Inflaming yourselves with idols under every green tree, slaying the children in the valleys under the clefts of the rocks?
Inflaming yourselves – Burning, that is, with lust. The whole language here is derived from adulterous intercourse. The sense is, that they were greatly addicted to idolatry, and that they used every means to increase and extend the practice of it. The Vulgate, however, renders this, Who console yourselves. The Septuagint renders it, Invoking ( parakalountes) idols. But the proper meaning of the Hebrew word chamam is, to become warm; to be inflamed, or to burn as with lust.
With idols – Margin, Among the oaks. Hebrew, ba’elym. Vulgate, In diis – With the gods. Septuagint, Eidola – Idols. So the Chaldee and Syriac. The Hebrew may denote with gods, that is, with idol-gods; or it may denote, as in the margin, among the oaks, or the terebinth groves, from ‘eyl, plural ‘eylym, or ‘elym (the terebinth). See the word explained in the note at Isa 1:29. Kimchi and Jarchi here render it by the terebinth tree. Lowth renders it, Burning with the lust of idols; and probably this is the correct interpretation, for, if it had meant oaks or the terebinth tree, the phrase would have been under ( tachath) instead of in or with ( b).
Under every green tree – (See the notes at Isa 1:29; compare Deu 22:2; 2Ki 17:10; 2Ch 28:4).
Slaying the children – That is, sacrificing them to the idol-gods. This was commonly done by burning them, as when they were offered to Moloch, though it is not improbable that they were sometimes sacrificed in other ways. It was a common custom among the worshippers of Moloch. Thus it is said of Ahaz 2Ch 28:3, that he burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire. The same thing is said of Manasseh, to whose time the prophet most probably refers. And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom (2Ch 33:6; compare Jer 7:31). The same thing was practiced in the countries of the Babylonian empire 2Ki 17:31, and from Deu 12:31, it is evident that it was commonly practiced by pagan nations. The Phenicians, according to Eusebius (Praep. Evan. iv. 16), and the Carthagenians, according to Diodorus Siculus (xx. 14), practiced it.
In the valleys – The place where these abominations were practiced by the Jews was the valley of the son of Hinnom (see the references above); that is, the valley of Jehoshaphat, lying to the south and the southeast of Jerusalem. A large hollow, brass statue was erected, and the fire was enkindled within it, and the child was placed in his heated arms, and thus put to death. The cries of the child were drowned by the music of the toph, or kettle-drums (see the notes at Isa 5:12, where this instrument is fully described), and hence, the name of the valley was Tophet.
Under the clefts of the rocks – Dark and shady groves, and deep and sombre caverns were the places where the abominable rites of the pagan superstitions were practiced (compare the notes at Isa 11:1).
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Inflaming yourselves with idols, Heb. Being inflamed, &c.; lusting after them, and mad upon them, as the phrase is, Jer 50:38; fervent both in making and in worshipping of them, as was observed, Isa 44:12, &c. It is a metaphor borrowed from whoredom, to which idolatry is oft compared.
Under every green tree; wheresoever you see an idol erected, which was commonly done in groves, or under great and shady trees, which both defended the worshippers from the heat of the sun, and were supposed to strike them with a kind of sacred horror and reverence. See Poole “Deu 12:2“; See Poole “2Ki 16:4“; See Poole “2Ki 17:10“.
Slaying the children, in way of sacrifice to their idols, after the manner of the barbarous heathens; of which see on Lev 18:21; Deu 12:31; 2Ki 21:6; 23:10.
In the valleys; or, beside the brooks, which run in the valleys; which was most commodious for such bloody work. He seems to allude to the valley of Hinnom, in which these cruelties were practised, Jer 7:31, through which also the brook Kidron is supposed to have run.
Under the clifts of the rocks; which they chose either for shade, or for those dark vaults and hollow places which were either by nature or art made in rocks, and which were convenient for and frequently appointed to idolatrous uses.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
5. Enflaming yourselvesburningwith lust towards idols [GESENIUS];or else (compare Margin), in the terebinth groves,which the Hebrew and the parallelism favor (see on Isa1:29) [MAURER].
under . . . tree (2Ki17:10). The tree, as in the Assyrian sculptures, was probablymade an idolatrous symbol of the heavenly hosts.
slaying . . . childrenasa sacrifice to Molech, c. (2Ki 17:312Ch 28:3; 2Ch 33:6).
in . . . valleysthevalley of the son of Hinnom. Fire was put within a hollow brazenstatue, and the child was put in his heated arms; kettle drums(Hebrew, toph) were beaten to drown the child’s cries; whencethe valley was called Tophet (2Ch 33:6;Jer 7:3).
under . . . cliftsthegloom of caverns suiting their dark superstitions.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Inflaming yourselves with idols under every green tree,…. Or, “inflamed with or among oaks” h; with images made of oaken wood, such as the Papists worship, Re 9:20 expressing a burning zeal for their idols, and being as hot upon them, as impure persons burn in lust one towards another: or “with mighty ones” i; the kings and potentates of the earth, with whom the whore of Rome commits her fornication, even in every flourishing kingdom and state in Europe, compared to a green tree; alluding to the custom of the Heathens, who used to set up their idols under green trees and groves, and there worship them, which were pleasing to the flesh; and I wish, says Musculus on the text, there were no instances of this kind in the Papacy.
Slaying the children in the valleys, under the clifts of the rocks? this may refer to the cruelty of these idolatrous worshippers; for, as they burn with zeal to their idols, so with rage against those that oppose their idolatrous practices, not sparing men, women, and children; and such butcheries have been committed in many places, and especially in the “valleys” of Piedmont; nor could the cragged rocks secure them from their falling a sacrifice unto them. Or it may intend the ruining and destroying the souls of such, who, before they fell into their hands, were innocent as children, by their superstitious worship and idolatry, committed in low and dark places, under cragged rocks, and in caves and dens; such as the above mentioned commentator speaks of, a very dark one, under a prominent rock, in which the ignorant and unhappy people, some time ago, worshipped and invoked a certain blessed saint, he knew not who, which could scarce be looked into without horror; and such was the cave in which they worshipped the angel Michael.
h “inflammati inter quercus”, Gataker; “incalescentes, [vel] incalescitis inter quercus, [vel] ulmos”, Vatablus. i “In potentibus”, Cocceius.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The participles which follow in the next v. are in apposition to , and confirm the predicates already applied to them. They soon give place, however, to independent sentences. “Ye that inflame yourselves by the terebinths, under every green tree, ye slayers of children in the valleys under the clefts of the rocks. By the smooth ones of the brook was thy portion; they, they were thy lot: thou also pouredst out libations to them, thou laidst meat-offerings upon them. Shall I be contented with this?” The people of the captivity are addressed, and the idolatry handed down to them from their ancestors depicted. The prophet looks back from the standpoint of the captivity, and takes his colours from the time in which he himself lived, possibly from the commencement of Manasseh’s reign, when the heathenism that had for a long time been suppressed burst forth again in all its force, and the measure of iniquity became full. The part. niphal is formed like in Jer 22:23, if the latter signifies miserandum esse . The primary form is , which is doubled like from in Job 20:28, and from which is formed by the resolution of the latent reduplication. Stier derives it from; but even if formed from this, would still have to be explained from , after the form . ‘Elm signifies either gods or terebinths. But although it might certainly mean idols, according to Exo 15:11; Dan 11:36 (lxx, Targ., and Jerome), it is never used directly in this sense, and Isaiah always uses the word as the name of a tree (Isa 1:29; Isa 61:3). The terebinths are introduced here, exactly as in Isa 1:29, as an object of idolatrous lust: “who inflame themselves with the terebinths;” denotes the object with which the lust is excited and inf Lamed. The terebinth ( ‘elah ) held the chief place in tree-worship (hence , lit., oak-trees, together with , is the name of one of the Phoenician gods),
(Note: See Levy, Phnizische Studien, i. 19.)
possibly as being the tree sacred to Astarte; just as the Samura Acacia among the heathen Arabs was the tree sacred to the goddess ‘ Uzza.
(Note: Krehl, Religioin der vorisl. Araber, p. 74ff.)
The following expression, “under every green tree,” is simply a permutative of the words “with the terebinths” in the sense of “with the terebinths, yea, under every green tree” (a standing expression from Deu 12:2 downwards) – one tree being regarded as the abode and favourite of this deity, and another of that, and all alluring you to your carnal worship.
From the tree-worship with its orgies, which was so widely spread in antiquity generally, the prophet passes to the leading Canaanitish abomination, viz., human sacrifices, which had been adopted by the Israelites (along with we find the false reading , which is interpreted as signifying self-abuse). Judging from the locality named, “under the clefts of the rocks,” the reference is not to the slaying of children sacrificed to Moloch in the valley of Hinnom, but to those offered to Baal upon his bamoth or high places (Jer 19:5; Eze 16:20-21; Hos 13:2; Psa 106:37-38). As we learn from the chronique scandaleuse many things connected with the religious history of Israel, which cannot be found in its historical books, there is nothing to surprise us in the stone-worship condemned in Isa 57:6. The dagesh of is in any case dagesh dirimens. The singular is wither after the form (cf., , Isa 58:3), or after the form . But , smoothness, never occurs; and the explanation, “in the smoothnesses, i.e., the smooth places of the valley, is thy portion,” has this also against it, that it does not do justice to the connection , in which the preposition is not used in a local sense, and that it leaves the emphatic quite unexplained. The latter does not point to places, but to objects of worship for which they had exchanged Jehovah, of whom the true Israelite could say , Psa 119:57, etc., or , Jos 22:25, and (Thou art He that maintaineth my lot), Psa 16:5. The prophet had such expressions as these in his mind, and possibly also the primary meaning of = , which may be gathered from the rare Arabic word ‘garal , gravel, stones worn smooth by rolling, when he said, “In the smooth ones of the valley is thy portion; they, they are thy lot.” In the Arabic also, achlaq (equilvaent to c halaq , smooth, which forms here a play upon the word with , c halaq ) is a favourite word for stones and rocks. , however, according to 1Sa 17:40 (where the intensive form , like , is used), are stones which the stream in the valley has washed smooth with time, and rounded into a pleasing shape. The mode of the worship, the pouring out of libations,
(Note: Compare the remarks made in the Comm. on the Pentateuch, at Gen 29:20, on the heathen worship of anointed stones, and the Baetulian worship.)
and the laying of meat-offerings upon them, confirm this view. In Carthage such stones were called abbadires (= , ); and among the ancient Arabs, the asnam or idols consisted for the most part of rude blocks of stone of this description. Herodotus (3:8) speaks of seven stones which the Arabs anointed, calling upon the god Orotal. Suidas ( s.v. ) states that the idol of Ares in Petra was a black square stone; and the black stone of the Ka’aba was, according to a very inconvenient tradition for the Mohammedans, an idol of Saturn ( zuhal ).
(Note: See Krehl, p. 72. In the East Indies also we find stone-worship not only among the Vindya tribes (Lassen, A.K. i. 376), but also among the Vaishnavas, who worship Vishnu in the form of a stone, viz., the salagram , a kind of stone from the river Gandak (see Wilson’s Sanscrit Lexicon s.h.v. and Vishnu – Purn, p. 163). The fact of the great antiquity of stone and tree worship has been used in the most ridiculous manner by Dozy in his work on the Israelites at Mecca (1864). He draws the following conclusion from Deu 32:18: “Thus the Israelites sprang from a divine block of stone; and this is, in reality, the true old version of the origin of the nation.” From Isa 51:1-2, he infers that Abraham and Sara were not historical persons at all, but that the former was a block of stone, and the latter a hollow; and that the two together were a block of stone in a hollow, to which divine worship was paid. “This fact,” he says, “viz. that Abraham and Sarah in the second Isaiah are not historical persons, but a block of stone and a hollow, is one of great worth, as enabling us to determine the time at which the stories of Abraham in Genesis were written, and to form a correct idea of the spirit of those stories.”)
Stone-worship of this kind had been practised by the Israelites before the captivity, and their heathenish practices had been transmitted to the exiles in Babylon. The meaning of the question, Shall I comfort myself concerning such things? – i.e., Shall I be contented with them ( niphal, not hithpael)? – is, that it was impossible that descendants who so resembled their fathers should remain unpunished.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
5. Inflaming yourselves. Others render it, “Taking delight” or “consolation;” but the Prophet makes use of a metaphor which is often found in Scripture, and which is exceedingly adapted to the present subject; for the Lord compares the ardor by which idolaters are hurried along to the love of a harlot, by which poor wretched men are inflamed so as to be transported with blind eagerness. (Jer 3:1; Hos 2:2) Idolaters have no moderation, and do not permit themselves to be reclaimed from their madness by any arguments. In the sight of God idolatry is a very base kind of fornication.
Under the oaks, or, with the gods. Some translate אלים ( elim) “gods,” and others “oaks.” (109) I leave every one at liberty to adopt either reading; for the meaning will always be the same, and commentators are agreed that the Prophet condemns idolatry. I do not dispute, therefore, about the reading; though it is probable that the same thing is twice repeated, in accordance with the practice of Hebrew writers, in a particular and in a general form, and yet that the Prophet, by means of an ambiguous word, alludes to “the gods.”
Sacrificing children. Here he bears still harder on the Jews, and shows that they are not the true seed of Abraham; seeing that they pollute themselves with superstitions of every kind. In consequence of the delight which the Jews took in such practices, he exposes their vileness. “You shelter yourselves, indeed, under the name of religion, but I declare that you commit fornication with idols.” In this manner it was proper to expose and freely to point out that wickedness which base and malicious men endeavor to cloak under various pretenses; and thus the Prophet boldly discharges his duty by summoning men to the judgmentseat of God, and holding them to be guilty, though they wish to take every method of excusing themselves. He shows that they are treacherous, and have departed from the law of God by abominable idolatry, and mentions one kind of shocking and even accursed and monstrous worship; namely, the “sacrificing of children,” from which it is very evident how powerful is the spirit of error, when men have once turned aside from God. Satan seizes their minds (2Th 2:9) in such a manner that he drives them altogether to madness and rage. They who do not hesitate to slay their children, as if on the ground of its being a righteous sacrifice, must be in a state of furious madness.
And yet those cruel murderers of their children did not want some pretense; for they cloaked their crime under the example of Abraham, who did. not spare (Gen 22:16) his onlybegotten son; and the ancient Hebrew writers pronounce it to have been ( κακοζηλία) a wicked imitation “If we are Abraham’s descendants, we ought not to spare our children.” But Abraham did this (Gen 22:2) by the command of God; while they did it of their own accord, and without God’s command. It was an extraordinary example, by which the Lord intended to try and attest Abraham’s faith. Besides, Isaac was not sacrificed; for the Lord was satisfied with Abraham’s cheerful and ready will. (Gen 22:12) They slew their children. It was, therefore, a perverse and damnable imitation, for they differed widely from their father This should be carefully observed; for a large portion of superstitions has proceeded from this source of ( κακοζηλία) wicked imitation. Men have rashly and without discrimination seized on everything that was done by the fathers.
(109) See Commentary on Isaiah, Vol. 1, p. 84, n. 1.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(5) Enflaming yourselves.The best illustration of the phrase is found in the real or supposed derivation of fanatic as meaning one who is circa fana calefactus. No word could better describe the orgiastic excitement of heathen rites. For with idols read among the terebinths, which were prominent, with other trees, in the groves dedicated to idol-worship (Hos. 4:13; Eze. 6:13).
Under every green tree is almost a stereotyped formula in this connection (Deu. 12:2; 1Ki. 14:23; Jer. 2:20), the tree itself becoming a direct object of the cultus.
Slaying the children in the valleys . . .This had been done by Ahaz (2Ch. 28:3). It was perfectly natural that it should be done by Manasseh. There is not the slightest trace of the revival of the practice among the exiles in Babylon or after their return. The scenery describedthe torrent-stream, the clefts of the rockbelongs distinctively to Palestine.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
5, 6. More closely scrutinizing their case, the prophet puts it as it is.
Inflaming yourselves As near as can be ascertained from lexicon, grammar, and ancient usages in Palestine connected with idolatries, these words imply burning with libidinous desires; adulterous practices characterized the exercises of the worship of idols.
Under every green tree Groves of terebinths, a species of live oak, were planted in localities set apart for idol worship and lust, usually on big hills, often the highest in northern and middle Palestine, where Baal worship was the most common. Then another form of this sin was the worship of Moloch, in the Hinnom vale southeast of Jerusalem. Children were here sacrificed, either by thrusting them into the furnace, or by slaughtering and then burning them. These extreme evils became most prevalent, probably, in Manasseh’s reign, though from earliest time in that land they may have been more or less practised.
Smooth stones Either rendered smooth by rushing waters in the brooks, or by oil poured upon them when reared into altars.
Did any exilian prophet write thus minutely of the scenery of hills, mountains, valleys, etc., peculiar chiefly to Palestine, and not at all to the level Chaldean plains? Difficulties of explanation arise mostly from neological interpreters trying to keep good this theory of an unknown prophet, and not Isaiah, as the writer.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Isa 57:5. Slaying the children, &c. It is generally agreed, that the prophet in these words alludes to some detestable superstitious rite made use of in his times in the worship of idols, which some refer particularly to the sacrifices offered to Moloch, for which the valley of Hinnom was remarkably infamous. But, whatever the reference be, the passage must be understood metaphorically of the superstition and cruelties practised in the period of the Christian church referred to.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Isa 57:5 Enflaming yourselves with idols under every green tree, slaying the children in the valleys under the clifts of the rocks?
Ver. 5. Inflaming yourselves with idols. ] That it might appear that there was good cause of so much sharpness, and that he did them no wrong. He painteth them out in their colours to the life: Incalescitis, id est, concumbitis; while ye commit folly and filthiness with your idols, ye are all “adulterers, as an oven heated by the baker; your baker sleepeth all the night, in the morning it burneth as a flaming fire.” Hos 7:4 ; Hos 7:6 And as the love of harlots is oft hotter than that of husband and wife, so superstition many times outdoeth true religion.
Slaying the children.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
with idols = with the sacred trees: i.e. the Asherahs. See App-42.
slaying the children. Reference to Pentateuch (Lev 18:21); to Molech (1Ki 11:7. 2Ki 17:16, 2Ki 17:17); or to Baal (Jer 19:5. Eze 16:20; Eze 23:39. Hos 13:1).
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Isa 57:5-10
Isa 57:5-8
“Ye that inflame yourselves among the oaks, under every green tree; that slay the children in the valleys, under the clefts of the rocks? Among the smooth stones of the valley is thy portion; they are thy lot; even to them hast thou poured a drink-offering, thou hast offered an oblation. Shall I be appeased for these things? Upon a high and lofty mountain hast thou set thy bed; thither also wentest thou up to offer sacrifice. And behind the doors and the posts hast thou set up thy memorial; for thou hast uncovered thyself to another than me, and art gone up; thou hast enlarged thy bed, and made thee a covenant with them: thou lovest their bed where thou sawest it.”
These verses are a description of the conduct of God’s people who forsook him and “went whoring” after false gods. Many commentators stress that this was “merely spiritual adultery”; but the truth is that, although it was indeed spiritual adultery, it was also actual adultery and fornication of the most perverted and shameful kind. The old fertility rites of Canaanite Baalism were as licentious, vulgar, sensuous and degrading as any conduct ever known.
“Ye that inflame yourselves …” (Isa 57:5). “This describes the excitement that attended the orgies which accompanied the celebration of heathen rites.” “The `memorial’ of Isa 57:8 was probably a phallic symbol.”
“Shall I be appeased for these things? …” (Isa 57:6). This is a positive statement made in the form of a question which is common in Hebrew; and it has the meaning of, “I will certainly not be appeased for these things.”
Notice the reference in Isa 57:7 to the “high and lofty mountain,” a geographical feature of Judah, not Babylon. It is this feature of these chapters that exploded the theory of “Two Isaiahs” and led to the invention of what Wardle called “Trito-Isaiah”; and, as noted in our Introduction to this prophecy, once the unity of Isaiah is denied, not two, nor three, but a dozen divisions will inevitably follow.
“Among the smooth stones of the valley …” (Isa 57:6). “Smooth stones, rounded by water-action were among the objects worshipped by many Semitic peoples; and they were worshipped with libations of wine and oil from their worshippers.” Some believe that the statues of the idol Molech were constructed of such smooth stones, that being the reason for the proximity of “slaying the children” (by which Molech was worshipped) and the “smooth stones of the valley” in adjacent Isa 57:5-6, in this passage. The Jews described in this chapter widely practiced the worship of Molech, some of their kings making their sons “pass through the fire to Molech,” as did Manasseh. “The Phoenicians, the Carthaginians, the Cretans and other pagan nations practiced this barbarous rite; and although some have attempted to deny that the children were actually burned to death, such passages as Psa 106:37-38; Jer 7:31; and Jer 19:5 prove that they were burned to death. It was practiced by the Jews in the valley of Hinnom (2 Chronicles 3; 2Ch 33:6); and as would appear from this text, in other valleys also.” Of course, there is absolutely nothing in the post-exilic history of the Jews that even remotely suggests the type of behavior described here.
Isa 57:9-10
“And thou wentest to the king with oil, and didst increase thy perfumes, and thou didst send thine ambassadors far off, and didst debase thyself even unto Sheol. Thou wast wearied with the length of thy way; yet saidest thou not It is in vain: thou didst find a quickening of thy strength; therefore thou wast not faint.”
“Thou wentest to the king …” (Isa 57:9). “The word here rendered `king’ is capable of being rendered `Molech,’ the savage old god of the Ammonites; and the passage indicates that many Jews had made him their “king” instead of Jehovah.
These verses stress two things: (1) the debasing of the people even unto Sheol by their shameless worship of pagan gods, and (2) their seeking foreign aid, instead of relying upon Jehovah. Also, Isa 57:10 indicates that they went far beyond their ordinary strength in such shameful activities.
Isa 57:6-8 PRESENT: The depravity of the rulers and leaders infected the whole nation. The smooth stones of the valley apparently are to be linked to the idolatry being practiced. Perhaps they were using these smooth stones to build altars (which in itself was forbidden; not even to Jehovah was an altar to be built anywhere except in Jerusalem) to pagan gods. They might have been using the smooth stones to chisel into images of Molech or other idols. The question of Jehovah through His prophet is, almost incredulous, Do you actually believe this is acceptable to Me, the Living God!? Worshiping rocks!? The worship of Molech (in Hebrew the word means, governing), god of the Ammonites, was best noted for its gross sexual orgies and sacrifice of children. It was already forbidden by Moses (Lev 18:21; Lev 20:1-5); allowed by Solomon to please his foreign wives (1Ki 11:7); principally worshipped in the valley of Hinnom (Gehenna) (2Ch 33:6). The words Moloch, Molech, Milcom (1Ki 11:5) and Malcam (Zep 1:5) are all variations of the same image. (See Minor Prophets, by Clinton Gill, College Press, pgs. 22-38; and Eze 16:20; Eze 23:37-39; Jer 7:9-11; Jer 7:31; Jer 19:4-13; Psa 106:35-42; for further information on the worship of Molech.)
Setting up a bed upon a high and lofty mountain indicates extensive and elaborate preparations were made by the Hebrews in order to engage in these Canaanite fertility-cult practices. There were special groves of trees, well-kept flower gardens and elaborately furnished temples high up in the hills of Jehovahs holy land where the men and women went to worship at the throne of flesh. Great amounts of labor and money were spent building and maintaining these whore-houses. The worship of flesh is not dead! Great amounts of labor and money are expended today to build and maintain modern sophisticated whore-houses. The Anglo-saxon fertility cult has its groves, prophets, priestesses, publishing-houses, and temples today in both America and Great Britain.
One might wonder how the Hebrew people could ever succumb to such gross depravity. They had the Law of Moses. They even copied some of those Laws and fastened them to the doorposts of their houses so they might be reminded constantly of Jehovahs presence and His revealed will. Verse eight tells the tragic story! These people had deliberately taken these memorials of scripture off their door-posts and hidden them behind the posts. Out of sight, out of mind! The Hebrew people had long ago rejected the word of God (2Ki 17:19; 2Ch 36:16; Amo 2:4, etc.). Incredibly, the books of the Law of the Lord had even been lost at one point in Judahs history (cf. 2Ki 22:8 ff). These people had prostituted themselves to pagan gods. What they were doing was no accident. It was not because they had been socially deprived, or because they were born in a ghetto. They voluntarily chose to uncover themselves to another. This is a figurative description of the intimacy with which they joined themselves to their idols. They really gave themselves to idolatry; they married their pagan gods (made . . . a covenant). That is not unique. People today marry their possessions, their jobs, their recreation. These Jews loved their idol-beds (orgies). They were not forced into idolatry.
Isa 57:9-10 PAST: Judahs past history was replete with instances of her kings and leaders going to pagan kings for help in bringing idolatry into the land of Jehovah (cf. 2Ki 16:10 ff; 2Ch 28:22 ff; Isa 30:1 ff; Amo 5:25-27, etc.). Ezekiels graphic parody of Judahs idolatry (spiritual adultery) pictures the nation, the bride of Jehovah, as an adulterous nymphomaniac! She did not play the part of a normal prostitute accepting pay for her adultery. She went after her lovers, paying them to practice spiritual harlotry with her (Eze 16:23-34)! Judah could not invent enough idolatry on her own-she had to send ambassadors to other nations to copy their idolatry for themselves. Sheol symbolized the grave, the place where human flesh rots. Graves were associated with that which was unclean according to the Mosaic Law. Isaiah declares Judah debased herself even unto rottenness, corruption and death by joining herself so intimately and wholly to idolatry.
Judah expended great effort, millions of shekels, and willingly allowed herself to be humiliated before pagan kings in her insatiable lust for idolatry. Judah wore herself out running after every opportunity to engage in it. Prophets likened Israels pursuit of idolatry to a wild ass in heat (cf. Jer 2:23-24; Hos 8:9 ff). Pursuing idolatry as Judah did was expensive, exhausting and debasing, but she never would admit the obvious: It is vain. As a matter of fact, she found a certain intoxication and exhilaration in it. Sin and rebellion is enticing because it intoxicates with a false sense of power. Man in rebellion against God falsely assumes an exhilarating sense of sovereignty. His brain, intoxicated with this false sovereignty, is philosophically and psychologically addled and he will not admit the stupidity of his rebellion. He floats in a fantasy-land of philosophical inebriation like the drunkard. He has a false sense of strength. This was Judah. She would not admit the stupidity of idolatry (cf. Isa 44:9-20) because she was inebriated with the indulgent pleasure and false sovereignty she felt in practicing it.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Enflaming: Exo 32:6, Num 25:1, Num 25:2, Num 25:6, Jer 50:38, Jer 51:7, Hos 4:11-13, Hos 7:4-7, Amo 2:7, Amo 2:8, Rev 17:1-5, Rev 18:3
with idols: or, among the oaks, Isa 1:29
under: Deu 12:2, 1Ki 14:23, 2Ki 16:3, 2Ki 16:4, 2Ki 17:10, Jer 2:20, Jer 3:6, Jer 3:13, Jer 17:2, Eze 6:13
slaying: Lev 18:21, Lev 20:2-5, 2Ki 16:3, 2Ki 23:10, 2Ch 28:3, Jer 7:31, Jer 32:35, Eze 16:20, Eze 20:26, Eze 20:31
Reciprocal: Psa 106:37 – they sacrificed Isa 2:8 – is full Isa 65:11 – prepare Jer 2:23 – valley Jer 2:34 – Also Eze 16:24 – and hast Eze 20:28 – they saw Hos 4:13 – sacrifice Zec 2:13 – for
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Isa 57:5-6. Inflaming yourselves with idols Hebrew, , being inflamed, or growing hot, after idols, as Dr. Waterland renders it. Lusting after them, and mad upon them, as the phrase is, Jer 50:38. Fervent, both in making and in worshipping them, as was observed Isa 44:12. Under every green tree Wherever you see an idol erected, which was commonly done in groves, or under great and shady trees, which defended the worshippers from the heat of the sun, and were supposed to strike them with a kind of sacred awe and reverence. Slaying the children In the way of sacrifice to your idols, after the manner of the barbarous heathen; in the valleys Or, beside the brooks which run in the valleys; which was most commodious for such bloody work. He seems to allude to the valley of Hinnom, in which these cruelties were practised, Jer 7:31. Under the clefts of the rocks Which they choose for shade, or those dark vaults in rocks, which were convenient for idolatrous uses. Among the smooth stones, &c, is thy portion Thou hast chosen for thy portion those idols, which were either made of those smooth stones, or were worshipped by the sides of brooks or rivers, where such smooth stones commonly lie. They are thy lot Thou hast forsaken me, and chosen idols. Thou hast offered a meat-offering For the devil is Gods ape, and idolaters use the same rites and offerings in the worship of idols, which God prescribed in his own worship. Should I receive comfort in these Should I be pleased with such a people, and with such actions? The Jews were extremely addicted to the practice of many superstitious and idolatrous rites, which the prophet here inveighs against. Of the worship of huge stones consecrated, there are many testimonies of the ancients. They were called and , probably from the stone which Jacob erected at Beth-el, pouring oil upon the top of it. The practice was very common in different ages and places. Bishop Lowth, who mentions divers instances of this foolish superstition.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
57:5 Inflaming yourselves with idols under every green tree, slaying the {d} children in the valleys under the clefts of the rocks?
(d) Read Lev 18:21, 2Ki 23:10 .
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
They were rebellious and deceitful in that they practiced fertility worship and child sacrifice. They believed connection with nature, rather than a spiritual relationship with the Creator, would yield fertility. They also believed that sacrificing the next generation would guarantee the preservation of the present generation. Of course, the opposite is true. God’s people burned with lust as they carried out these pagan rites in the places thought to be most conducive to their success. "Oaks" (terebinths, Heb. ’elim) may refer to large trees, not a particular variety of tree. These trees were the places and objects of idol worship. [Note: See The New Bible Dictionary, 1962 ed., s.v. "Trees," by F. N. Hepper.] How different a relationship with Yahweh based on trust would have been.