Isaiah 40:18-20

"To whom will ye liken God?" This question introduces the second distinct theme of the argument, the folly of idolatry. Although the prophet has in his mind the difficulties of Jews impressed by the fascinations of idolatry, his words are addressed not to them directly, but to men in general. The error he exposes is not the worshipping of Jehovah by images, but the universal error of thinking that the Deity ("çl) can be represented by the works of human hands. His point of view is that of Paul's speech to the Athenians: "we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold or silver or stone, graven by art and device of man" (Acts 17:29). In order to see how absurd this is, one has but to observe how the images are manufactured; and the various processes are described with an unmistakeable irony. After Isaiah 40:19 Duhm and Cheyne (following out a hint of Lagarde's) insert Isaiah 40:6 of the next chapter. The description would then fall into two unequal parts; first, the construction of a metal idol (Isaiah 40:19; Isaiah 41:6-7), and second, that of a wooden idol (Isaiah 40:20); each ending naturally with the fastening of the image to its pedestal.