burneth incense upon altars of brick<\/em> ] Strictly on the bricks<\/strong> (R.V.), or tiles<\/strong>. We have no key to the meaning of the expression. Some think the “tiles” denote the roofs of the houses, where sacrifices were sometimes offered to false gods (see 2Ki 23:12<\/span>; Jer 19:13<\/span>; Zep 1:5<\/span>); others (like A.V.) suppose that altars made of bricks are referred to. Why the custom should be specially Babylonian (Del.) does not appear. The word for “burn incense” may mean simply “burn sacrifice”; see on ch. Isa 1:13<\/span>.<\/p>\n 3 5<\/strong>. Description of their illegal and superstitious cults.<\/p>\n A people – <\/B>This verse contains a specification of the reasons why God had rejected them, and brought the calamities upon them.<\/P> That provoketh me to anger – <\/B>That is, by their sins. They give constant occasion for my indignation.<\/P> Continually – <\/B>(<\/span> tamyd<\/I>). It is not once merely, but their conduct as a people is constantly such as to excite my displeasure.<\/P> To my face – <\/B>There is no attempt at concealment. Their abominations are public. It is always regarded as an additional affront when an offence is committed in the very presence of another, and when there is not even the apology that it was supposed he did not see the offender. It is a great aggravation of the guilt of the stoner, that his offence is committed in the very presence, and under the very eye, of God.<\/P> That sacrificeth in gardens – <\/B>(See the notes at Isa 1:29<\/span>).<\/P> And burneth incense – <\/B>On the meaning of the word incense, see the notes at Isa 1:13<\/span>.<\/P> Upon altars of brick – <\/B>Margin, Bricks. The Hebrew is simply, Upon bricks. The command of God was that the altars for sacrifice should be made of unhewn stone Exo 20:24-25<\/span>. But the pagan had altars of a different description, and the Jews had sacrificed on those altars. Some have supposed that this means that they sacrificed on the roofs of their houses, which were flat, and paved with brick, or tile, or plaster. That altars were constructed sometimes on the roofs of their houses, we know from 2Ki 23:12<\/span>, where Josiah is said to have beaten down the altars that were on the top of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the king of Judah had made. But it is not necessary to suppose that such sacrifices are referred to here. They had disobeyed the command of God, which required that the altars should be made only of unhewn stone. They had built other altars, and had joined with the pagan in offering sacrifices thereon. The reason why God forbade that the altar should be of anything but unhewn stone is not certainly known, and is not necessary to be understood in order to explain this passage. It may have been, first, in order effectually to separate his people from all others, as well in the construction of the altar as in anything and everything else; secondly, because various inscriptions and carvings were usually made on altars, and as this tended to superstition, God commanded that the chisel should not be used at all in the construction of the altars where his people should worship.<\/P><\/p>\n Isa 65:3-5<\/span><\/p>\n A people that provoked Me to anger<\/em><\/p>\n Obstinacy provokes Gods wrath<\/strong><\/p>\n By rejecting His love with stiff-necked obstinacy, they have incurred wrath, which, though long and patiently restrained, now bursts out with uncontrolled violence.<\/p>\n The people that continually provokes Me to My face, sacrificing in the gardens, and burning incense on the tiles, who sit in vaults and pass the night in retired places, who eat flesh of swine, and broken pieces of abominable things are in their dishes, who say: Halt: Come not too near me! For I am holy to thee,–these are a smoke in My nose, a fire blazing continually. (F. Delitzsch, D. D.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Illegal and superstitious cults<\/strong><\/p>\n The reference to bricks remains unexplained; sitting in the graves was for the purpose of obtaining oracles or dreams from the dead – the so-called incubation. (A. B.Davidson, D. D.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Broth of abominable things<\/strong><\/p>\n Such creatures as are enumerated in Isa 66:17<\/span>. The sacrifices are boiled and yield a magical hell-broth (W. Robertson Smith<\/em>)<\/p>\n . (Pro\/. J. Skinner, D. D.<\/em>)<\/p>\n Verse 3<\/span>. That sacrificeth in gardens, and burneth incense upon<\/B><\/I> <\/B>altars of brick<\/B><\/I> – “Sacrificing in the gardens, and burning incense on the tiles”] These are instances of heathenish superstition, and idolatrous practices, to which the Jews were immoderately addicted before the Babylonish captivity. The heathen worshipped their idols in groves; whereas God, in opposition to this species of idolatry, commanded his people, when they should come into the promised land, to destroy all the places wherein the Canaanites had served their gods, and in particular to burn their groves with fire, De 12:2-3<\/span>. These apostate Jews sacrificed upon altars built of bricks; in opposition to the command of God in regard to his altar, which was to be of unhewn stone, Ex 20:26<\/span>. Et pro uno altari, quod impolitis lapidibus Dei erat lege constructum, coctos lateres et agrorum cespites hostiarum sanguine cruentabant. “And instead of one altar which, according to the law of God, was, to be constructed of unhewn stones, they stained the bricks and turfs of the fields with the blood of their victims.” Hieron<\/I>. in loc. Or it means, perhaps, that they sacrificed upon the roofs of their houses, which were always flat, and paved with brick, or tile, or plaster of terrace. An instance of this idolatrous practice we find in 2Kg 23:12<\/span>, where it is said that Josiah “beat down the altars that were on the top of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made.” See also Zep 1:5<\/span>. Sir John Chardin’s<\/I> MS. note on this place of Isaiah is as follows: “Ainsi font tous les Gentiles, sur les lieux eleves, et sur les terrasses, appellez latcres<\/I>, parceque sont faits de briq.” “Who dwell in the sepulchres, and lodge in the caverns,” for the purposes of necromancy and divination; to obtain dreams and revelations. Another instance of heathenish superstition: so Virgil: – <\/P> Huc dona sacerdos<\/P> Cum tulit, et caesarum ovium sub nocte silenti<\/P> Pellibus incubuit stratis, somnosque petivit:<\/P> Multa modis simulacra videt volitantia miris,<\/P> Et varias audit voces, fruiturque deorum<\/P> Colloquio, atque imis Acheronta affatur Avernis.<\/P> AEn<\/I>. vii. 86. – L.<\/P> <\/P> “Here in distress the Italian nations come,<\/P> Anxious, to clear their doubts, and learn their doom.<\/P> First, on the fleeces of the slaughtered sheep,<\/P> By night the sacred priest dissolves in sleep:<\/P> When in a train, before his slumbering eye,<\/P> Thin airy forms and wondrous visions fly.<\/P> He calls the powers who guard the infernal floods,<\/P> And talks inspired, familiar with the gods.”<\/P> PITT.<\/P> There was a practice exactly like this which prevailed among the Highlanders of Scotland; an authentic account of this is given by Sir Walter Scott, in a note on his poem called The Lady of the<\/I> Lake<\/I>. It is as follows: – <\/P> <\/P> “The Highlanders, like all rude people, had various superstitious modes of inquiring into futurity. One of the most noted was the Taghairm<\/I>, mentioned in the text. A person was wrapped up in the skin of a newly-slain bullock, and deposited beside a waterfall, or at the bottom of a precipice, or in some other strange, wild, and unusual situation, where the scenery around him suggested nothing but objects of horror. In this situation he revolved in his mind the question proposed; and whatever was impressed upon him by his exalted imagination passed for the inspiration of the disembodied spirits who haunt these desolate recesses. In some of the Hebrides, they attributed the same oracular power to a large black stone by the sea-shore, which they approached with certain solemnities; and considered the first fancy which came into their own minds after they did so, to be the undoubted dictate of the tutelar deity of the stone; and as such to be, if possible, punctually complied with. Martin has recorded the following curious modes of Highland augury, in which the Taghairm, and its effects upon the person who was subjected to it, may serve to illustrate the text.<\/P> <\/P> “It was an ordinary thing among the over-curious to consult an invisible oracle concerning the fate of families and battles, c. This was performed three different ways the first was by a company of men, one of whom, being detached by lot, was afterwards carried to a river, which was the boundary between two villages. Four of the company laid hold on him; and, having shut his eyes, they took him by the legs and arms, and then, tossing him to and again, struck his hips with force against the bank. One of them cried out, What is it you have got here? Another answers, A log of birch-wood. The other cries again, Let his invisible friends appear from all quarters, and let them relieve him by giving an answer to our present demands; and in a few minutes after, a number of little creatures came from the sea, who answered the question, and disappeared suddenly. The man was then set at liberty; and they all returned home, to take their measures according to the prediction of their false prophets; but the poor deluded fools were abused, for the answer was still ambiguous. This was always practised in the night, and may literally be called the works of darkness.<\/P> <\/P> “I had an account from the most intelligent and judicious men in the Isle of Skie, that, about sixty-two years ago, the oracle was thus consulted only once, and that was in the parish of Kilmartin, on the east side, by a wicked and mischievous race of people, who are now extinguished, both root and branch.<\/P> <\/P> “The second way of consulting the oracle was by a party of men, who first retired to solitary places, remote from any house; and there they singled out one of their number, and wrapt him in a big cow’s hide, which they folded about him. His whole body was covered with it, except his head, and so left in this posture all night, until his invisible friends relieved him, by giving a proper answer to the question in hand; which he received, as he fancied, from several persons that he found about him all that time. His consorts returned to him at the break of day, and then he communicated his news to them; which often proved fatal to those concerned in such unwarrantable inquiries.<\/P> <\/P> “There was a third way of consulting, which was a confirmation of the second above mentioned. The same company who put the man into the hide took a live cat, and put him on a spit. One of the number was employed to turn the spit, and one of his consorts inquired of him, What are you doing? He answered, I roast this cat until his friends answer the question; which must be the same that was proposed by the man shut up in the hide. And afterwards, a very big cat (in allusion to the story of ‘the King of the Cats,’ in Lord Lyttleton’s Letters, and well known in the Highlands as a nursery tale) comes, attended by a number of lesser cats, desiring to relieve the cat turned upon the spit, and then answers the question. If this answer proved the same that was given to the man in the hide, then it was taken as a confirmation of the other, which, in this case, was believed infallible.<\/P> <\/P> “Mr. Alexander Cooper, present minister of North-Vist, told me that one John Erach, in the Isle of Lewis, assured him it was his fate to have been led by his curiosity with some who consulted this oracle, and that he was a night within the hide, as above-mentioned; during which time he felt and heard such terrible things, that he could not express them. The impression it made on him was such as could never go off; and he said for a thousand worlds he would never again be concerned in the like performance, for this had disordered him to a high degree. He confessed it ingenuously, and with an air of great remorse; and seemed to be very penitent under a just sense of so great a crime. He declared this about five years since, and is still living in the Lewis for any thing I know.” – Description of the Western Isles<\/I>, p. 110. See also PENNANT’S Scottish Tour<\/I>, vol. ii. p. 361.<\/P> <\/p>\n A people that provoketh me to anger:<\/B> that the Jews are the people here intended is without question; the prophet, speaking of the calling of the Gentiles upon their rejection, reckons up their sins which were the causes. For though their rejecting and crucifying of Christ was that sin which was the proximate cause; yet God did but visit<\/I> on that generation their iniquities<\/I>, and the iniquities of their fathers<\/I> together, they having by that act filled up their measure<\/I>. They had provoked God continually to anger to his face. <\/P> To my face; <\/B>either in his temple<\/I>, the place where he used to manifest himself; or (considering what followeth) more probably the phrase signifieth their impudence, not taking notice of Gods omnipresence and omniscience. <\/P> The particular provocations instanced in are deviations in the matter of Divine worship. <\/P> Sacrificing in gardens<\/B> is one thing instanced in; and <\/P> burning incense on brick, <\/B>or altars of brick<\/I>, is another, Deu 12:13<\/span>; there was a particular altar of gold<\/I> appointed for incense, Exo 40:5<\/span>. God commanded, Exo 20:24<\/span>,25<\/span>, that his altars should be made of earth, or rough stone. This people transgressed both these laws; sacrificing in gardens<\/I>, for which the prophet reflected on them, Isa 1:29<\/span>, and again Isa 66:17<\/span>; whether in gardens consecrated to idols, or in such gardens, as the heathens worshipped idols in, is not much material for us to know; and burning incense upon altars of brick<\/I>, directly contrary to the Divine rule. Their worship was doubtless idolatrous, and these phrases signify committing idolatry; but the expressing that sin by these phrases lets us know that the doing contrary to the direction of the Divine rule in Gods worship is a great part of the sinfulness of idolatry. <\/P> <\/p>\n 3. continually<\/B>answering to”all the day” (Isa 65:2<\/span>).God was continually inviting them, and they continually<\/I>offending Him (De 32:21<\/span>). <\/P> to my face<\/B>They made noattempt to hide their sin (Isa 3:9<\/span>).Compare “before<\/I> Me” (Ex20:3<\/span>). <\/P> in gardens<\/B>(See on Isa1:29<\/span>; Isa 66:17<\/span>; Lev 17:5<\/span>).<\/P> altars of brick<\/B>Hebrew,<\/I>“bricks.” God had commanded His altars to be of unhewnstone<\/I> (Ex 20:25<\/span>). This wasin order to separate them, even in external respects,<\/I> fromidolaters; also, as all chiselling was forbidden, they could notinscribe superstitious symbols on them as the heathen did. Brickswere more easily so inscribed than stone; hence their use for thecuneiform inscriptions at Babylon, and also for idolatrous altars.Some, not so well, have supposed that the “bricks” heremean the flat brick-paved roofs<\/I> of houses on which theysacrificed to the sun, c. (2Ki 23:12<\/span>Jer 19:13<\/span>).<\/P><\/p>\n A people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face<\/strong>,…. They committed their sins openly, without any fear of the divine Being, and in defiance of him, not at all awed by his omniscience and omnipresence; they committed them in the open streets, and even in the temple, the place of the divine residence; and these they did constantly, which provoked him to anger and wrath against them; particularly the following sins:<\/p>\n that sacrificeth in gardens<\/strong>; to idols, as the Targum, placed there, as they were under every green tree; or in groves, where idols were worshipped. Fortunatus Scacchus h thinks this refers to their having their sepulchres in their gardens, where they consulted the dead; which is favoured by a clause in the next verse:<\/p>\n and burneth incense on altars of brick<\/strong>: or, “upon bricks” i. Kimchi says, when they made bricks, they put upon them incense for idols; or, “upon tiles”; upon the roofs of their houses, which were covered with tiles; see Jer 19:13<\/span> when incense should only have been burnt upon the golden altar erected for that purpose, Ex 30:1<\/span>, not that these idolatrous actions were committed by the Jews in the times of Christ and his apostles, the times preceding their last destruction; for, after their return front the Babylonish captivity, they were not guilty of idolatry; but these were the sins of their fathers, which God would recompense into their bosoms, according to Isa 65:7<\/span> they now filling up the measure of their iniquities, Mt 23:32<\/span>.<\/p>\n h Sacr. Eleaochr. Myrothec. I. 2. c. 55. col. 580. i “super lateres”, V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Vitringa.<\/p>\n But through this obstinate and unyielding rejection of His love they have excited wrath, which, though long and patiently suppressed, now bursts forth with irresistible violence. “The people that continually provoketh me by defying me to my face, sacrificing in the gardens, and burning incense upon the tiles; who sit in the graves, and spend the night in closed places; to eat the flesh of swine, and broken pieces of abominations is in their dishes; who say, Stop! come not too near me; for I am holy to thee: they are a smoke in my nose, a fire blazing continually.”<\/em> (these) in Isa 65:5<\/span><\/em> is retrospective, summing up the subject as described in Isa 65:3-5<\/span><\/em>, and what follows in Isa 65:5<\/span><\/em> contains the predicate. The heathenish practices of the exiles are here depicted, and in Isa 65:7<\/span> they are expressly distinguished from those of their fathers. Hence there is something so peculiar in the description, that we look in vain for parallels among those connected with the idolatry of the Israelites before the time of the captivity. There is only one point of resemblance, viz., the allusion to gardens as places of worship, which only occurs in the book of Isaiah, and in which our passage, together with Isa 57:5<\/span> and Isa 66:17<\/span>, strikingly coincides with Isa 1:29<\/span>. “Upon my face” ( al<\/em> – panai <\/em>) is equivalent to “freely and openly, without being ashamed of me, or fearing me;” cf., Job 1:11<\/span>; Job 6:28<\/span>; Job 21:31<\/span>. “Burning incense upon the bricks” carries us to Babylonia, the true home of the cocti lateres <\/em> ( laterculi <\/em>). The thorah<\/em> only mentions l e bhenm <\/em> in connection with Babylonian and Egyptian buildings. The only altars that it allows are altars of earth thrown up, or of unhewn stones and wooden beams with a brazen covering. “They who sit in the graves,” according to Vitringa, are they who sacrifice to the dead. He refers to the Greek and Roman inferiae <\/em> and februationes <\/em>, or expiations for the dead, as probably originating in the East. Sacrifices for the dead were offered, in fact, not only in India and Persia, but also in Hither Asia among the Ssabians, and therefore probably in ancient Mesopotamia and Babylonia. But were they offered in the graves themselves, as we must assume from (not )? Nothing at all is known of this, and Bttcher ( de inferis <\/em>, 234) is correct in rendering it “among ( inter <\/em>) the graves,” and supposing the object to be to hold intercourse there with the dead and with demons. The next point, viz., passing the night in closed places (i.e., places not accessible to every one: n e tsurm <\/em>, c ustodita <\/em> = c lausa <\/em>, like n e mm <\/em>, amaena <\/em>), may refer to the mysteries celebrated in natural caves and artificial crypts (on the mysteries of the Ssabians, see Chwolsohn, Die Ssabier u. der Ssabismus<\/em>, ii. 332ff.). But the lxx and Syriac render it , evidently understanding it to refer to the so-called incubare <\/em>, ; and so Jerome explains it. “In the temples of idols,” he says, “where they were accustomed to lie upon the skins of the victims stretched upon the ground, to gather future events from their dreams.” The expression ubhann e tsurm <\/em> points not so much to open temples, as to inaccessible caves or subterraneous places. G. Rawlinson ( Monarchies<\/em>, ii. 269) mentions the discovery of “clay idols in holes below the pavement of palaces.” From the next charge, “who eat there the flesh of the swine,” we may infer that the Babylonians offered swine in sacrifice, if not as a common thing, yet like the Egyptians and other heathen, and ate their flesh (“the flesh taken from the sacrifice,” 2 Macc. 6:21); whereas among the later Ssabians (Harranians) the swine was not regarded as either edible or fit for sacrifice. <\/p>\n On the synecdochical character of the sentence , see at Isa 5:12<\/span><\/em>, cf., Jer 24:2<\/span>. Knobel’s explanation, “pieces” (but it is not ) “of abominations are their vessels, i.e., those of their ,” is a needless innovation. signifies a stench, putrefaction (Eze 4:14<\/span>, b e sar <\/em> piggul <\/em>), then in a concrete sense anything corrupt or inedible, a thing to be abhorred according to the laws of food or the law generally (syn. , ); and when connected with ( chethib<\/em>), which bears the same relation to as crumbs or pieces (from , to crumble) to broth (from , to rub off or scald off), it means a decoction, or broth made either of such kinds of flesh or such parts of the body as were forbidden by the law. The context also points to such heathen sacrifices and sacrificial meals as were altogether at variance with the Mosaic law. For the five following words proceed from the mouths of persons who fancy that they have derived a high degree of sanctity either from the mysteries, or from their participation in rites of peculiar sacredness, so that to every one who abstains from such rites, or does not enter so deeply into them as they do themselves, they call out their “ odi profanum vulgus et arceo <\/em>.” , keep near to thyself, i.e., stay where you are, like the Arabic idhab ileika <\/em>, go away to thyself, for take thyself off. (according to some MSS with m ercha <\/em> tifchah <\/em>), do not push against me (equivalent to or , get away, make room; Gen 19:9<\/span>; Isa 49:20<\/span>), for q e dashtikha <\/em>, I am holy to thee, i.e., unapproachable. The verbal suffix is used for the dative, as in Isa 44:21<\/span> (Ges. 121, 4), for it never occurred to any of the Jewish expositors (all of whom give sanctus prae te as a gloss <\/em>) that the kal<\/em> qadash <\/em> was used in a transitive sense, like c hazaq <\/em> in Jer 20:7<\/span>, as Luther, Calvin, and even Hitzig suppose. Nor is the exclamation the well-meant warning against the communication of a burdensome q e dusshah <\/em>, which had to be removed by washing before a man could proceed to the duties of every-day life (such, for example, as the q e dusshah <\/em> of the man who had touched the flesh of a sin-offering, or bee sprinkled with the blood of a sin-offering; Lev 6:20<\/span>, cf., Eze 44:19<\/span>; Eze 46:20<\/span>). It is rather a proud demand to respect the sacro-sanctus <\/em>, and not to draw down the chastisement of the gods by the want of reverential awe. After this elaborate picture, the men who are so degenerate receive their fitting predicate. They are fuel for the wrath of God, which manifests itself, as it were, in smoking breath. This does not now need for the first time to seize upon them; but they are already in the midst of the fire of wrath, and are burning there in inextinguishable flame.<\/p>\n 3. A people that provoketh me. Here he describes and illustrates more largely in what respects the Jews were rebellious against God. It was because they had forsaken the command of God, and had polluted themselves by various superstitions. He had said a little before, (Isa 63:17<\/span>,) that the Jews had estranged themselves from God, because they wandered after their inventions; and now he points out the fruit of that licentiousness, that, by giving a loose rein to their thoughts, they overturned the pure worship of God. And undoubtedly this is the origin of all superstitions, that men are delighted with their own inventions, and choose to be wise in their own eyes rather than restrain their senses in obedience to God. In vain do men bring forward their devotions, as they call them, and their good intentions, which God holds in such abhorrence and detestation that they who have followed them are guilty of breaking the covenant and deserting from their allegiance; for there is nothing which we ought to undertake of our own accord, but we ought to obey God when he commands. In a word, the beginning and perfection of lawful worship is a readiness to obey. <\/p>\n By the word “provoke” he describes the impudence of the people, who deliberately, as it were, provoked God, and had no reverence for his majesty so as to submit to his authority. And he heightens the description by saying, To my face; for since God may be said to be present and actually beheld by those whom he warns by his word, they sin more heinously, and are guilty of greater impudence and rebellion, than those who never heard the word. <\/p>\n That sacrificeth in gardens, and offereth incense on bricks. He mentions the “gardens” which they had consecrated to their idols, and says that they provoked him by them. Some think that “bricks” are mentioned by way of contempt, and are indirectly contrasted with the altar on which alone God wished that they should sacrifice; and accordingly they think that here he mentions the roofs on which superstitious persons were wont to offer sacrifices; for they were made of “bricks.” But I think that it means simply the altars which they had built for idols; for, although they were not without the plausible pretense of wishing to imitate that form of altar which God had prescribed, yet God abhorred it, because it was contrary to his word. <\/p>\n (3) That sacriflceth in gardens.<\/strong>It is not without significance, as bearing on the date of the chapter, that the practice was common in Judah under Ahaz. (Comp. Isa. 1:29<\/span>, Mi. 5<\/span>; Eze. 20:28<\/span>.)<\/p>\n Burneth incense upon altars of brick.<\/strong>Literally, on the bricks, <\/em>and possibly, therefore, on the roofs of houses, as was common in the idolatrous practices of Judah (2Ki. 23:12<\/span>; Jer. 19:13<\/span>). By some interpreters the words are referred, though with less probability, to the brick altars which the exiles are supposed to have used at Babylon, and were forbidden by the Law (Exo. 20:24-25<\/span>).<\/p>\n 3-5<\/strong>. <\/strong> Sacrificeth in gardens <\/strong> Entering on heathen worship in the face of Jehovah’s temple, within the precincts of Jerusalem perhaps within the courts of great houses wherein were gardens. In this, daring impiety is charged. Or, upon altars of brick<\/strong>, extemporized on the tiled roofs of houses, whereon incense to idols was burned. Jer 19:13<\/span>; Jer 32:29<\/span>. <\/p>\n Among the graves <\/strong> Now little known or understood as an ancient practice, but perhaps for purposes of necromancy, <\/em> by persons believing that thoughts from the dead could thus be obtained. In monuments <\/strong> In crypts or sepulchres, wherein they lodged for the night, with like ends in view. <\/p>\n Swine’s flesh <\/strong> Used in idol worship, but abominable to the Hebrews. It is difficult to explain, from present knowledge, some of these allusions. Some think certain mysteries were involved in them, in which devotees assumed a sanctity, and said to others, Stand by for I am holier than thou<\/strong>. It is precarious to apply these things to Pharisees in Christ’s time, though the phrase may have then become a proverb, and applicable to the Pharisees.<\/p>\n Isa 65:3-4<\/span><\/em><\/strong>. <\/strong>That sacrificeth in gardens, <\/em><\/strong>&c.<\/strong> The superstition of the Jews is here reproved: the passage is not to be understood literally, but mystically (see ch. Isa 66:17<\/span>.); the prophet herein figuratively setting forth their shameful and detestable deviation from the true faith and the practice of holiness and virtue, which was as hateful and offensive to God as the most odious sacrifices, and vilest superstitions of idolatry. <\/p>\n Isa 65:3 A people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face; that sacrificeth in gardens, and burneth incense upon altars of brick;<\/p>\n Ver. 3. A people that provoketh me to my face.<\/strong> ] As it were for the nonce, in despite and defiance of me. Siquis me in faciem depalmaret, vix indignius essera laturus:<\/em> I could almost as well bear a blow on the face. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n And burneth incense upon altars of brick.<\/strong> ] a<\/em> Erected on the house tops. 2Ki 23:12 <\/em> Zep 1:5 They should have offered on the golden altar only. Exo 30:3-5 <\/p>\n<\/p>\n a<\/em> Lateres – per meiosin cum contemptu.<\/em> <\/p>\n provoketh Me to anger. Reference to Pentateuch (Deu 32:21, the same word, though not the same form). App-92. <\/p>\n that sacrificeth in gardens. Reference to Pentateuch (Lev 17:5). <\/p>\n upon altars of brick = upon the bricks: i.e. not on the golden altar of incense. <\/p>\n A people: Isa 3:8, Deu 32:16-19, Deu 32:21, 2Ki 17:14-17, 2Ki 22:17, Psa 78:40, Psa 78:58, Jer 32:30-35, Eze 8:17, Eze 8:18, Mat 23:32-36 <\/p>\n to my face: Job 1:11, Job 2:5 <\/p>\n that sacrificeth: Isa 1:29, Isa 66:17, Lev 17:5, Jer 3:6, Eze 20:28 <\/p>\n altars: Heb. bricks, Exo 20:24, Exo 20:25, Exo 30:1-10 <\/p>\n Reciprocal: Gen 11:3 – brick 1Ki 14:22 – they provoked 1Ki 22:53 – provoked Isa 1:4 – provoked Isa 7:13 – will ye Isa 65:12 – did evil Isa 66:3 – as if he offered Isa 66:4 – they did Jer 1:16 – and have Jer 7:18 – that they Eze 6:13 – upon Mat 8:30 – an<\/p>\n Isa 65:3-4. A people that provoketh me to anger That the Jews are the people here intended, is without question: the prophet, speaking of the calling of the Gentiles, upon their rejection, enumerates some of their sins which were the causes thereof: for though their crucifying of Christ was the sin which was the principal or proximate cause, yet God visited on that generation their iniquities and the iniquities of their fathers together; they having, by the act of rejecting and crucifying their Messiah, filled up the measure of their sins. Continually to my face With the utmost impudence, not taking notice of my omnipresence and omniscience. That sacrificeth in gardens, and burneth, &c. Directly contrary to the divine rule. These are instances, says Bishop Lowth, of heathenish superstition, and idolatrous practices, to which the Jews were immoderately addicted before the Babylonish captivity. The heathen worshipped their idols in groves: whereas God, in opposition to this species of idolatry, commanded his people, when they should come into the promised land, to destroy all the places wherein the Canaanites had served their gods, and in particular to burn their groves with fire, Deu 12:2-3. These apostate Jews sacrificed upon altars built of bricks; in opposition to the command of God, with regard to his altar, which was to be of unhewn stone, Exo 20:25. Or it means perhaps that they sacrificed upon the roofs of their houses, which were always flat, and paved with brick or tile, or plaster of terrace; an instance of this idolatrous practice we find 2Ki 23:12, where it is said that Josiah beat down the altars that were on the top of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made. See also Zep 1:5. Who remain among the graves, and lodge in the monuments Or, as Bishop Lowth renders it, Who dwell in the sepulchres and lodge in the caverns, for the purposes of necromancy, (or, the art of revealing future events by communications with the dead,) and divination; to obtain dreams and revelations: another instance this of heathenish superstition, which the Latin poet describes as follows: <\/p>\n Huc dona sacerdos Cum tulit, et csarum ovium sub nocte silenti Pellibus incubuit stratis, somnosque petivit; Multa modis simulacra videt volitantia miris, Et varias audit voces, fruiturque Deorum Colloquio, atque imis Acheronta affatur Avernis. VIRG. N., 7:86.<\/p>\n Here in distress th Italian nations come, Anxious to clear their doubts, and learn their doom: First, on the fleeces of the slaughterd sheep, By night the sacred priest dissolves in sleep; When, in a train, before his slumbring eye, Thin airy forms and wondrous visions fly, He calls the powers who guard the infernal floods, And talks inspired, familiar with the gods. PITT.<\/p>\n Which eat swines flesh Which was expressly forbidden by the law, Lev 11:7; but among the heathen was in principal request in their sacrifices and feasts. Antiochus Epiphanes compelled the Jews to eat swines flesh, as a full proof of their renouncing their religion, 2Ma 6:18; and 2Ma 7:1. And broth of abominable things For lustrations, magical arts, and other superstitious and abominable practices. Bishop Lowth.<\/p>\n 65:3 A people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face; that sacrificeth in {d} gardens, and burneth incense upon altars of {e} brick;<\/p>\n (d) Which were dedicated to idols.<\/p>\n (e) Meaning their altars, which he thus named by contempt.<\/p>\n The Israelites provoked the Lord by offering their sacrifices in ways that were unacceptable to Him-and then claimed that He was unresponsive to them. Gardens were unauthorized places for sacrificing, and bricks were unauthorized materials for an altar (cf. Exo 20:25; Deu 27:5-6; Jos 8:31).<\/p>\n A people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face; that sacrificeth in gardens, and burneth incense upon altars of brick; 3. that sacrificeth in the gardens ] Cf. ch. Isa 66:17, and see on Isa 1:29. burneth incense upon altars of brick ] Strictly on the bricks (R.V.), or tiles. We have no … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 65:3”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18911","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18911","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18911"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18911\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18911"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18911"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18911"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
<\/P> Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible <\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
<\/p>\n
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"