to sin.” Isa 30:1
The counsel of the wise counsellors is become brutish.
How say ye unto Pharaoh?
I am the son of the wise.
a De Principe, p. 185.
b Herod. lib. ii. – , Lucian. – Plato in Timaeo.
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Isa 19:11-15
11The princes of Zoan are mere fools;
The advice of Pharaoh’s wisest advisers has become stupid.
How can you men say to Pharaoh,
I am a son of the wise, a son of ancient kings?
12Well then, where are your wise men?
Please let them tell you,
And let them understand what the LORD of hosts
Has purposed against Egypt.
13The princes of Zoan have acted foolishly,
The princes of Memphis are deluded;
Those who are the cornerstone of her tribes
Have led Egypt astray.
14The LORD has mixed within her a spirit of distortion;
They have led Egypt astray in all that it does,
As a drunken man staggers in his vomit.
15There will be no work for Egypt
Which its head or tail, its palm branch or bulrush, may do.
Isa 19:11-15 This strophe is an elaboration of Isa 19:3.
1. Isa 19:11, the princes of Zoan (Tanis, capital of the Delta region) are mere fools (BDB 17, used of Judah in Jer 4:22)
2. Isa 19:11, the advice of Pharaoh’s wisest advisers has become stupid (lit. brutish, BDB 129 II, KB 146, Niphal PARTICIPLE, cf. Jer 10:14; Jer 10:21; Jer 51:17)
3. Isa 19:13, the princes of Zoan have acted foolishly (BDB 383, KB 381, Niphal PARTICIPLE, cf. Jer 5:4; Jer 50:36)
4. Isa 19:13, the princes of Memphis (Noph, another Egyptian capital) are deluded (BDB 674, KB 728, Niphal PERFECT; Hiphil PERFECT used in Gen 3:13)
5. Isa 19:13, have led Egypt astray (BDB 1073, KB 1766, Hiphil PERFECT, cf. Isa 19:14; Isa 3:12; Isa 9:16; Jer 23:13; Jer 23:32; Hos 4:12; Mic 3:5)
6. Isa 19:14, led astray. . .staggers (same VERB as #5, here denoting drunkenness)
Isa 19:11 Line 4 is idiomatic for a group of wise men, similar to which Daniel was a part in Babylon. The word son functions as member of a group.
Isa 19:12 YHWH asks a sarcastic rhetorical question. It is furthered by two IMPERFECTS (BDB 616, KB 615, and BDB 393, KB 390) used in a JUSSIVE sense (i.e., let them. . .).
They claimed to be wise (Isa 19:11 d; 1Ki 4:30; Act 7:22). They claimed to have plans (Isa 19:3 b), but their wisdom and plans are negated in YHWH’s purposes (Isa 19:12 a).
Isa 19:13 Those who are the cornerstone of her tribes Here cornerstone (BDB 819) denotes leaders (cf. Jdg 20:2; 1Sa 14:38).
Isa 19:14
NASB, LXXmixed
NKJV,
PESHITTAmingled
NRSV, JBpoured
REB, NJBinfused
The MT has the VERB mixed (, BDB 587, KB 605, Qal PERFECT), which denotes a strong drink (cf. Isa 5:22). However, because of Isa 29:10 it is possible the VERB should be (poured out, BDB 650, KB 703, Qal PERFECT), which is found in the DSS. In either case the point is drunkenness as a metaphor for confusion and instability.
Isa 19:15 The second line has two idioms which denote all levels of society (cf. Isa 9:14-15).
1. head – tail
2. palm – bulrush
There will be a God-sent (cf. Isa 19:14 a) total inability! Those who claimed to be wise (cf. Isa 19:11 d, 12a, 13c) have proven to be unwise because they trusted in (1) false gods; (2) false religionists; and (3) poor plans (cf. Isa 19:3)! All of Egypt’s leadership (cf. Isa 19:11-12), civil and religious, are out of a job, as are all her laborers (cf. Isa 19:8-10).
Zoan. See note on Isa 30:4.
fools. Hebrew. aval. See note on Pro 1:7.
Isa 19:11-15
Isa 19:11-15
“The princes of Zoan are utterly foolish; the counsel of the wisest counselors of Pharaoh is become brutish: how say ye unto Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings? Where then are thy wise men? and let them tell thee now; and let them know what Jehovah of hosts hath purposed concerning Egypt. The princes of Zoan are become fools, the princes of Memphis are deceived; they have caused Egypt to go astray, that are the corner-stone of her tribes. Jehovah hath mingled a spirit of perverseness in the midst of her; and they have caused Egypt to go astray in every work thereof, as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit. Neither shall there be for Egypt any work, which head or tail, palm branch or rush, may do.”
These three paragraphs give a terrible picture indeed of the disasters prophesied for the land of Egypt. It is the intelligence and competence of the central government itself that are mentioned here, designating it as a blundering, incompetent power led by fools and listening to the advice of fools! The proof of the foolishness of the government advisers is seen (1) in their ignorance of Jehovah and of his will, and their utter inability to see the disaster that lies at the end of their foolish plans (Isa 19:12), and also (2) in their blindness to the fact that their counsels have ended in disaster (Isa 19:13). “`Palm branch and rush’ and `head or tail’ are expressions used figuratively for `all classes of society.’
Zoan and Memphis, mentioned here, were the northern and southern capitals of Egypt. “Zoan, or Tanis was a north-eastern capital near the border of Sinai. Memphis lay more to the south at the apex of the Delta.
Regarding what is meant by the “pillars of Egypt” which the Lord prophesied should be broken (v. 10), Hailey noted that the pillars are, “Either (1) the working class of people, or (2) the whole economy, which is certainly a foundation of a nation’s existence.
Isa 19:11-15 COUNSELING DISASTERS: Zoan was an ancient city, near the mouth of the Tanis branch of the Nile River (probably synonymous with Tanis), built seven years after Hebron (Num 13:22). It was the capital of the 21st and 23rd dynasties of Egyptian history. Israelites who sought alliances with Egypt would probably have entered into negotiations with these princes. But the point is they gave Pharaoh stupid brutish counsel. They were as dumb as animals. How could they be expected to know any wisdom from Jehovah? Evidently Gods divine power and deity are clearly enough seen in the things that have been made (Cf. Rom 1:18-23) that all men may have enough knowledge of Him to conduct the affairs of human and social relations wisely. But when men do not honor Him as God or give thanks to Him, they become futile in their thinking and their senseless minds are darkened. Although they claim to be wise with human philosophies, they are fools. Their stupidity is seen in their exchanging the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man or birds or animals or reptiles. Isaiah represents the stupidity of men who will take a tree and cut it in half, use half of it to build a fire and cook their meal and take the other half, carve a face on it and set it up as a god and worship it (Isa 44:9-20). The remaining verses of Romans 1 show what happens when they exchange the truth of God for a lie (Cf. Rom 1:24-32). The word perverseness in the English translation would better be rendered from the Hebrew as dizziness. When men deliberately and persistently believe and practice falsehood there is an inevitable stupor which settles into all human and social structures. God gives them up and they receive in their own persons the due penalty for their error, (Cf. Rom 1:27). Men who cannot govern their own lives cannot govern a nation. Men who do not wish to practice truth and justice for themselves cannot legislate it for others. The princes of Zoan were drunk with the wine of rebellion against truth and morals. Sooner or later, however, the wine of rebellion and falsehood is vomited up and those who have drunk it are forced to stagger in the regurgitation of the filth they have swallowed. There is nothing that either head or tail of the nation can do. Social and national structures will cease to function properly. One is reminded of the disintegration of Germany after World War II. Totally helpless to function after defeat by the allies, she was saved only by the Marshall Plan. Gods moral principles remain true in every age.
the princes: Isa 19:3, Isa 19:13, Isa 29:14, Isa 44:25, Job 5:12, Job 5:13, Job 12:17, Psa 33:10, Jer 49:7, Eze 7:26, 1Co 1:19, 1Co 1:20
Zoan: Isa 30:4, Num 13:22, Psa 78:12, Psa 78:43, Eze 30:14
brutish: Psa 73:22, Psa 92:6, Pro 30:2, Jer 10:14, Jer 10:21
I am: Gen 41:38, Gen 41:39, 1Ki 4:30, Act 7:22
Reciprocal: Gen 41:8 – but there Exo 7:11 – wise men Exo 8:4 – General Deu 28:28 – General Jos 8:14 – he wist not Jos 8:17 – a man 2Sa 15:31 – turn the counsel 1Ki 12:14 – the counsel 2Ki 24:20 – through 2Ch 10:10 – Thus shalt Job 39:17 – General Psa 87:4 – this man Psa 105:22 – teach Pro 11:14 – General Jer 4:9 – that the heart Jer 8:9 – The wise men are Jer 46:17 – Pharaoh Jer 50:35 – her wise men Eze 28:17 – thou hast Oba 1:7 – there is 1Co 2:6 – of the 1Co 3:19 – the wisdom
Isa 19:11-15. Surely the princes of Zoan are fools, &c. Zoan was the chief city, in which the king and court frequently resided. In these verses the prophet describes the immediate causes of these evils; 1st, The folly of the princes and rulers, who valued themselves upon their Wisdom , , 2 d, The cowardice and effeminacy of the people in general. Egypt would not have become a prey to so many foreign enemies, but through the excessive weakness of the Egyptians, both in counsel and in action. They had not the courage even to defend themselves. They trusted chiefly to their Grecian and other mercenaries, who, instead of defending, were often the first to betray them. Bishop Newton. How say ye unto Pharaoh Why do ye put such false and foolish words into Pharaohs mouth? I am the son of the wise Wisdom is hereditary and natural to me. This vain opinion of himself they cherished by their flatteries. The son of the ancient kings The prophet derides the vanity of the Egyptians, who used to boast of the antiquity of their nation, and especially of their kings, who, as they pretended, had reigned successively for 10,000 years. Where are thy wise men? Who pretended, that either by their deep policy, or by their skill in astrology, or magic, they could certainly foresee things to come. The princes of Noph are deceived Another chief city, and one of the kings seats, called also Moph, in the Hebrew text, (Hos 9:6,) and by other and later writers, Memphis. They that are the stay Their chief counsellors; of the tribes Of the provinces, which he calls by a title borrowed from the Hebrews, in whose language he spake and wrote this prophecy. The Lord hath mingled Hath poured out, or given them to drink, a perverse spirit A spirit of error, or delusion, as the LXX. and Chaldee render it. That is, he has suffered them, in punishment of their sins, to take foolish steps, and follow pernicious counsels. They have caused Egypt to err in every work In all their designs and undertakings. They have given such ill counsel, and pursued such wrong measures, that nothing has succeeded as it should. Neither shall there be any work which the head or tail may do The people shall generally want employment, or, as some explain it, all orders of men, from the highest to the lowest, shall fail in the discharge of their duty, or be unsuccessful in all they undertake.
19:11 Surely the princes of {i} Zoan [are] fools, the counsel of the wise counsellors of Pharaoh is become senseless: how say ye to Pharaoh, I {k} [am] the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings?
(i) Called also Tanes, a famous city on the Nile.
(k) He notes the flatterers of Pharaoh: who persuaded the king that he was wise and noble, and that his house was ancient and so he flatters himself, saying I am wise.
The Egyptians were known for their wisdom and took great pride in it (cf. Mat 13:54; Mar 6:2). Isaiah challenged their wise men to inform the people what Yahweh of armies had in store for them (cf. Joseph). He could frustrate their plans, but they could not discover His. Their unwise politicians had misled the people by failing to diversify the economy, among other ways. Too much of their hope lay in the Nile, which the people worshipped as a god. Zoan (Isa 19:11, Gr. Tanis) was a chief city and often the capital of Lower Egypt, and Noph (Gr. Memphis, Isa 19:13) was another chief city and former capital of the same part of Egypt.
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: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
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)