_ We have here,_ _A.M. 3246. B.C. 758._ (1,) _ an historical account of the occasion of this prophecy, Isaiah 7:1._ (2,) _ A prediction of the ill success of the designs of the Israelites and Syrians against Judah, Isaiah 7:4._ (3,) _ A denunciation of the calamities to be brought upon the king... [ Continue Reading ]
_And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz_ Of whose idolatries and abominable wickedness the reader will find a particular account, 2 Chronicles 28:1. _Rezin and Pekah went up toward Jerusalem_ “The confederacy of these two kings against the kingdom of Judah was formed in the time of Jotham; and perh... [ Continue Reading ]
_And it was told the house of David_ Ahaz and his royal relations and courtiers. He calls them _the house of David_, to intimate that the following comfortable message was sent to Ahaz, not for his own sake, but only for the sake of his worthy progenitor David, to whom God had promised an everlastin... [ Continue Reading ]
_Then said the Lord unto Isaiah_ This fifth discourse, delivered as immediately from the Lord, which extends from hence to the end of chap. 12., is of a very mixed and various argument. It may be divided into five parts: the first contained in this chapter; the second from Isaiah 8:1, to Isaiah 9:7;... [ Continue Reading ]
_Say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet_ Settle thy mind by the belief of that joyful message which I am now to deliver to thee from the Lord; _Fear not for the two tails_, &c. These two kings and their forces, which, though they seem to threaten utter destruction, yet shall not be able to do much mi... [ Continue Reading ]
_Syria and Ephraim have taken evil_, or mischievous _counsel, saying, Let us go up against Judah, and vex it_ Hebrew, נקיצנה, _harass, weary_, or _distress it; and make a breach therein_ Violently break in upon the land, or break their power and kingdom, and subdue it to ourselves; _and set a king i... [ Continue Reading ]
_It shall not stand_ Namely, their evil counsel. _For the head of Syria is Damascus_ As if he had said, As Damascus is the head city of Syria, and Rezin is the head, or king, of Damascus, so shall they continue to be, and not advance themselves, and enlarge their territories, by possessing themselve... [ Continue Reading ]
_The Lord spake again unto Ahaz_ Namely, by Isaiah. “From hence to Isaiah 7:16, we have the confirmation of the promise, by a sign to Ahaz, in the name of God; in which we have, first, the prophet's address to Ahaz, exhorting him, by the divine command, to ask whatever sign he would, with the reply... [ Continue Reading ]
_And he said, Hear now, O house of David_ The prophet no longer addresses himself to Ahaz singly, who would not regard his words, but to the whole royal family, all of whom he reproves, as being the king's counsellors, and promoting the design of sending for the Assyrian succours. _Is it a small thi... [ Continue Reading ]
_Butter and honey shall he eat_ The common food of children in that country, where these articles were in great abundance, and of the best sort. The principal meaning of the verse seems to be, that this child, called Immanuel, should be brought up in the usual manner, “the same republic still contin... [ Continue Reading ]
_For before the child_, &c. “The learned Vitringa,” says Dr. Dodd, “seems to have proved beyond any doubt, that the child spoken of in this verse can be no other than he who is spoken of in the preceding verses. The connecting particle _for_, and the repetition of the words, _refusing the evil and c... [ Continue Reading ]
_The Lord shall bring upon thee_ But although God will deliver you at this time, for his own name's sake, yet he will remember and requite your wickedness, and hath a dreadful judgment in store for you. _And upon thy people, and thy father's house_ Upon thy subjects, and upon thy sons and successors... [ Continue Reading ]
_In that day_ Known to God, and appointed by him for the execution of these judgments; _the Lord shall hiss for the fly_ The _flies_, rather. Thus he calls these enemies, to signify either their great number, or their speedy march: see on Isaiah 5:26. As the word _hiss_ carries with it a low idea, a... [ Continue Reading ]
_The Lord shall shave_ Shall utterly spoil, as shaving takes away the hair; _with a razor that is hired_ Hired by Ahaz; for he purchased the aid of the Assyrians with large sums of silver and gold, 2 Kings 16:7. And so the prophet signifies the just judgment of God, in scourging them with a rod of t... [ Continue Reading ]
These verses “contain an elegant and very expressive description of a country depopulated, and left to run wild, from its adjuncts and circumstances; the vineyards and corn-fields, before well cultivated, now overrun with briers and thorns; much grass, so that the few cattle that are left, a young c... [ Continue Reading ]