This prophecy occupies this single chapter. Its design and scope it is not difficult to understand. The time when it was delivered is designated in Isaiah 20:1, and was manifestly in the reign of Hezekiah. The Assyrian empire had extended its conquests over Syria, Damascus, and Ephraim or Samaria 2... [ Continue Reading ]
IN THE YEAR THAT TARTAN CAME UNTO ASHDOD - Tartan was one of the generals of Sennacherib. Ashdod, called by the Greeks Azotus, was a seaport on the Mediterranean, between Askelon and Ekron, and not far from Gaza (Reland’s “Palestine,” iii.) It was one of the five cities of the Philistines, assigned... [ Continue Reading ]
BY ISAIAH - Margin, ‘By the hand of Isaiah.’ So the Hebrew. That is, by the instrumentality of Isaiah. He sent him to make known the fate of the Egyptians, and the folly of trusting in them on this occasion. GO, AND LOOSE THE SACKCLOTH - For the meaning of the word “sackcloth,” see the note at Isaia... [ Continue Reading ]
LIKE AS - That is, as Isaiah has gone stripped of his special garment as a prophet, so shall the Egyptians and Ethiopians be stripped of all that they value, and be carried captive into Assyria.’ HATH WALKED ... THREE YEARS - A great deal of difficulty has been felt in the interpretation of this pla... [ Continue Reading ]
SO SHALL THE KING OF ASSYRIA - The emphasis here is on the word “so.” As Isaiah has walked naked, that is, stripped off his usual clothing, “so” shall the Egyptians and Ethiopians be led away “stripped” of all their possessions. THE EGYPTIANS PRISONERS, AND THE ETHIOPIANS CAPTIVES - The Egyptians a... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THEY SHALL BE AFRAID - The Jews, or the party or faction among the Jews, that were expecting aid from allied Ethiopia and Egypt. When they shall see them vanquished, they shall apprehend a similar danger to themselves; and they shall be ashamed that they ever confided in a people so little able... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THE INHABITANT - The dwellers generally. OF THIS ISLE - The word אי _'iy_ “isle” is used here in the sense of “coast, or maritime” country, and is evidently applied to Palestine, or the land of Canaan, which is a narrow coast lying on the Mediterranean. That the word is often used in this sense... [ Continue Reading ]