INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 8 This chapter contains a confirmation of the sudden destruction of the kingdoms of Syria and Israel, by another sign; a threatening to those that gloried in the kings of those nations, with an invasion of their land by the Assyrian monarch; a sarcastic address to those that... [ Continue Reading ]
MOREOVER THE LORD SAID UNTO ME,.... This is another prophecy, confirming the same thing that was promised in the preceding chapter Isaiah 7:1; namely, safety to the Jews from the two kings of Syria and Israel, which combined against them: TAKE THEE A GREAT ROLL; or volume, a writing book, a roll of... [ Continue Reading ]
AND I TOOK UNTO ME FAITHFUL WITNESSES TO RECORD,.... Not his marriage, nor the birth of his son, nor the name he gave him, but the prophecy written in the roll, concerning the spoiling of Syria and Israel, in a very short time; that so, when it came to pass, it might be a clear and certain point tha... [ Continue Reading ]
AND I WENT UNTO THE PROPHETESS,.... His wife, so called; not because she prophesied, but because she was the wife of a prophet; and besides, the birth of her son later mentioned, and his name, had in them the nature of a prophecy. The phrase of going unto her is an euphemism, a modest way of express... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR BEFORE THE CHILD SHALL HAVE KNOWLEDGE TO CRY, MY FATHER, AND MY MOTHER,.... Which are commonly the first words children learn to say; and so it signifies that what follows should happen in a year or two; as it did: THE RICHES OF DAMASCUS, AND THE SPOIL OF SAMARIA, SHALL BE TAKEN AWAY BEFORE THE... [ Continue Reading ]
THE LORD SPAKE ALSO UNTO ME AGAIN,.... In the same prophecy, or in another; the Targum is, "the Word of the Lord added to speak with me again;'' but rather Jehovah the Father, or the Spirit of the Lord, is meant, since the Person speaking is distinguished from Immanuel, Isaiah 8:8: SAYING; as fol... [ Continue Reading ]
FORASMUCH AS THIS PEOPLE REFUSETH THE WATERS OF SHILOAH, THAT GO SOFTLY,.... The same with Siloam, John 9:7 and so it is called in the Septuagint version here; and the word here used signifies "sent", as it is there interpreted. Jarchi says it is a fountain, whose name was Gihon and Shiloah; see 1 K... [ Continue Reading ]
NOW THEREFORE THE LORD BRINGETH UP UPON THEM THE WATERS OF THE RIVER, STRONG AND MANY,.... Alluding to the river Euphrates, which ran by Babylon, which was a large river, full of water, and had a rapid torrent, and so is opposed to Shiloah and its waters; and these waters are explained as follows:... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HE SHALL PASS THROUGH JUDAH,.... That is, the king of Assyria, compared to a river of mighty waters; who should not only run over and possess the land of Israel, or the ten tribes, but should enter into Judea, and pass through it, as a chastisement for not trusting in the Lord, but sending to As... [ Continue Reading ]
ASSOCIATE YOURSELVES, O YE PEOPLE,.... Both of Syria and Israel, whose two kings were confederate against Judah: AND YE SHALL BE BROKEN IN PIECES; as the kingdom of Syria was by Tilgathpilneser quickly after this, 2 Kings 16:9 and the kingdom of Ephraim or Israel by Shalmaneser, 2 Kings 17:6: AND... [ Continue Reading ]
TAKE COUNSEL TOGETHER,.... As Rezin king of Syria, and Remaliah's son, did against Judah, Isaiah 7:5: IT SHALL COME TO NOUGHT; for, though they came up against it, they could not overcome it, 2 Kings 16:5: SPEAK THE WORD; what they intended, resolved upon, and determined to do; this is the issue o... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR THE LORD SPAKE THUS TO ME WITH A STRONG HAND,.... In the strength of prophecy, as the Targum explains it; and so all the Jews' interpreters understand it of prophecy, as in Ezekiel 1:3: or, "the Lord spake thus to me, when he took (me) by the hand" t; as parents or masters take hold of the hands... [ Continue Reading ]
SAY YE NOT, A CONFEDERACY,.... With the king of Assyria, or any other; do not cry it up as a right thing, and express pleasure and satisfaction in it, and encourage others to come into it, and vote for it, and declare an approbation of it; or a "rebellion", as the Targum, that is, against Ahaz; and... [ Continue Reading ]
SANCTIFY THE LORD OF HOSTS HIMSELF,.... Christ, Immanuel, God with us, the Lord of the armies above and below, of angels and of men, God over all, the true Jehovah, who is sanctified by his people, when they declare him to be so; as the Targum paraphrases it, "the Lord of hosts, him shall ye say is... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HE SHALL BE FOR A SANCTUARY,.... Not the king of Assyria, as Aben Ezra, but the Lord of hosts: the Targum rightly interprets it of the word of the Lord, the essential Word; of the Messiah, who is for a sanctuary, or asylum, a place of refuge for his people in all times of distress, and who is th... [ Continue Reading ]
AND MANY AMONG THEM,.... Not all, though the greater part; for Christ was set for the falling and rising of many in Israel, Luke 2:34: SHALL STUMBLE, AND FALL, AND BE BROKEN: stumble at Christ, the stumbling stone; fall by unbelief into other sins and punishment, and be broken in pieces by this sto... [ Continue Reading ]
BIND UP THE TESTIMONY,.... These are not the words of the prophet, as Kimchi thinks, but of the Lord to the prophet, and are part of that instruction given him, Isaiah 8:11. By "the testimony" is meant the word of prophecy delivered to him; particularly that evangelical part of it respecting Immanue... [ Continue Reading ]
AND I WILL WAIT UPON THE LORD,.... Or "for the Lord" x; for the coming of Christ, the Immanuel, who would be a sanctuary to some, and a stone of stumbling to others, and whose doctrine in the meanwhile would be bound up and sealed; faith in, and expectation of the Messiah's coming, are often signifi... [ Continue Reading ]
BEHOLD, I, AND THE CHILDREN WHOM THE LORD HATH GIVEN ME,.... These are the words of Christ, as is clear from Hebrews 2:13 who, upon the prophet's declaring his resolution to look and wait for him, presents himself and his children to him, as if he was actually come, or else continues his discourse f... [ Continue Reading ]
AND WHEN THEY SHALL SAY UNTO YOU,.... These are the words of Christ continued, as making his appearance in Israel; and are an address to his people among them, even to his children, disciples, and followers, advising them what they should do, when those among whom they dwelt should press them to SE... [ Continue Reading ]
TO THE LAW, AND TO THE TESTIMONY,.... Kimchi takes this to be an oath, "by the law, and by the testimony", it is so and so; but Aben Ezra observes there is no instance of this kind in Scripture; it is a direction of Christ's to his disciples, to attend to the writings of Moses and the prophets, to s... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THEY SHALL PASS THROUGH IT,.... The land, as the Targum and Kimchi supply it; that is, the land of Judea, as Aben Ezra interprets it. Here begins an account of the punishment that should be inflicted on the Jews, for their neglect of the prophecies of the Old Testament, and their rejection of th... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THEY SHALL LOOK UNTO THE EARTH,.... As persons in distress, upwards and downwards, backwards and forwards, on the right hand and on the left, particularly into the land of Judea; a land that used to flow with milk and honey, a land of light, plenty, and prosperity: AND BEHOLD TROUBLE AND DARKNE... [ Continue Reading ]