CHAPTER XXXVIII _Account of Hezekiah's dangerous sickness and miraculous_ _recovery_, 1-9. _Tender and beautiful song of thanksgiving, in which this pious_ _king breathed out the sentiments of a grateful heart, when his_ _life was, as it were, restored. This ode may be adapted to_ _other cases... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 38:2. _THEN HEZEKIAH TURNED HIS FACE TOWARD THE WALL_] The furniture of an eastern divan or chamber, either for the reception of company or for private use, consists chiefly of carpets spread on the floor in the middle; and of sofas, or couches ranged on one or more sides of the room,... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 38:6. _I WILL DEFEND THIS CITY._] The other copy, 2 Kings 20:6, adds: "for mine own sake, and for the sake of David my servant;" and the sentence seems somewhat abrupt without it.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 38:8. _WHICH IS GONE DOWN_ - "By which the sun is gone down"] For בשמש _bashshemesh_, the _Septuagint, Syriac_, and _Chaldee_ read השמש, _hashshemesh_. - _Houbigant_. In the history of this miracle in the book of Kings, (2 Kings 20:9,) there is no mention at all made of the sun, but onl... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 38:9. _THE WRITING OF HEZEKIAH_] Here the book of Kings deserts us, the song of Hezekiah not being inserted in it. Another copy of this very obscure passage (obscure not only from the concise poetical style, but because it is probably very incorrect) would have been of great service. Th... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 38:11. _THE LORD _- "JEHOVAH"] יה _Yah_, יה Yah, seems to be יהוה Yehovah, in MS. Bodl., and it was so at first written in another. So the _Syriac_. See _Houbigant_. I believe יהוה _Yehovah_ was the original reading. Isaiah 12:2.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 38:12. _MINE AGE - IS REMOVED FROM ME AS A SHEPHERD'S TENT_] רעי roi is put for רעה _roeh_, say the rabbis (_Sal. ben Melec_ on the place;) but much more probably is written imperfectly for רעים _roim, shepherds_. Isaiah 5:1. I shall be removed from this state to another, as a shepherd... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 38:13. The last line of the foregoing verse מיום עד לילה תשלימני _migom ad layelah tashlimeni_, "In the course of the day thou wilt finish my web;" or, as the common version has it, "From day even to night wilt thou make an end of me," is not repeated at the end of this verse in the _Sy... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 38:14. _LIKE-A SWALLOW_ - "Like the swallow"] כסיס _kesis_; so read two MSS., _Theodot_., and _Hieron_. _MINE EYES FAIL_] For דלו _dallu_ the _Septuagint_ read כלו _calu_, εξελιπον. Compare Psalms 69:4; Psalms 119:82; Psalms 119:123; Lamentations 2:11; Lamentations 4:17, in the _Hebrew... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 38:15. _I SHALL GO SOFTLY ALL MY YEARS IN THE BITTERNESS OF MY_ _SOUL__ _- "Through the rest of my years will I reflect on this bitterness of my soul"] אדדה _eddaddeh; recogitabo_, Vulg., _reputabo_, Hieron. in loc.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 38:16. _BY THESE_ THINGS MEN _LIVE_ - "For this cause shall it be declared"] Περι αυτης γαρ ανηγγελη σοι, και εξηγειρας μου την πνοην, Sept. They read in their copies עליה יחוו לך ותחיי רוחי not very different from the present text, from which all the ancient Versions vary. They entirel... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 38:17. _FOR PEACE I HAD GREAT BITTERNESS_ - "My anguish is changed into ease"] מר לי מר _mar li mar_, "mutata mthi est amaritudo." Paronomasia; a figure which the prophet frequently admits. I do not always note it, because it cannot ever be preserved in the translation, and the sense se... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 38:19. _THY TRUTH_] אל אמתך _el amittecha_. A MS. omits אל _el_; and instead of אל _el_, an ancient MS. and one edition read את _eth_. The same mistake as in Psalms 2:7.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 38:21. _LET THEM TAKE A LUMP OF FIGS, C._] God, in effecting this miraculous cure, was pleased to order the use of means not improper for that end. "Folia, et, quae non maturuere, fici, strumis illinuntur omnibusque quae emollienda sunt discutiendave." - PLIN. _Nat. Hist_. xxiii. 7. "A... [ Continue Reading ]