This chapter Isaiah 11 is connected with the preceding as part of the same general prophecy. In that, the prophet bad described the invasion of Sennacherib, and had given the assurance that Jerusalem should be safe, notwithstanding the threatened invasion. The general design of that prophecy was “to... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THERE SHALL COME FORTH A ROD - In the previous chapter, the prophet had represented the Assyrian monarch and his army under the image of a dense and flourishing forest, with all its glory and grandeur. In opposition to this, he describes the illustrious personage who is the subject of this chapt... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD - The Spirit of Yahweh. Chaldee, ‘And there shall rest upon him the spirit of prophecy from before Yahweh.’ In the previous verse, the prophet had announced his origin and his birth. In this, he proceeds to describe his extraordinary endowments, as eminently holy, pure, an... [ Continue Reading ]
AND SHALL MAKE HIM OF QUICK UNDERSTANDING - (והריחו _vahărı̂ychô_) The Septuagint renders this, ‘And the spirit of the fear of God shall fill him.’ The Chaldee, ‘And the Lord shall draw him near to him in his fear.’ The Syriac, ‘And he shall be resplendent (like the sun, or the stars) in the fear... [ Continue Reading ]
SHALL HE JUDGE THE POOR - That is, he shall see that impartial justice is done them; he shall not take part with the rich against the poor, but shall show that he is the friend of justice. This is the quality of a just and upright magistrate, and this character the Lord Jesus everywhere evinced. He... [ Continue Reading ]
AND RIGHTEOUSNESS SHALL BE THE GRIDLE OF HIS LOINS - The sense of this verse is plain. He will always exhibit himself as a just and faithful king. “The girdle of the loins” refers to the cincture, or band, with which the ancients girded themselves. A part of their dress consisted of an outward, loos... [ Continue Reading ]
THE WOLF ALSO - In this, and the following verses, the prophet describes the effect of his reign in producing peace and tranquility on the earth. The description is highly poetical, and is one that is common in ancient writings in describing a golden age. The two leading ideas are those of “peace” a... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THE COW AND THE BEAR SHALL FEED - That is, together. Animals that by nature do not dwell together, where by nature the one would be the prey of the other, shall dwell together - animage of safety and peace. AND THE LION SHALL EAT STRAW LIKE THE OX - A representation of the change that will take... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THE SUCKING CHILD - An emblem here of harmlessness and innocence. The change in the world, under the Messiah, shall be as great as if a sucking infant should be able to play unharmed with a venomous serpent. SHALL PLAY - Shall delight himself (שׁעשׁע _shı̂‛ăsha‛_) as children usually engage in... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY SHALL NOT HURT - That is, those who are designated above under the emblems of the lion, the leopard, the bear, and the adder. NOR DESTROY IN ALL MY HOLY MOUNTAIN - Mount Zion; used here, as elsewhere, to denote the seat of his reign on the earth, or his church; the notes at Isaiah 1:8; Isaiah... [ Continue Reading ]
AND IN THAT DAY - That future time when the reign of the Messiah shall be established; Note, Isaiah 3:2; Isaiah 4:1. The prophet, having described the birth, and the personal characteristics of the great personage to whom he referred, together with the peaceful effects of his reign, proceeds to stat... [ Continue Reading ]
AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS - The prophet having, in the previous verse, stated the effect of the reign of the Messiah on the Gentile world, proceeds to state the result on the scattered Jews. Whether it is to be a literal re-collecting of the scattered tribes to the land of their fathers, has been a... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HE SHALL SET UP AN ENSIGN - See Isaiah 11:10. The Messiah shall stand in view of the nations, as a standard is erected by a military leader. An ensign or standard was usually lifted up on the mountains or on some elevated place (compare Isaiah 18:3); and the meaning here is, that the Messiah wou... [ Continue Reading ]
THE ENVY ALSO - The word “envy” here, is used in the sense of “hatred,” or the hatred which arose from the “ambition” of Ephraim, and from the “prosperity” of Judah. Ephraim here, is the name for the kingdom of Israel, or the ten tribes. The reasons of their envy and enmity toward Judah, all arising... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT THEY SHALL FLY - The design of this verse is, to show the rapid and certain spiritual conquests which would result from the conversion of the scattered Jewish people. The Jews understood this literally, as referring to the conquests over their enemies. But if the exposition which has been given... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THE LORD - The prophet goes on with the description of the effect which shall follow the return of the scattered Jews to God. The language is figurative, and is here drawn from that which was the great storehouse of all the imagery of the Jews - the deliverance of their fathers from the bondage... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THERE SHALL BE AN HIGHWAY - All obstructions shall be removed, and they shall be permitted to return without hinderance (compare the note at Isaiah 35:8). FOR THE REMNANT OF HIS PEOPLE FROM ASSYRIA - See note at Isaiah 11:11. LIKE AS IT WAS TO ISRAEL... - That is, God will remove all obstructio... [ Continue Reading ]