This chapter Isaiah 35:1 is a continuation of the prophecy commenced in the previous chapter. See the Analysis of Isaiah 34 for a general view of the design of the prophecy. The object of the whole is, to show that all the enemies of the people of God, and particularly Edom, which had so peculiarly... [ Continue Reading ]
THE WILDERNESS AND THE SOLITARY PLACE - This is evidently figurative language, such as is often employed by the prophets. The word rendered ‘solitary place’ (ציה _tsı̂yâh_), denotes properly a dry place, a place without springs and streams of water; and as such places produce no verdure, and nothin... [ Continue Reading ]
IT SHALL BLOSSOM ABUNDANTLY - Hebrew, ‘Blossoming it shall blossom’ - a common mode of expression in Hebrew, denoting certainty, abundance, fullness - similar to the expression Genesis 2:17, ‘Dying thou shalt die,’ that is, thou shalt surely die. The sense here is, it shall blossom in abundance. AND... [ Continue Reading ]
STRENGTHEN YE - That is, you who are the religious teachers and guides of the people. This is an address made by the prophet in view of what he had said and was about to say of the proraised blessings. The sense is, strengthen and sustain the feeble and the desponding by the promised blessings; by t... [ Continue Reading ]
SAY TO THEM - This is still an address to the ministers of religion, to make use of all the consolations which these truths and predictions furnish to confirm and strengthen the people of God. OF A FEARFUL HEART - Of a timid, pusillanimous heart; those who tremble before their enemies. The Hebrew i... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN THE EYES OF THE BLIND SHALL BE OPENED - The images in this verse and the following are those of joy and exultation. They describe the times of happiness when God would come to save them from their foes. This passage is so accurate a description of what the Messiah, the Lord Jesus, did, that it... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN SHALL THE LAME MAN LEAP - This was literally fulfilled after the coming of the Messiah Acts 14:10; Acts 3:8. It is an emblem of the general joy which the coming of the Messiah would impart, and is an instance of the blessings which it would convey. AS AN HART - The word used here denotes the s... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THE PARCHED GROUND SHALL BECOME A POOL - The idea is the same here as in the previous verse, that under the Messiah there would be blessings as great as if the parched ground’ should become a lake of pure and refreshing water. The words ‘parched ground,’ however, probably do not convey the sense... [ Continue Reading ]
AND AN HIGHWAY SHALL BE THERE - (see the note at Isaiah 11:16). This is language which is derived from the return of the Jews from captivity. The idea is, that there would be easy and uninterrupted access to their own land. The more remote, though main idea in the mind of the prophet seems to have b... [ Continue Reading ]
NO LION SHALL BE THERE - Lions abounded in all the countries adjacent to Palestine. They are, therefore, often referred to by the sacred writers, as objects of dread and alarm. The leading idea in the language of Isaiah in this whole passage, is that of a way constructed from Babylon to Judea, so st... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THE RANSOMED OF THE LORD - The word rendered here ‘ransomed,’ is different from the word rendered ‘redeemed’ in Isaiah 35:9. This word is פדוּיי _p__e__dûyēy_ from פדה _pâdâh_; though it is not easy, perhaps not possible, to designate the difference in the sense. Doubtless there was a shade... [ Continue Reading ]