Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 7:25
And [on] all hills that shall be digged with the mattock, there shall not come thither the fear of briers and thorns: but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of lesser cattle.
25. a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings ] i.e. “silver shekels.” Schrader reckons the silver shekel as equal to about half-a-crown of our money, which would make the price of the vineyard about 125. But the estimate neglects the important element of variation in the purchasing power of money. The traveller Burckhardt, who found it the custom in Syria to estimate the value of a vineyard according to the number of vines, tells us that good vines are valued at less than three pence each.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
25. And on all hills mattock ] And as for all the hills that used to be hoed with the mattock. Such hills were the best sites for vineyards (ch. Isa 5:2).
there shall not come thither the fear ] This could only mean, in the present connexion, that there would be no more anxiety about thorns, &c., because the place was hopelessly overgrown by them. It is better to render with R.V. thou shalt not come thither for fear of, &c., although the construction is certainly harsh. Or the words might be taken as a continuation of the relative clause, thus: “And as for mattock, whither no fear of thorns, &c. used to come, it shall be, &c.” This is perhaps preferable.
for the sending forth of oxen ] i.e. a place where oxen are sent forth (cf. ch. Isa 32:20). the treading (ch. Isa 5:5) of lesser cattle (R.V. sheep).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And on all hills … – All the fertile places in the mountains that used to be cultivated with the spade. Vineyards were often planted on the sides of hills; and those places were among the most productive and fertile in the land; see Isa 5:1.
The mattock – The spade; the garden hoe; or the weeding-hook. An instrument chiefly used, probably, in vineyards.
There shall not come thither – There shall not be.
The fear of briers and thorns – This does not make sense; or if it does, it is not a sense consistent with the connection. The idea of the whole passage is, that the land, even the most fertile parts of it, should be given up to briers and thorns; that is, to desolation. The Hebrew here, is ambiguous. It may mean, thou shalt not come there, for fear of the briers and thorns. That is, the place that was formerly so fertile, that was cultivated with the spade, shall now be so completely covered with thorns, and shall furnish so convenient a resting place for wild beasts and reptiles, as to deter a man from going there. The Septuagint, and the Syriac, however, understand it differently – as denoting that those places should be still cultivated. But this is evidently a departure from the sense of the connection. Lowth understands it in the past tense; where the fear of briers and thorns never came. The general idea of the passage is plain, that those places, once so highly cultivated, would now be desolate.
Shall be for the sending forth … – Shall be wild, uncultivated, and desolate – vast commons on which oxen and sheep shall feed at large. Lesser cattle. Hebrew Sheep, or the flock. Sheep were accustomed to range in deserts and uncultivated places, and to obtain there, under the guidance of the shepherd, their subsistence. The description, therefore, in these verses, is one of extensive and wide desolation; and one that was accomplished in the calamities that came upon the land in the invasions by the Egyptians and Assyrians.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
That shall be digged; or, that were digged, to wit, formerly; that used to be digged and dressed for the planting of vines, or other choice fruit trees.
There shall not come thither the fear of briers and thorns: the words thus rendered sound like a promise, but that doth no way agree with the scope of the place. And they may be, and are by some, understood not of briers and thorns growing in those grounds, which would hinder the feeding of cattle there, but of such wherewith they were fenced, and by which the cattle were affrighted or hindered from breaking into them, which cause of their fear being now removed by the general devastation, they might now enter there, and feed at pleasure, as the next words imply. Or they may be rendered thus, as they are by a late learned interpreter,
that there might not come thither, & c., which is mentioned as the reason why they were digged and dressed, that they might be freed from briers and thorns. And so there is only a defect of the Hebrew particle asher, which is frequent, and that not only as it signifies which, but as it is taken finally for that, as Isa 5:11; 10:2, and elsewhere.
It shall be; or, even (as this particle is oft rendered) there shall be, to wit, a place; which word is understood, 2Sa 7:1; 1Ki 18:12. Or the words may be thus rendered, and all hills that shall be diggedand thorns, even they or each of them shall be; the singular being taken collectively, as is very usual.
For the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of lesser cattle; all sorts of cattle may fairly enter, and feed there, the fences being broken down, and the owners generally slain, or carried into captivity.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
25. shall berather, “wereonce.”
diggedin order toplant and rear vines (Isa 5:6).
there shall not comethatis, none shall come who fear thorns, seeing that thorns shall aboundon all sides [MAURER].Otherwise, “Thou shalt not come for fear of thorns“[GESENIUS]. Only cattleshall be able to penetrate the briery ground.
lesser cattlesheep andgoats.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And [on] all hills that shall be digged with the mattock,…. Which could not be ploughed with a plough, but used to be dug with a mattock or spade, and then sowed with corn:
there shall not come thither the fear of briers and thorns; where thorns and briers used not to grow, and where there was no fear or danger of being overrun with them, as the vineyards in the valleys and champaign country; yet those places should become desolate in another way; or rather, there shall be now no fences made of briers and thorns, which deter cattle from entering into fields and vineyards thus fenced:
but it shall be for the setting forth of oxen, and for the treading of lesser cattle; there being no fence of briers and thorns to keep them out, cattle both of the greater and lesser sort should get into the corn, and feed upon it, and make such places desolate, where much pains were taken to cultivate them. The Targum is,
“it shall be for a place of lying down of oxen, and for a place of dwelling of flocks of sheep;”
not for pastures, but for folds for them; though the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic versions, suggest these places should become pastures; and therefore some understand this as a prophecy of a change in the country for the better, and of the great fruitfulness of it after the Jews’ return from the Babylonish captivity.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
25. And on all the hills that are dug with the hoe. Here the Prophet appears to contradict himself; for, having hitherto spoken of the desolation of the land, he now describes what may be called a new condition, when he says that, where thorns and briers were, there oxen will feed. The consequence has been, that some have applied these words to the consolation of the people. But the intention of the Prophet is totally different; for he means that hills, which were at a great distance from a crowded population, and which could not be approached without much difficulty, will be fit for pasturage, on account of the great number of men who go thither; that is, because men will betake themselves to desert mountains, which formerly were inaccessible, there will be no need to be afraid of briers, (116) for there will be abundance of inhabitants. Now, this is a most wretched state of things, when men cannot escape death but by resorting to thorns and briers; for he means hills formerly desolate and uncultivated, in which men shall seek a residence and abode, because no part of the country will be safe. Thus he describes a distressful and melancholy condition of the whole country, and destruction so awful that the aspect of the country shall be altogether different from what it had formerly been.
When he foretold these things to King Ahaz, there can be no doubt that Ahaz despised them; for that wicked king, relying on his forces and on his league with the Assyrians, settled, as it were, on his lees, as soon as the siege of the city was raised. But Isaiah was bound to persevere in the discharge of his office, in order to show that there was no help but from God, and to inform the wretched hypocrite, that his destruction would come from that quarter from which he expected his preservation.
(116) “The shepherds shall be under no apprehension of finding on those hills hedges of briar and thorn, to interrupt the free range of their flock.” — Rosenmuller.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(25) And on all hills that shall be digged . . .Better, that are digged or that used to be digged with the hoe. The picture of devastation is completed. On the hill-sides, every inch of which was once brought under careful vine culture, Thou wilt not enter for fear of thorns and briars i.e., thou wilt not venture on the task of tilling the soil in face of such disarrangements. What would be the use of hoeing such a tangled mass of brushwood? At the best it must be left for such pasturage as oxen and sheep might find there as they browsed, and they by their trampling should but increase the mischief. The rendering of the Authorised version conveys the thought that where there was the careful culture thus described, there should be an exception to the general desolation. Below this, if we accept it, there may be a spiritual meaning like that of Jer. 4:3 (Kay).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Isa 7:25. And on all hills And as to all the hills which used to be dressed with a mattock, there shall no fence of briers and thorns come there; but it shall let in oxen, and shall be trodden by the lesser cattle. Vitringa. It was usual in Judaea to fence in their vineyards with briers and thorns.
REFLECTIONS.1st, A new prophesy begins in this chapter, which bears date in the reign of Ahaz, when the confederate forces of Syria and Israel, which had before committed great ravages and massacres in the country, 2Ki 15:37. 2Ch 28:5-7 united to besiege Jerusalem the capital, and utterly to destroy the kingdom of Judah; though, by divine interposition, their design, was defeated.
1. This formidable invasion put the king and his subjects into great confusion. It was told the house of David, of which though Ahaz was a degenerate branch, yet for his father’s sake he was not entirely forsaken, saying, Syria is confederate with Ephraim; and before two such potent monarchs, whose power separately he had been unable to cope with, nothing but ruin seemed approaching; and his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind, weak, bending, disordered, and ready to fall before there mighty foes. Note; They who have accusing guilt on their consciences, are in terrors at the approach of danger.
2. God sends to comfort and encourage them. Though perplexed, they need not be in despair; Isaiah, the messenger of warning to them, is now the messenger of mercy, little as they deserved it, to prove them, whether the goodness of God might lead them to repentance. He is commanded to go with his son, (whose significant name carried in it a token for good,) and meet Ahaz at the conduit of the upper pool, in the high way of the fuller’s field, where probably he was making some preparations for the approaching siege, by fortifying his capital, introducing plenty of water into the city, or cutting it off from supplying the besiegers. Note; (1.) God is thinking of sinners, and preventing them with the blessings of his grace, when he is not in all their thoughts. (2.) Seasonable relief in time of helpless distress, is doubly welcome. The message with which the prophet is sent, is most encouraging.
(1.) He bids them not to be afraid of foes so despicable. Though to human view so potent, in God’s regard they were but as the tails of firebrands when they are burnt out, and their wrath was no more to be regarded than the smoke of an extinguished taper. Take heed, and be quiet, beware only of unbelieving distrust, and wait in confident expectation of the salvation of God; neither be faint-hearted, or be not soft as wax, melted before the sun. Note; (1.) Nothing lays the soul so open to the inroads of sin, as unbelieving fear. (2.) The greatest dangers will not disturb their peace, whose minds are stayed upon God. (3.) The enemies of God’s people are raging as fire-brands, but all their wicked purposes will end in smoke.
(2.) He foretels the disappointment of the present attempt, though the schemes of the enemies of Judah were deep laid, and full of malice, designing nothing less than the ravaging of the whole country, dethroning the king, and setting up a tributary of their own: and so secure were they of success, that they had fixed on the person already, had taken the city in imagination, and divided the spoil; yet one word of God defeats the plan: It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass. He who sets bounds to the sea, can as easily still the ragings of the mighty. Note; (1.) The sinner’s confidence serves but to increase the confusion of his disappointment. (2.) They who are purposing to vex others, find often the mischief return on their own heads. (3.) God delights to humble the proud. They shall see whose word shall stand.
(3.) From the present defeat he passes on to the future destiny of these enemies of Judah. Far from being able to extend their territories, their kingdoms should never be enlarged; and Ephraim, perhaps the most inveterate of the two, within sixty-five years, cease to be a people.
4. The men of Judah are enjoined to credit his message; for if ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established; faith in the divine promise was that which could alone abidingly secure their safety, whatever temporary deliverances might be granted to them. Note; The word of promise only brings comfort, when it is mixed with faith in them that hear it.
2nd, To confirm by miracle the veracity of the prophetic word, Isaiah,
1. Bids Ahaz ask a sign of the Lord his God; for, though he was a wicked king, God had not yet cast off his national relation to him and his people, and was ready to grant him every evidence to engage his trust and dependance.
2. Ahaz wickedly rejects the offer, pretending piety; but there could be no fear of tempting God in asking a sign, when himself had made the offer: the true reason seems to be, he was unwilling to be quiet, and trust the case with God, expecting more from the help of the Assyrians and his own fortifications, than from the word of promise.
3. The prophet rebukes the high affront herein shown, not to himself merely as a prophet, but more especially to that God who sent him. And since he disdains to ask a sign, God will give him one strange and marvellous; a sign which relates in a double respect to the present and eternal good of his people. Behold a strange unheard-of wonder, a virgin shall conceive without the knowledge of man, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel, God with us: in our nature, conceived of a virgin, by the power of the Holy Ghost, that he might have the human nature pure from our original defilement, and add infinite dignity thereunto, by uniting it to the divine nature in that mysterious person God and man in one Christ. Butter and honey shall he eat, partaking of a real human nature, supported by food as we are, and growing to maturity of understanding, by progressive steps, that he may know, or until he shall know, to refuse the evil, and choose the good. Now this was a sign of present deliverance for Judah, as well as future safety; since, till the time of the coming of this wonderful personage, the sceptre should not depart finally from them; and for their more immediate comfort it is added, Before this child, probably pointing to Shear-jashub his little son, or before the child, that is to be born, shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, shall come to the exercise of reason, the land that thou abhorrest, of Syria and Israel, now confederate, shall be forsaken of both her kings, Pekah and Rezin; which was quickly fulfilled in the death of Rezin, slain by the king of Assyria, 2Ki 16:9 and Pekah by Hoshea, 2Ki 15:30. Note; (1.) Insults cast on God’s prophets, is insolence against himself, and will be highly resented by him. (2.) The great comfort in every distress, is not so much the hope of present deliverance, as the prospect of eternal blessedness in our Immanuel. (3.) The more we examine the word of prophesy, the more confirmed shall we be in the faith of Jesus, in whom it is so perfectly fulfilled.
3rdly, Though God will now appear for Zion’s sake, let not Ahaz think his unbelief shall go unpunished.
1. A sore judgment is threatened, such as the land of Judah never knew before, since the grand revolt of the ten tribes. Note; Though God may have long patience, the impenitent must not promise themselves impunity.
2. The instrument to be employed was chiefly the king of Assyria, Nebuchadnezzar; and Pharaoh-Nechoh, the king of Egypt, helped forward their destruction, 2Ki 23:29-35. Swiftly would their armies come up at the call of God, thick as swarms of bees and flies, resting in the desolate valleys like flights of locusts: not a green leaf should be left, so thoroughly would they devour the land, and climb every fortress, though seated on the craggy rocks. As a sharp razor, passing from head to foot, shaves off the hair, so should the king of Assyria make an entire conquest of Judaea, receiving the spoil as his hire: or it alludes to the present which Ahaz sent him to engage his assistance, 2Ki 16:7-9 which in the end turned to his own damage, and brought upon him the continual inroads of the Assyrians, till the fatal captivity arrived. Note; (1.) When God would chastise a guilty nation, he will not want a scourge. (2.) It is just in God to make that creature the instrument of our vexation which we have made the object of our confidence, and to let men see thereby the misery as well as folly of changing a rock for a reed.
3. Terrible would be the consequence of these invasions: instead of lowing herds and grazing flocks, a man would think himself happy if he had one young cow and two poor sheep remaining. So desolate would every family be, and such plenty of pasture in the depopulated country, that this small stock of cattle would yield milk sufficient: butter and honey would be their only diet, for meat could not be afforded in the scarcity of beasts which remained; and vineyards and tillage would be utterly neglected: the spot which paid a yearly rent of a thousand silverlings (about the value of half a crown) for a thousand vines, so fruitful were they, now overgrown with briers and thorns, yielded no revenue. Instead of gathering their vintage, men must now go armed to protect themselves from the wild beasts or robbers that lodged in those thickets where fruitful vineyards grew: and the hills and fields untilled, where once the rising harvest stood, now, no longer fenced with hedges of thorns, are laid quite open as a wild waste, where the cattle roamed without controul. How terrible are the desolations which sin, and war the effect of it, make in the earth? What sinful nation need not tremble on beholding Judaea’s wretched fate, and read an alarming call to repentance in her overthrow?
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
REFLECTIONS
READER! let us pass over every lesser consideration, to attend to that blessed and most important prophecy, contained in this chapter, concerning the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though Ahaz refused to hear, and would not ask a sign of the Lord, let you and I receive this blessed sign, so graciously given to the church, and on our bended knees, read and adore God in Christ, for so rich and precious a scripture. And now that we have lived to see the whole fulfilled, yea more than fulfilled, in a thousand additional mercies, which the Son of God hath brought with him, and with which he hath beautified and comforted his church; oh! for grace to meditate in the same, night and day; and to read both the prophecy and the accomplishment of it, under the Spirit’s teaching, until all the blissful consequences included in it be incorporated in our hearts, and we discover and enjoy our interest in all that belongs to our Jesus and his great salvation!
Oh! thou dear Lord of thy church and people! Didst thou, the glorious Ancient of days, condescend to become the babe of Bethlehem? Didst thou, blessed Jesus, vouchsafe to be born for me, and rather than the poorest of thy family should perish, wouldest become man, and not abhor the virgin’s womb? Oh! the preciousness of that name, that glorious gracious name Immanuel, which is more fragrant than ointment poured forth! Never may I lose sight of it; never may I go abroad, or remain at home, without bearing it about with me: it tells me, my Jesus is God! Surely then he can save me; surely he wilt save me! The work of redemption was not too great for him. Yea, it gives efficacy to all he did, and all he suffered. For now I see by it, that all he did, and all he suffered, were the acts of God, mighty to save. And sure I am, that he is able to keep that which I have committed to him. God my Saviour will carry on, and complete, all that remains to be done concerning me; how then shall I perish, or come short of his glory? Oh! thou glorious Immanuel! blessed Jesus! give me to hail thee forever by this endeared name. And moreover, as my Redeemer is Immanuel, God with us; so is he Immanuel, God in our nature! Oh what so near or so dear as Jesus, who is bone of my bone, and flesh of my, flesh? Lord, I pass by all the affinities of life, in comparison of thee: for thou fittest all, and art nearer than all. And oh! how delightful the thought! that while my soul finds such rapture in the consciousness of the relation: Jesus wilt not deny his poor relation, but condescends to own him. Yea, he commands that I should be told, he is not ashamed to call his people, brethren? Precious, precious Jesus! And be thou adored, my Lord, for such a sign, in such a prophecy, given to the church, by thy servant, Thanks be to God! for his unspeakable gift.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Isa 7:25 And [on] all hills that shall be digged with the mattock, there shall not come thither the fear of briers and thorns: but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of lesser cattle.
Ver. 24. And on all the hills that shall be digged, &c. ] A good translation of a text is instead of a good commentary. Some very learned a render the words thus: And on the hills that had wont to be digged with mattock or spade, that no fear of brier or thorn might come thither, shall a place also be for sending in of oxen and the treading of lesser cattle; which shall range and graze freely, say they by way of gloss, after their wonted manner in those places, from whence they and their owners had formerly been ejected and excluded by the violent oppressions and undue enclosures of the richer and greater sort. Isa 5:17
a Assemb. Annot.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
shall be digged = should be digged (but were to go out of cultivation).
shall not come thither = thou wilt not come thither: i.e. venture to walk (without weapons, Isa 7:24) where thou wast wont to plough in peace.
the fear of = for fear of.
sending forth = letting loose, or driving forth.
treading = trampling down.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
but it: Isa 7:21, Isa 7:22, Isa 13:20-22, Isa 17:2, Zep 2:6
Reciprocal: 2Ch 34:6 – mattocks Isa 5:17 – shall the lambs Isa 27:10 – there shall the
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
7:25 And [on] {z} all hills that shall be dug with the mattock, there shall not come there the fear of briers and thorns: but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of lesser cattle.
(z) The mountains contrary to their will, will be tilled by such as shall flee to them for comfort.