Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 48:19
Thy seed also had been as the sand, and the offspring of thy bowels like the gravel thereof; his name should not have been cut off nor destroyed from before me.
19. as the sand ] A common comparison; see ch. Isa 10:22; Gen 22:17; Hos 1:10 &c.
like the gravel thereof ] Lit. the grains thereof. The word used resembles a fem. plur. of that which immediately precedes (“bowels”); hence some commentators translate “the entrails thereof” (i.e. the fishes), taking as antecedent of the pronoun the word “sea” in the previous verse (see R.V. marg.). It would be better to explain it at once of the “entrails” of the sand (i.e. worms), for which indeed there is said to be a Syriac parallel (see Payne Smith, Thesaurus, col. 2185). But both comparisons alike are prosaic and unnatural. The word is no doubt identical with the Aramaic m‘h, “kernel” (generally used of a small coin).
his name &c. ] its name (that of the “seed”) should not be cut off &c.
20, 21 (cf. ch. Isa 52:11-12) form the lyrical conclusion of this division of the prophecy. In anticipation of this second exodus of Israel, the prophet puts a song of praise in the mouth of the redeemed exiles.
flee ye from the Chaldeans ] or “from Chalda” (see on Isa 47:1). The verb flee probably means no more than “hasten” (see ch. Isa 52:12).
with a voice of singing tell this ] The exiles’ shout of joy is a revelation to the world of the greatness of the God of Israel.
utter it ] Lit. “send it forth,” as in ch. Isa 42:1.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Thy seed also – Instead of being reduced to a small number by the calamities incident to war, and being comparatively a small and powerless people sighing in captivity, you would have been a numerous and mighty nation. This is another of the blessings which would have followed from obedience to the commands of God; and it proves that a people who are virtuous and pious will become numerous and mighty. Vice, and the diseases, the wars, and the divine judgments consequent on vice, tend to depopulate a nation, and to make it feeble.
As the sand – This is often used to denote a great and indefinite number (Gen 22:17; Gen 32:12; Gen 41:49; Jos 11:4; Jdg 7:12; 1Sa 13:5; 2Sa 17:11; 1Ki 4:20-29; Job 29:18; Psa 139:18; the note at Isa 10:22; Hos 1:10; Rev 20:8).
And the offspring of thy bowels – On the meaning of the word used here, see the note at Isa 22:24.
Like the gravel thereof – literally, and the offspring of thy bowels shall be like its bowels, that is, like the offspring of the sea. The phrase refers probably rather to the fish of the sea, or the innumerable multitudes of animals that swim in the sea, than to the gravel. There is no place where the word means gravel. Jerome, however, renders it, Ut lapili ejus – As its pebbles. The Septuagint hos ho chous tes ges – As the dust of the earth. The Chaldee also renders it, As the stones of the sea; and the Syriac also. The sense is essentially the same that the number of the people of the nation would have been vast.
His name should not have been out off – This does not imply of necessity that they had ceased to be a nation when they were in Babylon, but the meaning is, that if they had been, and would continue to be, obedient, their national existence would have been perpetuated to the end of time. When they ceased to be a distinct nation, and their name was blotted out among the kingdoms of the earth, it was for national crime and unbelief Rom 11:20.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 19. Like the gravel thereof – “Like that of the bowels thereof”] betseetsaey meey haiyam vehem haddagim; “As the issue of the bowels of the sea; that is, fishes.” – Salom. ben Melec. And so likewise Aben Ezra, Jarchi, Kimchi, &c.
His name – “Thy name”] For shemo, “his name,” the Septuagint had in the copy from which they translated shimcha, “thy name.”
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Thy seed also had been as the sand, to wit, for multitude, according to my promise made to Abraham; whereas now I have, for thy sins, made thee to know my breach of promise, as is said. Num 14:34, and greatly diminished thy numbers.
The offspring of thy bowels; which come out of thy bowels, or belly, or loins; for all these are but various expressions of the same thing.
His name; which is continued in a mans posterity, and commonly dies with them; and so the name here is the same thing in effect with the seed and offspring in the former clauses, which, for the most part, are only the memorials of men, and of their names, when they are dead and gone.
Should not have been cut off, as now it hath been in a great measure; and should have been totally and finally cut off, if I had not spared them for my own names sake, as he said before.
From before me; or, out of my sight; out of their own land, the place of my special presence and residence.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
19. sandretaining themetaphor of “the sea” (Isa48:18).
like the gravelthereofrather, as the Hebrew, “like that (theoffspring) of its (the sea’s) bowels”; referring to thecountless living creatures, fishes, c., of the sea, rather than thegravel [MAURER]. JEROME,Chaldee, and Syriac support English Version.
his name . . . cutofftransition from the second person, “thy,” to thethird “his.” Israel’s name was cut off “as a nation”during the Babylonish captivity also it is so now, to which theprophecy especially looks (Ro11:20).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Thy seed had also been as the sand,…. Upon the sea shore, as numerous as that, as was promised to Abraham, Ge 22:17:
and the offspring of thy bowels as the gravel thereof; that is, of the sand; the little stones that are in it, which lie in great numbers on the sea shore; the same thing expressed in different words, denoting the number of their posterity, as it would have been, had they received the Messiah, his doctrines and ordinances: it may be rendered, “and the offspring”, or “those that go out of thy bowels”, that spring from thee, are born of thee, “as the bowels thereof” q, that is, of the sea; as what is within it, particularly the fishes of it, which are innumerable; and so Aben Ezra and Jarchi interpret it; and which sense is mentioned by Kimchi and Ben Melech:
his name should not have been cut off nor destroyed from before me: the name of Israel, as the Targum has it; the name of the people of the Jews is no more in the land where they dwelt; they are cut off as a nation; their city and temple are destroyed, where they appear no more before the Lord; which would not have been, had they hearkened to the Messiah, embraced his truths, and been obedient to his commands.
q “sicut viscera ejus”, Montanus; “interiora maris”; Munster.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
19. Thy seed would have been as the sand. This also relates to a happy life, when progeny is multiplied, by whose aid the labors of the old are alleviated, and which “resists the adversaries in the gate.” The Psalmist compares such children to “arrows shot by a strong hand,” and pronounces him to be “blessed who hath his quiver full of them;” that is, who has a large number of such children. (Psa 127:4.)
When he mentions sand, he appears to allude to the promise which was made to Abraham,
“
I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand which is on the sea-shore.” (Gen 22:17.)
And he repeats the same sentiment in various words; according to the usage of the Hebrew writings, substituting children for “seed,” and small stones for “sand.” In a word, he shews that the people prevented God from causing them to enjoy the fruit of that promise.
His name would not have been cut off. Coming down to the interruption of this favor, he next reproaches them in more direct terms with having sought for dispersion, after having been miraculously collected by the hand of God; for by the word name he means the lawful condition of the people, which would always have flourished, if the blessing had not been tumed aside front its course. What he says about the people having been “cut off,” must be understood to refer to the land of Canaan, from which the people of God had been cast out, and thus appeared to have been thrust out of their Father’s house; for the Temple, of which they were deprived, was a symbol of God’s presence, and the land itself was a pledge or earnest of a blessed inheritance. Being driven into captivity, therefore, the people appeared to have been cut off and banished from the presence of God, and had no token of the divine assistance, if the Lord had not soothed their affliction by those promises. Now, we ought carefully to observe this distress, that, when they had been banished into a distant country, they had no temple, or sacrifices, or religious assemblies; for they who in the present day have no form of a Church, (241) no use of sacraments, and no administration of the word, ought to look upon themselves as being in some measure cast out from the presence of God, and should learn to desire, and continually to ask by earnest prayer, the restoration of the Church.
(241) “ Nulle forme d’Eglise.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(19) Like the gravel thereof.Literally, as the bowels thereof, i.e., as that within the bowels of the sand, the living creatures that swarm in countless myriads in the sea. The two verses utter the sigh which has come from the heart of all true teachers as they contemplate the actual state of men and compare it with what might have been. (Comp. Deu. 32:29-30; Luk. 19:42.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Isa 48:19 Thy seed also had been as the sand, and the offspring of thy bowels like the gravel thereof; his name should not have been cut off nor destroyed from before me.
Ver. 19. Thy seed also had been as the sand. ] As was promised to Abraham, and performed to his posterity; such a there is in godliness, and in doing of God’s commandments so great reward.
His name should not have been cut off.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
as the sand. Reference to Pentateuch (Gen 22:17; Gen 32:12).
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
seed: Isa 10:22, Gen 13:16, Gen 22:17, Jer 33:22, Hos 1:10, Rom 9:27
his name: Isa 48:9, Isa 9:14, Isa 14:22, Jos 7:9, Rth 4:10, 1Ki 9:7, Psa 9:5, Psa 109:13, Zep 1:4
Reciprocal: Lev 26:3 – General Deu 12:25 – that it Deu 32:29 – O that 1Sa 13:5 – as the sand 1Ch 21:3 – The Lord Heb 11:12 – as the sand
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
48:19 Thy seed also had been as the sand, and the offspring of thy body like its gravel; his {x} name should not have been cut off nor destroyed from before me.
(x) That is, the prosperous estate of Israel.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Israel could also have enjoyed the blessings promised to Abraham more fully, and sooner, than she has. Israel’s identity as a nation among other nations ceased because of her sin, but her identity as the chosen people of God did not. This verse does not teach that the future fulfillment of the promises to Abraham was contingent on Israel’s obedience. God gave those promises unconditionally (cf. Gen 12:1-3; Gen 12:7; Gen 15:5; Gen 22:17). It does reflect that the present enjoyment of those benefits depended on her obedience (cf. Deuteronomy 28-29).