Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 9:12
The Syrians before, and the Philistines behind; and they shall devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand [is] stretched out still.
12. The Syrians behind ] Or, Syria on the East and the Philistines on the West (R.V. marg.).
and they shall devour ] and they devoured.
There is no historic record of Philistine aggression on the kingdom of Ephraim (at least since 1Ki 15:27); nor is there any mention of a Syrian attack about the time when this passage was written. It is probable that the prophet is looking further back, to the protracted Syrian wars, from Ahab to Jeroboam II., which formed a distinct and memorable episode in the history of N. Israel.
For all this stretched out still ] “One of the most effective refrain-verses that have ever been composed.” (Duhm.) The figure of Jehovah, with His arm stretched out in wrath, is kept before the mind of the reader, as the prophecy advances to its conclusion.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The Syrians – Isa 7:1. The Syrians had been the allies of the Israelites. But after the death of Rezin, it is probable that they joined the Assyrians, and united with them in the invasion of Samaria. – Aben Ezra; Grotius. Before. Hebrew From the east. Syria was situated to the east of Samaria, and the meaning is here, that they would pour in upon Samaria from that side.
And the Philistines – The Philistines occupied the country southwest of Samaria, lying along on the shores of the Mediterranean. It is not particularly mentioned in the Scriptures that they invaded Samaria after this prediction of Isaiah, but such a thing is by no means improbable. They were long unsubdued; were full of hostility to the Jewish people; and were many times engaged with them in wars and several times subdued them; Judg. 13; 14; 2Ch 28:18. The name Palestine is derived from Philistine, although this people occupied but a small part of the country; see Relands Palestine, c. vii.
Behind – That is, from the west – the region where they dwelt. The sacred writers speak as if looking toward the east, the rising sun, and they speak of the west as the region behind them; see the notes at Job 23:8-9.
And they shall devour – Hebrew, They shall eat. This figure is taken from a ravenous beast; and means that they should come up with raging desires, and fierce impetuosity, to destroy the nation.
With open mouth – Hebrew, With the whole mouth. The metaphor is derived from raging and furious animals. Chaldee, In every place.
For all this – Notwithstanding all this.
His anger … – see the note at Isa 5:25.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Isa 9:12-13
For all thin ms anger is not turned away
The end of judgments and the reason of their continuance
I.
THE DESIGN AND INTENTION OF GOD IN SENDING JUDGMENT UPON A PEOPLE; that is, to reclaim them from all their sins, implied in these words, for the people turneth not to Him that smiteth them. This, indeed, is the intention of all Gods dispensations towards us in this world. The end of all
His mercies is to take us off from our sins and win us to our duty Rom 2:4). This is the way wherein God delights to deal with us. The way of judgment is that which He is more averse from. Though the judgments of God be evils in themselves, yet considering the intentions of God in them, they are no real objections against His goodness, but rather arguments for it.
1. The judgments of God are proper for the cure of a far greater evil of another kind–the evil of sin. We take wrong measures of things, when we judge those to be the greatest evils which afflict our bodies, wound our reputation, and impoverish our estates. For those certainly are far the greatest which affect our noblest part; which vitiate our understandings, deprave our wills, and wound and defile our souls. Now it is very agreeable with the goodness and mercy of the Divine providence, to administer to us whatever is proper for the cure of so great an evil.
2. The judgments of God are likewise proper for the preventing of far greater evils of the same kind; I mean, further punishments. In sending temporal judgments upon sinners God usually proceeds by degrees.
3. The judgments of God are not only proper to these ends, but in many cases very necessary. Our condition many times is such as to require this severe way of proceeding, because no other course God hath taken, or can take with us, will probably do us good. The providence of God makes use of hunger and extreme necessity to bring home the prodigal (Luk 15:1-32).
II. THE REASON OF THE CONTINUANCE OF GODS JUDGMENTS–because the people were not reclaimed by them. And how can t be expected it should be otherwise, when incorrigibleness under the judgments of God is a provocation of so high a nature, a sign of a most depraved temper, and an argument of the greatest obstinacy in evil? (2Ch 28:22; Lev 26:22, etc.; Deu 28:58-59; Isa 1:4-5;Hos 7:9-10; Amo 4:11-12; Psa 18:26.) (J. Tillotson, D. D.)
Gods judgments
God hath invited us to Him by many blessings, but we would not come; so (to borrow an apt illustration from Bishop Sanderson) we have forced Him to deal with us as Absalom did with Joab: he sent one civil message to him after another, but he would not come; at last he set on fire his cornfield to try whether that would bring him: this course God hath taken with us; we would not be persuaded by messages of kindness (by His many blessings and favours) to return to Him, and therefore hath He sent amongst us the terrible messengers of His wrath. (J. Tillotson, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 12. With open mouth – “On every side”] bechol peh, in every corner, in every part of their country, pursuing them to the remotest extremities, and the most retired parts. So the Chaldee bechol athar, in every place.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The Syrians; for although Rezin king of Syria was destroyed, yet the body of the nation survived, and submitted themselves to the king of Assyria, and served under him in his wars, and upon his command invaded Israel afterwards.
Before, Heb. on the east; for Syria stood eastward from Israel.
The Philistines behind; on the western side of the land of Israel.
With open mouth; like wild and furious beasts, with great greediness and cruelty.
His hand is stretched out still; his justice is not fully satisfied, but he will yet take further vengeance upon them.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
12. SyriansThough now alliesof Ephraim, after Rezin’s death they shall join the Assyrians againstEphraim. “Together,” in Isa9:11, refers to this. Conquering nations often enlist in theirarmies the subject races (Isa 22:6;compare 2Ki 16:9; Jer 35:11),[ABEN EZRA,GESENIUS]. HORSLEYless probably takes “Syrians before,” as the Syrians tothe east, that is, not Rezin’s subjects, but the Assyrians:“Aram” being the common name of Syrians and Assyrians.
PhilistinesofPalestine.
behindfrom the west:in marking the points of the compass, Orientalists face the east,which is before them: the west is behind. The right handis the south: the left, the north.
devouras a ravenousbeast (Isa 1:20; Jer 10:25;Jer 30:16; Num 14:9).
For all this, &c.Theburden of each strophe.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The Syrians before, and the Philistines behind,…. Rezin, king of Syria, the confederate of the Israelites, being slain, his people joined the Assyrians against Israel; and they, with others mentioned, beset them on all sides, before and behind, east and west; and so the Targum, Septuagint, and other versions, render it, the Syrians on the east, or from the rising of the sun; and the Philistines on the west, or from the setting of the sun; for, as Kimchi observes, Syria lay east of the land of Israel, and Palestine on the West b:
and they shall devour Israel with open mouth: greedily and presently; make, as it were, but one morsel of him:
for all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand [is] stretched out still; that is, the anger of God, that was not turned away; he had not yet stirred up all his wrath, he had not done with them, he had still other judgments to bring upon them; and his hand continued to be stretched out to inflict them, seeing they were not brought to repentance by what was already done unto them; so the Targum,
“for all this they do not return from their sins, that he may turn away his anger from them, but still retain their sins; and yet his stroke will be to take vengeance on them.”
b So Noldius renders it, Ebr. Concord. Part. p. 10. No. 69.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
12. Syria in front. (147) The Prophet shows what will be the nature of this change, and what will happen after the death of Rezin, (2Kg 16:9,) who had allied himself with Israel against Judah; namely, that the Syrians, after the death of their king, from being allies will suddenly become enemies, and will make war against Israel, which took place. (2Kg 17:3.) This is what he means when he says that Syria will be in front; for I do not agree with those expositors who make Syria to mean “those on the East,” and the Philistines “those on the West.” A more natural meaning is, that the enemies will invade them on every side; because on all sides they who had been regarded as faithful friends will rise up to destroy them. The phrases in front and behind agree with the ordinary modes of speaking, so that we ought not to seek an interpretation that is new and foreign to the purpose.
From this example we ought to learn what it is to rely on human power and the alliances of kings, and especially when, in consequence of being entangled by unlawful covenants, we become careless and fall asleep; for as soon as the Lord pleases, they who were formerly on our side will, in the smallest portion of time, be turned against us to our ruin; and remedies, which we thought would be useful to us will prove to be our destruction, and will assist us both before and behind. We ought also to observe that God does not all at once expend all his scourges, but when we proceed obstinately, and provoke him more and more, he increases and multiplies the chastisements, and still inflicts a new kind of punishment, till at length he subdues our obstinacy and rebellion.
And will devour Israel with the whole mouth. (148) The phrase with the whole mouth, (149) is equivalent to an ordinary idiom of our own, ( a pleine bouche ,) with full mouth. As if he had said, “Israel will be exposed as a prey to her enemies, so that on every hand she will be devoured with open mouth, both by the Syrians and by the Philistines.”
His anger is not turned away. This is the severest of all, and beyond everything else ought to have terrified the ungodly, that if they had suffered much, they have more to endure; that new punishments continually await them, because by going on in their obstinacy they inflame still more the wrath of God. Men take this as an incentive to more obstinate and determined wickedness, that, having suffered some punishment, they think that they have nothing more to suffer, and become more hardened. They do not even believe that they are any longer exposed to the judgment of God, who has already spent his rods; and as if they were altogether out of his power, they give themselves greater indulgence, and shake off every yoke.
But his hand is stretched out still. What we have now stated is the reason why Isaiah threatens that the hand of the Lord is still stretched out, that they may not think that they have escaped that hand. Now, this is said not for the purpose of instructing, but of accusing, though the threatenings have also a tendency to make doctrine better understood; but as he had to do with obstinate men, on whom no chastisement produced any good effect, he therefore announces that the chastisements are not yet at an end; and that, although God has for a time discontinued those chastisements, still he has not dispensed with them, but has his hand lifted up to inflict a new wound.
(147) The Syrians before. — Eng. Ver.
(148) With open mouth. Margin, Heb., with whole mouth. — Eng. Ver.
(149) בכל פה, ( bechol peh,) ὁλῷ τῷ στόματι, toto ore, plenis faucibus ; a metaphor from beasts of prey eagerly devouring their food. — Rosenmuller
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(12) For all this his anger is not turned away . . .The formula which in Isa. 5:25 had been applied to Judah is here and in Isa. 9:17; Isa. 9:21 used of Israel at large, and specially of Ephraim. It embodied the law which governed Gods dealing with both.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
12. The Syrians before All enemies to Israel were to be combined: Syria (as above explained) on the north, fighting now as subjects of Assyria; and the Philistines on the southwest.
With open mouth The figure is strong. See the full description of the array against Israel in 2Ki 16:9. Hints of Syria’s old enmity are seen, also, in 2Ch 28:22-23.
For all this his anger is not turned away Here is resumed the refrain of Isa 5:25. It means that their impenitence still continued, and, to appearance, was likely to become unalterably confirmed.
But his hand is stretched out still God inflicts one stroke after another, and waits for penitence; and it failing, he revisits with still another stroke to the same end.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Isa 9:12 The Syrians before, and the Philistines behind; and they shall devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand [is] stretched out still.
Ver. 12. The Syrians before. ] Under the conduct of the Assyrian, who hath slain their King Rezin, and made them his vassals.
And the Philistines behind.
And they shall devour Israel with open mouth.
For all this his wrath is not turned away.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
For all this, &c. See note on Isa 5:26. Note the Figure of speech Amoeboeon, Isa 5:25; here, verses: Isa 9:17, Isa 9:21, Isa 9:4. stretched out: in judgment. See note on Isa 6:26.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
For all this his anger
See Isa 9:17; Isa 9:21; Isa 5:25; Isa 10:4
The context explains. Jehovah’s hand is outstretched still because His chastisement is followed by no amendment on the part of Israel.
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Syrians: 2Ki 16:6, 2Ch 28:18, Jer 35:11
devour Israel: Deu 31:17, Psa 79:7, Psa 129:3-6, Jer 10:25
open mouth: Heb. whole mouth
For all: Isa 9:17, Isa 9:21, Isa 5:25, Isa 10:4, Jer 4:8
Reciprocal: Exo 6:6 – redeem Psa 35:21 – Yea Psa 138:7 – thou shalt stretch Isa 14:27 – his Jer 6:12 – I will Jer 21:5 – with an Jer 50:7 – have devoured Eze 6:14 – will I Eze 14:9 – and I will Eze 16:27 – I have Eze 25:15 – dealt Mat 24:8 – General Luk 11:53 – to urge