Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 41:4
Who hath wrought and done [it], calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I [am] he.
4. The answer.
calling the generations from the beginning ] i.e. guiding the destinies of the nations from the origins of human history. The clause should be connected with what follows: it belongs to the answer, not to the question (“He that calleth”).
I am he ] Cf. ch. Isa 43:10; Isa 43:13, Isa 46:4, Isa 48:12, also Psa 102:27. The sense which best suits the various passages is, “I am the same.” There is probably an allusion to the explanation of the name Jehovah in Exo 3:14 ff. Jehovah is “the First,” existing before history began to run its course, and He is “with the last,” an ever-present, unchanging God.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Who hath wrought and done it? – By whom has all this been accomplished? Has it been by the arm of Cyrus? Has it been by human skill and powers. The design of this question is obvious. It is to direct attention to the fact that all this had been done by God, and that he who had raised up such a man, and had accomplished all this by means of him, had power to deliver his people.
Calling the generations from the beginning – The idea here seems to be, that all the nations that dwell on the earth in every place owed their origin to God (compare Act 17:26). The word calling here, seems to be used in the sense of commanding, directing, or ordering them; and the truth taught is, that all the nations were under his control, and had been from the beginning. It was not only true of Cyrus, and of those who were subdued before him, but it was true of all nations and generations. The object seems to be, to lift up the thoughts from the conquests of Cyrus to Gods universal dominion over all kingdoms from the beginning of the world.
I the Lord, the first – Before any creature was made; existing before any other being. The description that God here gives of himself as the first and the last, is one that is often applied to him in the Scriptures, and is one that properly expresses eternity (see Isa 44:6; Isa 48:12). It is remarkable also that this expression, which so obviously implies proper eternity, is applied to the Lord Jesus in Rev 1:17; Rev 22:13.
And with the last – The usual form in which this is expressed is simply the last Isa 44:6; Isa 48:12. The idea here seems to be, and with the last, I am the same; that is, I am unchanging and eternal. None will subsist after me; since with the last of all created objects I shall be the same that I was in the beginning. Nothing would survive God; or in other words, he would exist forever and ever. The argument here is, that to this unchanging and eternal God, who had thus raised up and directed Cyrus, and who had control over all nations, they might commit themselves with unwavering confidence, and be assured that he was able to protect and deliver them.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Isa 41:4
I the Lord, the first, and with the last
I.
LOOK AT GOD IN HIS PRIMARY RELATION TO HIS CREATURE. Understand clearly that everything which is was first an idea in the mind of God. Thence, by a creative act, it came forth and took form and being. So God was first, long before all His works–as the mould is before the castings. Here is the truth and glory of predestination, that great argument of all comfort. It places God far away, beyond our little horizon, in advance of everything. Whatever is, is to fulfil its preordained purpose; each thing coming up and rising in its turn; everything a reflection of the eternal love, care, and wisdom which dwelt from everlasting in the mind of God.
II. WITH THE LAST. There are those who say, This world is on the decline and growing worse. Can it be, if He who was First is with the last–the same God yesterday, to-day, and for ever,the equal portion of all times? Is it not sufficient argument? The golden age cannot be over. From the fleeting and the changing, from the disappointing and the dying, I yearn to ask, Where is the true? Where is that which my soul wants, and for which my restless spirit has so long been craving, what shall satisfy my immortality? And the answer comes, as a whisper in the desert, louder and clearer from the solitude of my hearts waste places, I the Lord, the First, and with the last; I am He. (J. Vaughan, M. A.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 4. Who hath wrought and done it – “Who hath performed and made these things”] A word is here lost out of the text. It is supplied by an ancient MS., elleh, “these things;” and by the Septuagint, ; and by the Vulgate, haec; and by the Chaldee, elin; all of the same meaning.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Who hath wrought and done it? whose work was this but mine?
Calling; either,
1. Calling them out of nothing, giving to them breath and being; or,
2. Calling them to his foot, as he said above, Isa 41:2, disposing and employing them as he sees fit, sending them upon his errands.
The generations from the beginning; all persons and generations of mankind from the beginning of the world to the end of it.
The first, and with the last; who was before all things, even from eternity, and shall be unto eternity; whereas the idols, to whom God herein opposeth himself, were but of yesterday, being made by mens hands, and shall within a little time vanish, and be destroyed.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
4. Whoelse but God?
calling . . . generationsfrom . . . beginningThe origin and position of all nations arefrom God (Deu 32:8; Act 17:26);what is true of Cyrus and his conquests is true of all the movementsof history from the first; all are from God.
with the lastthat is,the last (Isa 44:6; Isa 48:12).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Who hath wrought and done it,…. Contrived and effected it, formed the scheme, and brought it to pass; namely, raising up the righteous man from the east, and succeeding him in the manner described:
calling the generations from the beginning? or rather here begins the answer to the above question, which may be rendered,
he that calleth the generations from the beginning k; he has wrought and done this; and to this agree the Syriac and Arabic versions; even he that knew them from all eternity, before they were, and all the men that would be in them, and could call them by their names; and who calls things that are not, as though they were; and who calls them into being at the appointed time, and continues a succession of them, one after another; who calls by his grace all that are called in successive generations, and rules over them by his power, providence, and grace:
I the Lord, the first, and with the last; I am he; the immutable Jehovah, the everlasting I AM, the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the ending, the first and the last; all which is said of Christ, and is the person here speaking, Re 1:8, phrases expressive of his eternity and deity; he is the first and the last in God’s thoughts, purposes, and decrees; in the covenant of grace; in the creation of all things; in the salvation, justification, sanctification, adoption, and glorification of his people; and in the church, above and below:
and with the last, may be understood either of the last generations God is with, and calls as well as the first, as De Dieu; or of all believers, with whom he shall be and they with him to all eternity, so Gussetius l. Now the conversion of the Apostle Paul, his commission to preach the Gospel, the extraordinary qualifications he was endowed with, the wonderful things done by him, in the conversion of sinners, and planting of churches in the Gentile world, and towards the abolition of Paganism in it, are incontestable proofs of the deity of Christ; no mere creature could ever have raised up, such a man, and accomplished him in such a manner, or wrought such things by him.
k “ille qui vocat vel vocavit generationes ab inito”, Munster, Tigurine version. So some in Vatablus. l Comment. Ebr. p. 29.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The great fact of the present time, which not one of the gods of the heathen can boast of having brought to pass, is now explained. Jehovah is its author. “Who hath wrought and executed it? He who calleth the generations of men from the beginning, I Jehovah am first, and with the last am I He.” The synonyms and are distinguished from each other in the same way as “to work” (or bring about) and “to realize” (or carry out). Hence the meaning is, Who is the author to whom both the origin and progress of such an occurrence are to be referred? It is He who “from the beginning,” i.e., ever since there has been a human history, has called into existence the generations of men through His authoritative command. And this is no other than Jehovah, who can declare of Himself, in contrast with the heathen and their gods, who are of yesterday, and tomorrow will not be: I am Jehovah, the very first, whose being precedes all history; and with the men of the latest generations yet to come “I am it.” is not introduced here to strengthen the subject, ego ille “I and no other,” as in Isa 37:16, which see); but, as in Isa 43:10, Isa 43:13; Isa 56:4; Isa 48:12, it is a predicate of the substantive clause, ego sum is ( ille ), viz., ‘Elohm ; or even as in Psa 102:28 (cf., Job 3:19 and Heb 13:8), ego sum idem (Hitzig). They are both included, without any distinction in the assertion. He is this, viz., God throughout all ages, and is through all ages He, i.e., the Being who is ever the same in this His deity. It is the full meaning of the name Jehovah which is unfolded here; for God is called Jehovah as the absolute I, the absolutely free Being, pervading all history, and yet above all history, as He who is Lord of His own absolute being, in revealing which He is purely self-determined; in a word, as the unconditionally free and unchangeably eternal personality.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
4. Who hath appointed? Although Isaiah has exhibited in this passage nothing more than the example of Abraham, yet he undoubtedly intended to remind the people of all the benefits which the fathers had received in ancient times; as if he had said, “Call to remembrance what is your origin, whence I raised up your father Abraham, by what path I led him; and yet this was not the termination of my favors, for since that time I have never ceased to enrich you with every kind of blessings.” When he asks therefore who he is, he does not speak merely of a single performance, but adds other benefits, which followed at various times, and which the people ought also to remember.
Calling the nations from the beginning. This must relate to the constant succession of ages. In the Hebrew language דור (dor) means not only “an age,” or the duration of human life, but the men who lived at that time. Thus one generation is distinguished from another, as fathers from their children, and grandchildren from their grandfathers; for posterity will call us the former generation, and will call our ancestors a generation more remote and ancient. Again, because any one age would consume mankind, if it were not renewed by offspring, the Prophet shows that God multiplies men by an uninterrupted course, so that they succeed each other. Hence it follows, that he presides over all ages, that we may not think that this world is governed by chance, while the providence of God is clearly seen in the succession of ages. But because, in consequence of various changes, the world appears to revolve by blind impulse, the Prophet declares by these words that those manifold events were known “from the beginning”’ of the world, which amounts to this, that amidst that variety which time brings, God reigns, and accomplishes by a uniform course what he decreed from the beginning.
I Jehovah. At length he asserts more plainly that God is the author of these blessings, that Abraham conquered enemies, (Gen 14:16,) that he lived among wicked men without suffering harm, that he put kings to flight, (Psa 105:14,) that the Lord avenged him, when Abimelech (Gen 20:18) and also Pharaoh (Gen 12:17) had violently seized his wife. Besides, he shows that it ought to be ascribed to him, that other blessings of various kinds had been bestowed on every generation; for his power had been manifested not only to the race of Abraham, but to the whole world.
Am the first, and likewise with the last. This relates not only to the eternity of essence, but to the government which he exercises on earth; as if he had said, that God does not grow old by any length of time, and never will surrender his authority; for he does not sit unemployed in heaven, but from his throne, on the contrary, he regulates the affairs of this world. But although the world put in his place an innumerable crowd of gods, yet he declares that he sustains no loss, because he will always continue to be like himself.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(4) I the Lord . . .The words are the utterance of the great thought of eternity which is the essence of the creed of Israel (comp. Exo. 3:14; Psa. 90:2; Psa. 102:26), and appear in the Alpha and Omega of Rev. 1:11; Rev. 4:8. The identical formula, I am He meets us in Isa. 43:10; Isa. 43:13; Isa. 46:4; Isa. 48:12. It is probably used as an assertion of an eternal being in the I AM of Joh. 8:58.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
4. Who hath wrought and done it That is, hath raised up such a conqueror, and from the beginning, from the far past, has had the fact predicted? With august authority the Lord claims himself as the sole author.
I the Lord, the first, and with the last “The first,” before any other being existed: “with the last,” or to the last, in all the movements of history.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Isa 41:4 Who hath wrought and done [it], calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I [am] he.
Ver. 4. Who hath wrought and done it? ] Here the Gentiles should have answered for God, which because they did not, but were senselessly silent, therefore he answereth by a description of himself.
Calling the generations from the beginning.
I the Lord, the first, and with the last.
a De Leg., lib. iv.
b Virgil.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
the LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4.
the first, and . . . last. Occurs here and Isa 44:6; Isa 48:12. Thus, three times in Isaiah, and three times in the Apocalypse (Rev 1:17; Rev 2:8; Rev 22:13).
with the last: i.e. He who called Abraham, the first, will be with the last (Messiah), Who is the subject of this prophecy.
I am he: or, I AM.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
hath: Isa 41:26, Isa 40:12, Isa 40:26, Isa 42:24
calling: Isa 44:7, Isa 46:10, Isa 48:3-7, Deu 32:7, Deu 32:8, Act 15:18, Act 17:26
I the Lord: Isa 43:10, Isa 44:6, Isa 48:12, Rev 1:11, Rev 1:17, Rev 2:8, Rev 22:13
with the: Isa 46:3, Isa 46:4, Mat 1:23, Mat 28:20
Reciprocal: Num 23:23 – What hath Deu 32:39 – even I Job 15:25 – strengtheneth Isa 41:27 – first Mat 14:27 – it Heb 1:11 – thou Heb 13:8 – General 1Jo 1:1 – That which Rev 1:4 – him Rev 1:8 – Alpha
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
THE FIRST, AND WITH THE LAST
I the Lord, the first, and with the last; I am He.
Isa 41:4
I. Look at God in His primary relation to His creature.I the Lord, first. Understand clearly that everything which is was first an idea in the mind of God. Thence, by a creative act, it came forth and took form and being. So God was First, long before all His worksas the mould is before the castings. Here is the truth and glory of predestination, that great argument of all comfort. It places God far away, beyond our little horizon, in advance of everything. Whatever is, is to fulfil its preordained purpose; each thing coming up and rising in its turn; everything a reflection of the eternal love, care, and wisdom, which dwelt from everlasting in the mind of God.
II. With the last.God is the God of the years that are past. There are those who say, This world is on the decline and growing worse. Can it be, if He Who was first is with the lastthe same God yesterday, to-day, and for ever, the equal portion of all times? Is it not sufficient argument? The golden age cannot be over. From the fleeting and the changing, from the disappointing and the dying, I yearn to ask, Where is the true? Where is that which my soul wants, and for which my restless spirit has so long been craving? what shall satisfy my immortality? And the answer comes, as a whisper in the desert, louder and clearer from the solitude of my hearts waste places, I the Lord, the first, and with the last; I am He.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Isa 41:4-6. Who hath done it? Whose work was this but mine? Calling the generations Calling them out of nothing; giving them breath and being; disposing and employing them as I see fit: from the beginning All persons and generations of mankind from the beginning of the world. I the Lord, the first, &c. Who was before all things, even from eternity, and shall be unto eternity: the isles saw it, and feared Even remote countries discerned the mighty work of God in delivering his people, and overthrowing their enemies in so wonderful a manner, and were afraid lest they should be involved in the same calamity. The ends of the earth drew near and came They gathered themselves together to consult for their common safety, and to maintain the cause of their idols, which, by this instance, they perceived to be in great jeopardy. They helped every one his neighbour They encouraged and assisted one another in their idolatrous practices. Remote countries, says Lowth, were astonished at the sudden rise of the conqueror Cyrus, and joined in an alliance to check his growing greatness, just as several artificers that are concerned in the trade of idol- making assist one another in carrying on their common interest, and stir up the zeal of others in defence of image-worship: see Act 19:25. Or, according to others, the prophet describes in these verses the vain and fruitless attempt of idolaters to hinder the effect of Cyruss appearance, namely, the demolition of Babylon and its idols. The passage maybe also fitly applied to the heathen powers combining together to support idolatry, and suppress the Christian religion.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
41:4 Who hath wrought and done [it], calling the {d} generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the {e} first, and with the last; I [am] he.
(d) Who has created man and maintained his succession.
(e) Though the world set up many gods, yet they diminish nothing of my glory: for I am all one, unchangeable, which have ever been and will be for ever.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The Lord has always been the one who has called forth such conquerors to carry out His will in the world. The military history of the world is simply the outworking of God’s sovereign plan. As A. T. Pierson used to say, "History is His story." God is the ultimate strategist who controls history. It has always been so, and it will always be so, because no other god preceded Yahweh, neither will any other succeed Him. He has no genealogy (cf. Joh 8:58; Joh 18:5; Rev 1:8; Rev 1:17; Rev 22:13).