The Lord’s Courtroom, the Futility of Idols, and Comfort for Israel His Servant

Isa 41:5-7 In the following v. we have not a description of the impression made upon the heathen by the argument of Jehovah, but the argument itself is continued. Isa 41:5 “Islands have seen it, and shuddered; the ends of the earth trembled; they have approached, and drawn near. ” We have here a description of the effects which the victorious course of Cyrus had begun to produce in the heathen world.

The perfects denote the past, and the futures a simultaneous past; so that we have not to compare Isa 41:5 with Hab 3:10 so much as with Psa 77:17. The play upon the words וייראּוּ ... ראּוּ pairs together both seeing and fearing. The Cumaeans, when consulting the oracle, commenced thus: ἡμεῖς δὲ δειμαίνοντες τὴν Περσέων δύναμιν. The perfect with the aorist following in Isa 41:5 places the following picture upon the stage: They have approached and drawn near (from all directions) to meet the threatening danger; and how?

Isa 41:6, Isa 41:7 “One helped his companion, and he said to his brother, Only firm! The caster put firmness into the melter, the hammer-smoother into the anvil-smiter, saying of the soldering, It is good; and made him firm with nails, that he should not shake. ” Him , viz. , the idol. Everything is in confusion, from the terror that prevails; and the gods from which they expect deliverance are not made till now, the workmen stimulating one another to work.

The chârâsh , who casts the image, encourages the tsōrēph , whose task it is to provide it with the plating of gold and silver chains (Isa 40:19), to work more bravely; and the man who smooths with the hammer ( pattish , instrumentalis ) does the same to the man who smites the anvil (הולם with seghol , whereas in other cases, e. g. , Eze 22:25, the tone generally gives way without any change in the vowel-pointing).

The latter finds the soldering all right, by which the gold plates of the covering are fastened together, so as to give to the golden idol a massive appearance. He is the last into whose hands it comes; and nothing more is wanting, than that he should forge upon the anvil the nails with which it is fastened, to prevent it from falling. To such foolish, fruitless proceedings have the nations resorted when threatened with subjugation by Cyrus.

Isa 41:5-7 In the following v. we have not a description of the impression made upon the heathen by the argument of Jehovah, but the argument itself is continued. Isa 41:5 “Islands have seen it, and shuddered; the ends of the earth trembled; they have approached, and drawn near. ” We have here a description of the effects which the victorious course of Cyrus had begun to produce in the heathen world.

The perfects denote the past, and the futures a simultaneous past; so that we have not to compare Isa 41:5 with Hab 3:10 so much as with Psa 77:17. The play upon the words וייראּוּ ... ראּוּ pairs together both seeing and fearing. The Cumaeans, when consulting the oracle, commenced thus: ἡμεῖς δὲ δειμαίνοντες τὴν Περσέων δύναμιν. The perfect with the aorist following in Isa 41:5 places the following picture upon the stage: They have approached and drawn near (from all directions) to meet the threatening danger; and how?

Isa 41:6, Isa 41:7 “One helped his companion, and he said to his brother, Only firm! The caster put firmness into the melter, the hammer-smoother into the anvil-smiter, saying of the soldering, It is good; and made him firm with nails, that he should not shake. ” Him , viz. , the idol. Everything is in confusion, from the terror that prevails; and the gods from which they expect deliverance are not made till now, the workmen stimulating one another to work.

The chârâsh , who casts the image, encourages the tsōrēph , whose task it is to provide it with the plating of gold and silver chains (Isa 40:19), to work more bravely; and the man who smooths with the hammer ( pattish , instrumentalis ) does the same to the man who smites the anvil (הולם with seghol , whereas in other cases, e. g. , Eze 22:25, the tone generally gives way without any change in the vowel-pointing).

The latter finds the soldering all right, by which the gold plates of the covering are fastened together, so as to give to the golden idol a massive appearance. He is the last into whose hands it comes; and nothing more is wanting, than that he should forge upon the anvil the nails with which it is fastened, to prevent it from falling. To such foolish, fruitless proceedings have the nations resorted when threatened with subjugation by Cyrus.

Isa 41:8-10 The proof adduced by Jehovah of His own deity closes here. But instead of our hearing whether the nations, with which He has entered upon the contest, have any reply to make, the address turns to Israel, upon which deliverance dawns from that very quarter, from which the others are threatened with destruction. “And thou, Israel my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, seed of Abraham my friend, thou whom I have laid hold of from the ends of the earth, and called from the corners thereof, and said to thee, Thou art my servant, I have chosen and not despised thee; fear thou not, for I am with thee; be not afraid, for I am thy God: I have chosen thee, I also help thee, I also hold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

” The ו before ואתּה connects together antitheses, which show themselves at once to be antitheses. Whereas the nations, which put their trust in idols that they themselves had made, were thrown into alarm, and yielded before the world-wide commotions that had originated with the eastern conqueror, Israel, the nation of Jehovah, might take comfort to itself. Every word here breathes the deepest affection.

The address moves on in soft undulating lines. The repetition of the suffix ך, with which אשׁר forms a relative of the second person, for which we have no equivalent in our language (Ges. §123, Anm. 1), gives to the address a pressing, clinging, and, as it were, loving key-note. The reason, which precedes the comforting assurance in Isa 41:10, recals the intimate relation in which Jehovah had placed Himself towards Israel, and Israel towards Himself.

The leading thought, “servant of Jehovah,” which is characteristic of chapters 40-46, and lies at the root of the whole spirit of these addresses, more especially of their Christology, we first meet with here, and that in a popular sense. It has both an objective and a subjective side. On the one hand, Israel is the servant of Jehovah by virtue of a divine act; and this act, viz.

, its election and call, was an act of pure grace, and was not to be traced, as the expression “I have chosen and not despised thee' indicates, to any superior excellence or merit on the part of Israel. On the contrary, Israel was so obscure that Jehovah might have despised it; nevertheless He had anticipated it in free unmerited love with this stamp of the character indelibilis of a servant of Jehovah.

On the other hand, Israel was the servant of Jehovah, inasmuch as it acted out what Jehovah had made it, partly in reverential worship of this God, and partly in active obedience. את־ה עבד, i. e. , “serving Jehovah,” includes both liturgical service (also עבד absolutely, Isa 19:23) and the service of works. The divine act of choosing and calling is dated from Abraham.

From a Palestinian point of view, Ur of Chaldaea, within the old kingdom of Nimrod, and Haran in northern Mesopotamia, seemed like the ends and corners of the earth ( 'ătsı̄lı̄m , remote places, from 'âtsal , to put aside or apart). Israel and the land of Israel were so inseparably connected, that whenever the origin of Israel was spoken of, the point of view could only be taken in Palestine.

To the far distant land of the Tigris and Euphrates had Jehovah gone to fetch Abraham, “the friend of God” (Jam 2:23), who is called in the East even to the present day, chalil ollah , the friend of God. This calling of Abraham was the furthest terminus a quo of the existence of Israel as the covenant nation; for the leading of Abraham was providentially appointed with reference to the rise of Israel as a nation.

The latter was pre-existent in him by virtue of the counsel of God. And when Jehovah adopted Abraham as His servant, and called him “my servant” (Gen 26:24), Israel, the nation that was coming into existence in Abraham, received both the essence and name of a “servant of Jehovah. ” Inasmuch then as, on looking back to its past history, it would not fail to perceive that it was so thoroughly a creation of divine power and grace, it ought not to be fearful, and look about with timidity and anxiety; for He who had presented Himself at the very beginning as its God, was still always near.

The question arises, in connection with the word אמּצתּי, whether it means to strengthen (Isa 35:3; Psa 89:22), or to lay firm hold of, to attach firmly to one’s self, to choose. We decide in favour of the latter meaning, which is established by Isa 44:14, cf. , Psa 80:16, Psa 80:18. The other perfects affirm what Jehovah has ever done, and still continues to do.

In the expression “by the right hand of my righteousness,” the justice or righteousness is regarded pre-eminently on its brighter side, the side turned towards Israel; but it is also regarded on its fiery side, or the side turned towards the enemies of Israel. It is the righteousness which aids the oppressed congregation against its oppressors. The repeated אף heaps one synonym upon another, expressive of the divine love; for ו simply connects, גּם appends, אף heaps up ( cumulat ).

Language is too contracted to hold all the fulness of the divine love; and for this reason the latter could not find words enough to express all that it desired.

Isa 41:8-10 The proof adduced by Jehovah of His own deity closes here. But instead of our hearing whether the nations, with which He has entered upon the contest, have any reply to make, the address turns to Israel, upon which deliverance dawns from that very quarter, from which the others are threatened with destruction. “And thou, Israel my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, seed of Abraham my friend, thou whom I have laid hold of from the ends of the earth, and called from the corners thereof, and said to thee, Thou art my servant, I have chosen and not despised thee; fear thou not, for I am with thee; be not afraid, for I am thy God: I have chosen thee, I also help thee, I also hold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

” The ו before ואתּה connects together antitheses, which show themselves at once to be antitheses. Whereas the nations, which put their trust in idols that they themselves had made, were thrown into alarm, and yielded before the world-wide commotions that had originated with the eastern conqueror, Israel, the nation of Jehovah, might take comfort to itself. Every word here breathes the deepest affection.

The address moves on in soft undulating lines. The repetition of the suffix ך, with which אשׁר forms a relative of the second person, for which we have no equivalent in our language (Ges. §123, Anm. 1), gives to the address a pressing, clinging, and, as it were, loving key-note. The reason, which precedes the comforting assurance in Isa 41:10, recals the intimate relation in which Jehovah had placed Himself towards Israel, and Israel towards Himself.

The leading thought, “servant of Jehovah,” which is characteristic of chapters 40-46, and lies at the root of the whole spirit of these addresses, more especially of their Christology, we first meet with here, and that in a popular sense. It has both an objective and a subjective side. On the one hand, Israel is the servant of Jehovah by virtue of a divine act; and this act, viz.

, its election and call, was an act of pure grace, and was not to be traced, as the expression “I have chosen and not despised thee' indicates, to any superior excellence or merit on the part of Israel. On the contrary, Israel was so obscure that Jehovah might have despised it; nevertheless He had anticipated it in free unmerited love with this stamp of the character indelibilis of a servant of Jehovah.

On the other hand, Israel was the servant of Jehovah, inasmuch as it acted out what Jehovah had made it, partly in reverential worship of this God, and partly in active obedience. את־ה עבד, i. e. , “serving Jehovah,” includes both liturgical service (also עבד absolutely, Isa 19:23) and the service of works. The divine act of choosing and calling is dated from Abraham.

From a Palestinian point of view, Ur of Chaldaea, within the old kingdom of Nimrod, and Haran in northern Mesopotamia, seemed like the ends and corners of the earth ( 'ătsı̄lı̄m , remote places, from 'âtsal , to put aside or apart). Israel and the land of Israel were so inseparably connected, that whenever the origin of Israel was spoken of, the point of view could only be taken in Palestine.

To the far distant land of the Tigris and Euphrates had Jehovah gone to fetch Abraham, “the friend of God” (Jam 2:23), who is called in the East even to the present day, chalil ollah , the friend of God. This calling of Abraham was the furthest terminus a quo of the existence of Israel as the covenant nation; for the leading of Abraham was providentially appointed with reference to the rise of Israel as a nation.

The latter was pre-existent in him by virtue of the counsel of God. And when Jehovah adopted Abraham as His servant, and called him “my servant” (Gen 26:24), Israel, the nation that was coming into existence in Abraham, received both the essence and name of a “servant of Jehovah. ” Inasmuch then as, on looking back to its past history, it would not fail to perceive that it was so thoroughly a creation of divine power and grace, it ought not to be fearful, and look about with timidity and anxiety; for He who had presented Himself at the very beginning as its God, was still always near.

The question arises, in connection with the word אמּצתּי, whether it means to strengthen (Isa 35:3; Psa 89:22), or to lay firm hold of, to attach firmly to one’s self, to choose. We decide in favour of the latter meaning, which is established by Isa 44:14, cf. , Psa 80:16, Psa 80:18. The other perfects affirm what Jehovah has ever done, and still continues to do.

In the expression “by the right hand of my righteousness,” the justice or righteousness is regarded pre-eminently on its brighter side, the side turned towards Israel; but it is also regarded on its fiery side, or the side turned towards the enemies of Israel. It is the righteousness which aids the oppressed congregation against its oppressors. The repeated אף heaps one synonym upon another, expressive of the divine love; for ו simply connects, גּם appends, אף heaps up ( cumulat ).

Language is too contracted to hold all the fulness of the divine love; and for this reason the latter could not find words enough to express all that it desired.

Isa 41:8-10 The proof adduced by Jehovah of His own deity closes here. But instead of our hearing whether the nations, with which He has entered upon the contest, have any reply to make, the address turns to Israel, upon which deliverance dawns from that very quarter, from which the others are threatened with destruction. “And thou, Israel my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, seed of Abraham my friend, thou whom I have laid hold of from the ends of the earth, and called from the corners thereof, and said to thee, Thou art my servant, I have chosen and not despised thee; fear thou not, for I am with thee; be not afraid, for I am thy God: I have chosen thee, I also help thee, I also hold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

” The ו before ואתּה connects together antitheses, which show themselves at once to be antitheses. Whereas the nations, which put their trust in idols that they themselves had made, were thrown into alarm, and yielded before the world-wide commotions that had originated with the eastern conqueror, Israel, the nation of Jehovah, might take comfort to itself. Every word here breathes the deepest affection.

The address moves on in soft undulating lines. The repetition of the suffix ך, with which אשׁר forms a relative of the second person, for which we have no equivalent in our language (Ges. §123, Anm. 1), gives to the address a pressing, clinging, and, as it were, loving key-note. The reason, which precedes the comforting assurance in Isa 41:10, recals the intimate relation in which Jehovah had placed Himself towards Israel, and Israel towards Himself.

The leading thought, “servant of Jehovah,” which is characteristic of chapters 40-46, and lies at the root of the whole spirit of these addresses, more especially of their Christology, we first meet with here, and that in a popular sense. It has both an objective and a subjective side. On the one hand, Israel is the servant of Jehovah by virtue of a divine act; and this act, viz.

, its election and call, was an act of pure grace, and was not to be traced, as the expression “I have chosen and not despised thee' indicates, to any superior excellence or merit on the part of Israel. On the contrary, Israel was so obscure that Jehovah might have despised it; nevertheless He had anticipated it in free unmerited love with this stamp of the character indelibilis of a servant of Jehovah.

On the other hand, Israel was the servant of Jehovah, inasmuch as it acted out what Jehovah had made it, partly in reverential worship of this God, and partly in active obedience. את־ה עבד, i. e. , “serving Jehovah,” includes both liturgical service (also עבד absolutely, Isa 19:23) and the service of works. The divine act of choosing and calling is dated from Abraham.

From a Palestinian point of view, Ur of Chaldaea, within the old kingdom of Nimrod, and Haran in northern Mesopotamia, seemed like the ends and corners of the earth ( 'ătsı̄lı̄m , remote places, from 'âtsal , to put aside or apart). Israel and the land of Israel were so inseparably connected, that whenever the origin of Israel was spoken of, the point of view could only be taken in Palestine.

To the far distant land of the Tigris and Euphrates had Jehovah gone to fetch Abraham, “the friend of God” (Jam 2:23), who is called in the East even to the present day, chalil ollah , the friend of God. This calling of Abraham was the furthest terminus a quo of the existence of Israel as the covenant nation; for the leading of Abraham was providentially appointed with reference to the rise of Israel as a nation.

The latter was pre-existent in him by virtue of the counsel of God. And when Jehovah adopted Abraham as His servant, and called him “my servant” (Gen 26:24), Israel, the nation that was coming into existence in Abraham, received both the essence and name of a “servant of Jehovah. ” Inasmuch then as, on looking back to its past history, it would not fail to perceive that it was so thoroughly a creation of divine power and grace, it ought not to be fearful, and look about with timidity and anxiety; for He who had presented Himself at the very beginning as its God, was still always near.

The question arises, in connection with the word אמּצתּי, whether it means to strengthen (Isa 35:3; Psa 89:22), or to lay firm hold of, to attach firmly to one’s self, to choose. We decide in favour of the latter meaning, which is established by Isa 44:14, cf. , Psa 80:16, Psa 80:18. The other perfects affirm what Jehovah has ever done, and still continues to do.

In the expression “by the right hand of my righteousness,” the justice or righteousness is regarded pre-eminently on its brighter side, the side turned towards Israel; but it is also regarded on its fiery side, or the side turned towards the enemies of Israel. It is the righteousness which aids the oppressed congregation against its oppressors. The repeated אף heaps one synonym upon another, expressive of the divine love; for ו simply connects, גּם appends, אף heaps up ( cumulat ).

Language is too contracted to hold all the fulness of the divine love; and for this reason the latter could not find words enough to express all that it desired.

Isa 41:11-13 With the exclamation hēn (behold) the eyes of Israel are now directed to the saving interposition of Jehovah in the immediate future. “Behold, all they that were incensed against thee must be ashamed and confounded; the men of thy conflict become as nothing, and perish. Thou wilt seek them, and not find them, the men of thy feuds; the men of thy warfare become as nothing, and nonentity.

For I, Jehovah thy God, lay hold of thy right hand, He who saith to thee, Fear not; I will help thee. ” The comprehensive expression omnes inflammati in te ( niphal , as in Isa 45:24) stands at the head; and then, in order that every kind may be included, the enemies are called by a different name every time. The three substantives bear much the same relation to one another as lis , rixa , bellum ( milchâmâh , lit.

, throng = war-tumult, like the epic κλόνος), hence adversarii , inimici , hostes . The suffixes have the force of objective genitives. We have founded our translation upon the reading מצּוּתיך. The three names of the enemies are placed emphatically at the close of the sentences, and these are long drawn out, whilst the indignation gives vent to itself; whereas in Isa 41:13 there follows nothing but short sentences, in which the persecuted church is encouraged and affectionately embraced.

Two clauses, which are made to rhyme with ēm , announce the utter destruction of their foes; then the inflective rhyme ekha is repeated five times; and the sixth time it passes over into ı̄kha .

Isa 41:11-13 With the exclamation hēn (behold) the eyes of Israel are now directed to the saving interposition of Jehovah in the immediate future. “Behold, all they that were incensed against thee must be ashamed and confounded; the men of thy conflict become as nothing, and perish. Thou wilt seek them, and not find them, the men of thy feuds; the men of thy warfare become as nothing, and nonentity.

For I, Jehovah thy God, lay hold of thy right hand, He who saith to thee, Fear not; I will help thee. ” The comprehensive expression omnes inflammati in te ( niphal , as in Isa 45:24) stands at the head; and then, in order that every kind may be included, the enemies are called by a different name every time. The three substantives bear much the same relation to one another as lis , rixa , bellum ( milchâmâh , lit.

, throng = war-tumult, like the epic κλόνος), hence adversarii , inimici , hostes . The suffixes have the force of objective genitives. We have founded our translation upon the reading מצּוּתיך. The three names of the enemies are placed emphatically at the close of the sentences, and these are long drawn out, whilst the indignation gives vent to itself; whereas in Isa 41:13 there follows nothing but short sentences, in which the persecuted church is encouraged and affectionately embraced.

Two clauses, which are made to rhyme with ēm , announce the utter destruction of their foes; then the inflective rhyme ekha is repeated five times; and the sixth time it passes over into ı̄kha .

Isa 41:11-13 With the exclamation hēn (behold) the eyes of Israel are now directed to the saving interposition of Jehovah in the immediate future. “Behold, all they that were incensed against thee must be ashamed and confounded; the men of thy conflict become as nothing, and perish. Thou wilt seek them, and not find them, the men of thy feuds; the men of thy warfare become as nothing, and nonentity.

For I, Jehovah thy God, lay hold of thy right hand, He who saith to thee, Fear not; I will help thee. ” The comprehensive expression omnes inflammati in te ( niphal , as in Isa 45:24) stands at the head; and then, in order that every kind may be included, the enemies are called by a different name every time. The three substantives bear much the same relation to one another as lis , rixa , bellum ( milchâmâh , lit.

, throng = war-tumult, like the epic κλόνος), hence adversarii , inimici , hostes . The suffixes have the force of objective genitives. We have founded our translation upon the reading מצּוּתיך. The three names of the enemies are placed emphatically at the close of the sentences, and these are long drawn out, whilst the indignation gives vent to itself; whereas in Isa 41:13 there follows nothing but short sentences, in which the persecuted church is encouraged and affectionately embraced.

Two clauses, which are made to rhyme with ēm , announce the utter destruction of their foes; then the inflective rhyme ekha is repeated five times; and the sixth time it passes over into ı̄kha .

Isa 41:14-16 The consolatory words, “Fear not,” are now repeated, for the purpose of once more adding the promise that Israel will not succumb to its foes, but will acquire power over its enemies. “Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and handful Israel: I will help thee, saith Jehovah; and thy Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. Behold, I have made thee a threshing roller, a sharp new one, with double edges: thou wilt thresh mountains, and pound them; and hills thou wilt make like chaff.

Thou wilt winnow them, and wind carries them away, and tempest scatters them: and thou wilt rejoice in Jehovah, and glory in the Holy One of Israel. ” Israel, which is now helplessly oppressed, is called “worm of Jacob” ( gen. appos. ) in compassion, i. e. , Jacob that is like a worm, probably with some allusion to Psa 22:7; for the image of the Messiah enriches itself in these discourses, inasmuch as Israel itself is looked upon in a Messianic light, so that the second David does not stand by the side of Israel, but appears as Israel’s heart, or true and inmost essence.

The people are then addressed as the “people of Israel,” with some allusion to the phrase מספּר מתי (i. e. , few men, easily numbered) in Gen 34:30; Deu 4:27 (lxx ὀλιγοστὸσ ̓Ισραήλ; Luther, Ir armer hauffe Israel , ye poor crowd of Israel). They no longer formed the compact mass of a nation; the band of the commonwealth was broken: they were melted down into a few individuals, scattered about hither and thither.

But it would not continue so. “I help thee” (perfect of certainty) is Jehovah’s solemn declaration; and the Redeemer ( redemtor , Lev 25:48-49) of His now enslaved people is the Holy One of Israel, with His love, which perpetually triumphs over wrath. Not only will He set it free, but He will also endow it with might over its oppressors; samtı̄kh is a perfect of assurance (Ges.

§126, 4); mōrag (roller) signifies a threshing-sledge (Arab. naureg , nōreg ), which has here the term חרוּץ (Isa 28:27) as a secondary name along with חדשׁ, and is described as furnished on the under part of the two arms of the sledge not only with sharp knives, but with two-edged knives (פּיפיּות a reduplication, like מאסּאה in Isa 27:8, whereas מימי is a double plural).

Just like such a threshing machine would Israel thresh and grind to powder from that time forth both mountains and hills. This is evidently a figurative expression for proud and mighty foes, just as wind and tempest denote the irresistible force of Jehovah’s aid. The might of the enemy would be broken down to the very last remnant, whereas Israel would be able to rejoice and glory in its God.

Isa 41:14-16 The consolatory words, “Fear not,” are now repeated, for the purpose of once more adding the promise that Israel will not succumb to its foes, but will acquire power over its enemies. “Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and handful Israel: I will help thee, saith Jehovah; and thy Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. Behold, I have made thee a threshing roller, a sharp new one, with double edges: thou wilt thresh mountains, and pound them; and hills thou wilt make like chaff.

Thou wilt winnow them, and wind carries them away, and tempest scatters them: and thou wilt rejoice in Jehovah, and glory in the Holy One of Israel. ” Israel, which is now helplessly oppressed, is called “worm of Jacob” ( gen. appos. ) in compassion, i. e. , Jacob that is like a worm, probably with some allusion to Psa 22:7; for the image of the Messiah enriches itself in these discourses, inasmuch as Israel itself is looked upon in a Messianic light, so that the second David does not stand by the side of Israel, but appears as Israel’s heart, or true and inmost essence.

The people are then addressed as the “people of Israel,” with some allusion to the phrase מספּר מתי (i. e. , few men, easily numbered) in Gen 34:30; Deu 4:27 (lxx ὀλιγοστὸσ ̓Ισραήλ; Luther, Ir armer hauffe Israel , ye poor crowd of Israel). They no longer formed the compact mass of a nation; the band of the commonwealth was broken: they were melted down into a few individuals, scattered about hither and thither.

But it would not continue so. “I help thee” (perfect of certainty) is Jehovah’s solemn declaration; and the Redeemer ( redemtor , Lev 25:48-49) of His now enslaved people is the Holy One of Israel, with His love, which perpetually triumphs over wrath. Not only will He set it free, but He will also endow it with might over its oppressors; samtı̄kh is a perfect of assurance (Ges.

§126, 4); mōrag (roller) signifies a threshing-sledge (Arab. naureg , nōreg ), which has here the term חרוּץ (Isa 28:27) as a secondary name along with חדשׁ, and is described as furnished on the under part of the two arms of the sledge not only with sharp knives, but with two-edged knives (פּיפיּות a reduplication, like מאסּאה in Isa 27:8, whereas מימי is a double plural).

Just like such a threshing machine would Israel thresh and grind to powder from that time forth both mountains and hills. This is evidently a figurative expression for proud and mighty foes, just as wind and tempest denote the irresistible force of Jehovah’s aid. The might of the enemy would be broken down to the very last remnant, whereas Israel would be able to rejoice and glory in its God.

Isa 41:14-16 The consolatory words, “Fear not,” are now repeated, for the purpose of once more adding the promise that Israel will not succumb to its foes, but will acquire power over its enemies. “Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and handful Israel: I will help thee, saith Jehovah; and thy Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. Behold, I have made thee a threshing roller, a sharp new one, with double edges: thou wilt thresh mountains, and pound them; and hills thou wilt make like chaff.

Thou wilt winnow them, and wind carries them away, and tempest scatters them: and thou wilt rejoice in Jehovah, and glory in the Holy One of Israel. ” Israel, which is now helplessly oppressed, is called “worm of Jacob” ( gen. appos. ) in compassion, i. e. , Jacob that is like a worm, probably with some allusion to Psa 22:7; for the image of the Messiah enriches itself in these discourses, inasmuch as Israel itself is looked upon in a Messianic light, so that the second David does not stand by the side of Israel, but appears as Israel’s heart, or true and inmost essence.

The people are then addressed as the “people of Israel,” with some allusion to the phrase מספּר מתי (i. e. , few men, easily numbered) in Gen 34:30; Deu 4:27 (lxx ὀλιγοστὸσ ̓Ισραήλ; Luther, Ir armer hauffe Israel , ye poor crowd of Israel). They no longer formed the compact mass of a nation; the band of the commonwealth was broken: they were melted down into a few individuals, scattered about hither and thither.

But it would not continue so. “I help thee” (perfect of certainty) is Jehovah’s solemn declaration; and the Redeemer ( redemtor , Lev 25:48-49) of His now enslaved people is the Holy One of Israel, with His love, which perpetually triumphs over wrath. Not only will He set it free, but He will also endow it with might over its oppressors; samtı̄kh is a perfect of assurance (Ges.

§126, 4); mōrag (roller) signifies a threshing-sledge (Arab. naureg , nōreg ), which has here the term חרוּץ (Isa 28:27) as a secondary name along with חדשׁ, and is described as furnished on the under part of the two arms of the sledge not only with sharp knives, but with two-edged knives (פּיפיּות a reduplication, like מאסּאה in Isa 27:8, whereas מימי is a double plural).

Just like such a threshing machine would Israel thresh and grind to powder from that time forth both mountains and hills. This is evidently a figurative expression for proud and mighty foes, just as wind and tempest denote the irresistible force of Jehovah’s aid. The might of the enemy would be broken down to the very last remnant, whereas Israel would be able to rejoice and glory in its God.

Isa 41:17-20 At the present time, indeed, the state of His people was a helpless one, but its cry for help was not in vain. “The poor and needy, who seek for water and there is none, their tongue faints for thirst. I Jehovah will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them. I open streams upon hills of the field, and springs in the midst of the valleys; I make the desert into a pond, and dry land into fountains of water.

I give in the desert cedars, acacias, and myrtles, and oleasters; I set in the steppe cypresses, plane-trees, and sherbin-trees together, that they may see, and know, and lay to heart and understand all together, that the hand of Jehovah hath accomplished this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it. ” Kimchi, Hitzig, and others refer these promises to the returning exiles; but there is also a description, without any restriction to the return home, of the miraculous change which would take place in the now comfortless and helpless condition of the exiles.

The shephâyı̄m , i. e. , bare, woodless hills rising up from the plain, Jer 12:12, the beqâ‛ōth , or deep valleys, by the sides of which there rise precipitous mountains, and the 'erets tsiyyâh , the land of burning heat or drought (cf. , Psa 63:2), depict the homeless condition of Israel, as it wandered over bald heights and through waterless plains about a land with parched and gaping soil.

For the characteristics of the object, which is placed before אענם, we may therefore compare such passages as Isa 44:3; Isa 55:1. נשׁתּה is either a pausal form for נשׁתּה, and therefore the niphal of שׁתת (to set, become shallow, dry up), or a pausal form for נשׁתה, and therefore the kal of נשׁת with dagesh affectuosum , like נתנּוּ in Eze 27:19 (Olshausen, §83, b ).

The form נשׁתה in Jer 51:30 may just as well be derived from שׁתת (Ges. §67, Anm. 11) as from נשׁת, whereas נשּׁתוּ may certainly be taken as the niphal of שׁתת after the form נמּל, נחר (Ges. §67, Anm. 5), though it would be safer to refer it to a kal נשׁת, which seems to be also favoured by ינּתשׁוּ in Jer 18:14 as a transposition of ינּשׁתוּ. The root נש, of which נשׁת would be a further expansion, really exhibits the meaning to dry up or thirst, in the Arabic nassa ; whereas the verbs נוּשׁ, אנשׁ, נסס (Isa 10:18), נשׁה, Syr.

nas' , nos' , Arab. nâsa , nasnasa , with the primary meaning to slacken, lose their hold, and נשׁא, נשׁה, נסע, to deceive, derange, and advance, form separate families. Just when they are thus on the point of pining away, they receive an answer to their prayer: their God opens streams, i. e. , causes streams to break forth on the hills of the field, and springs in the midst of the valleys.

The desert is transformed into a lake, and the steppe of burning sand into fountains of water. What was predicted in Isa 35:6-7 is echoed again here - a figurative representation of the manifold fulness of refreshing, consolation, and marvellous help which was to burst all at once upon those who were apparently forsaken of God. What is depicted in Isa 41:19, Isa 41:20, is the effect of these.

It is not merely a scanty vegetation that springs up, but a corresponding manifold fulness of stately, fragrant, and shady trees; so that the steppe, where neither foot nor eye could find a resting-place, is changed, as by a stroke of magic, into a large, dense, well-watered forest, and shines with sevenfold glory - an image of the many-sided manifestations of divine grace which are experienced by those who are comforted now. Isaiah is especially fond of such figures as these (vid.

, Isa 5:7; Isa 6:13; Isa 27:6; Isa 37:31). There are seven (4 + 3) trees named; seven indicating the divine character of this manifold development ( Psychol. p. 188). 'Erez is the generic name for the cedar; shittâh , the acacia, the Egyptian spina (ἄκανθα), Copt. shont ; hadas , the myrtle, ‛ēts shemen , the wild olive, as distinguished from zayith (ἡ ἀγριέλαιος, opposed to ἡ ἐλαία in Rom 11:17); berōsh , the cypress, at any rate more especially this; tidhâr we have rendered the “plane-tree,” after Saad.

; and te'asshūr the “ sherbin ” (a kind of cedar), after Saad. and Syr. The crowded synonyms indicating sensual and spiritual perception in Isa 41:20 (ישׂימוּ, sc. לבּם, Isa 41:22) are meant to express as strongly as possible the irresistible character of the impression. They will be quite unable to regard all this as accidental or self-produced, or as anything but the production of the power and grace of their God.

Isa 41:17-20 At the present time, indeed, the state of His people was a helpless one, but its cry for help was not in vain. “The poor and needy, who seek for water and there is none, their tongue faints for thirst. I Jehovah will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them. I open streams upon hills of the field, and springs in the midst of the valleys; I make the desert into a pond, and dry land into fountains of water.

I give in the desert cedars, acacias, and myrtles, and oleasters; I set in the steppe cypresses, plane-trees, and sherbin-trees together, that they may see, and know, and lay to heart and understand all together, that the hand of Jehovah hath accomplished this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it. ” Kimchi, Hitzig, and others refer these promises to the returning exiles; but there is also a description, without any restriction to the return home, of the miraculous change which would take place in the now comfortless and helpless condition of the exiles.

The shephâyı̄m , i. e. , bare, woodless hills rising up from the plain, Jer 12:12, the beqâ‛ōth , or deep valleys, by the sides of which there rise precipitous mountains, and the 'erets tsiyyâh , the land of burning heat or drought (cf. , Psa 63:2), depict the homeless condition of Israel, as it wandered over bald heights and through waterless plains about a land with parched and gaping soil.

For the characteristics of the object, which is placed before אענם, we may therefore compare such passages as Isa 44:3; Isa 55:1. נשׁתּה is either a pausal form for נשׁתּה, and therefore the niphal of שׁתת (to set, become shallow, dry up), or a pausal form for נשׁתה, and therefore the kal of נשׁת with dagesh affectuosum , like נתנּוּ in Eze 27:19 (Olshausen, §83, b ).

The form נשׁתה in Jer 51:30 may just as well be derived from שׁתת (Ges. §67, Anm. 11) as from נשׁת, whereas נשּׁתוּ may certainly be taken as the niphal of שׁתת after the form נמּל, נחר (Ges. §67, Anm. 5), though it would be safer to refer it to a kal נשׁת, which seems to be also favoured by ינּתשׁוּ in Jer 18:14 as a transposition of ינּשׁתוּ. The root נש, of which נשׁת would be a further expansion, really exhibits the meaning to dry up or thirst, in the Arabic nassa ; whereas the verbs נוּשׁ, אנשׁ, נסס (Isa 10:18), נשׁה, Syr.

nas' , nos' , Arab. nâsa , nasnasa , with the primary meaning to slacken, lose their hold, and נשׁא, נשׁה, נסע, to deceive, derange, and advance, form separate families. Just when they are thus on the point of pining away, they receive an answer to their prayer: their God opens streams, i. e. , causes streams to break forth on the hills of the field, and springs in the midst of the valleys.

The desert is transformed into a lake, and the steppe of burning sand into fountains of water. What was predicted in Isa 35:6-7 is echoed again here - a figurative representation of the manifold fulness of refreshing, consolation, and marvellous help which was to burst all at once upon those who were apparently forsaken of God. What is depicted in Isa 41:19, Isa 41:20, is the effect of these.

It is not merely a scanty vegetation that springs up, but a corresponding manifold fulness of stately, fragrant, and shady trees; so that the steppe, where neither foot nor eye could find a resting-place, is changed, as by a stroke of magic, into a large, dense, well-watered forest, and shines with sevenfold glory - an image of the many-sided manifestations of divine grace which are experienced by those who are comforted now. Isaiah is especially fond of such figures as these (vid.

, Isa 5:7; Isa 6:13; Isa 27:6; Isa 37:31). There are seven (4 + 3) trees named; seven indicating the divine character of this manifold development ( Psychol. p. 188). 'Erez is the generic name for the cedar; shittâh , the acacia, the Egyptian spina (ἄκανθα), Copt. shont ; hadas , the myrtle, ‛ēts shemen , the wild olive, as distinguished from zayith (ἡ ἀγριέλαιος, opposed to ἡ ἐλαία in Rom 11:17); berōsh , the cypress, at any rate more especially this; tidhâr we have rendered the “plane-tree,” after Saad.

; and te'asshūr the “ sherbin ” (a kind of cedar), after Saad. and Syr. The crowded synonyms indicating sensual and spiritual perception in Isa 41:20 (ישׂימוּ, sc. לבּם, Isa 41:22) are meant to express as strongly as possible the irresistible character of the impression. They will be quite unable to regard all this as accidental or self-produced, or as anything but the production of the power and grace of their God.

Isa 41:17-20 At the present time, indeed, the state of His people was a helpless one, but its cry for help was not in vain. “The poor and needy, who seek for water and there is none, their tongue faints for thirst. I Jehovah will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them. I open streams upon hills of the field, and springs in the midst of the valleys; I make the desert into a pond, and dry land into fountains of water.

I give in the desert cedars, acacias, and myrtles, and oleasters; I set in the steppe cypresses, plane-trees, and sherbin-trees together, that they may see, and know, and lay to heart and understand all together, that the hand of Jehovah hath accomplished this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it. ” Kimchi, Hitzig, and others refer these promises to the returning exiles; but there is also a description, without any restriction to the return home, of the miraculous change which would take place in the now comfortless and helpless condition of the exiles.

The shephâyı̄m , i. e. , bare, woodless hills rising up from the plain, Jer 12:12, the beqâ‛ōth , or deep valleys, by the sides of which there rise precipitous mountains, and the 'erets tsiyyâh , the land of burning heat or drought (cf. , Psa 63:2), depict the homeless condition of Israel, as it wandered over bald heights and through waterless plains about a land with parched and gaping soil.

For the characteristics of the object, which is placed before אענם, we may therefore compare such passages as Isa 44:3; Isa 55:1. נשׁתּה is either a pausal form for נשׁתּה, and therefore the niphal of שׁתת (to set, become shallow, dry up), or a pausal form for נשׁתה, and therefore the kal of נשׁת with dagesh affectuosum , like נתנּוּ in Eze 27:19 (Olshausen, §83, b ).

The form נשׁתה in Jer 51:30 may just as well be derived from שׁתת (Ges. §67, Anm. 11) as from נשׁת, whereas נשּׁתוּ may certainly be taken as the niphal of שׁתת after the form נמּל, נחר (Ges. §67, Anm. 5), though it would be safer to refer it to a kal נשׁת, which seems to be also favoured by ינּתשׁוּ in Jer 18:14 as a transposition of ינּשׁתוּ. The root נש, of which נשׁת would be a further expansion, really exhibits the meaning to dry up or thirst, in the Arabic nassa ; whereas the verbs נוּשׁ, אנשׁ, נסס (Isa 10:18), נשׁה, Syr.

nas' , nos' , Arab. nâsa , nasnasa , with the primary meaning to slacken, lose their hold, and נשׁא, נשׁה, נסע, to deceive, derange, and advance, form separate families. Just when they are thus on the point of pining away, they receive an answer to their prayer: their God opens streams, i. e. , causes streams to break forth on the hills of the field, and springs in the midst of the valleys.

The desert is transformed into a lake, and the steppe of burning sand into fountains of water. What was predicted in Isa 35:6-7 is echoed again here - a figurative representation of the manifold fulness of refreshing, consolation, and marvellous help which was to burst all at once upon those who were apparently forsaken of God. What is depicted in Isa 41:19, Isa 41:20, is the effect of these.

It is not merely a scanty vegetation that springs up, but a corresponding manifold fulness of stately, fragrant, and shady trees; so that the steppe, where neither foot nor eye could find a resting-place, is changed, as by a stroke of magic, into a large, dense, well-watered forest, and shines with sevenfold glory - an image of the many-sided manifestations of divine grace which are experienced by those who are comforted now. Isaiah is especially fond of such figures as these (vid.

, Isa 5:7; Isa 6:13; Isa 27:6; Isa 37:31). There are seven (4 + 3) trees named; seven indicating the divine character of this manifold development ( Psychol. p. 188). 'Erez is the generic name for the cedar; shittâh , the acacia, the Egyptian spina (ἄκανθα), Copt. shont ; hadas , the myrtle, ‛ēts shemen , the wild olive, as distinguished from zayith (ἡ ἀγριέλαιος, opposed to ἡ ἐλαία in Rom 11:17); berōsh , the cypress, at any rate more especially this; tidhâr we have rendered the “plane-tree,” after Saad.

; and te'asshūr the “ sherbin ” (a kind of cedar), after Saad. and Syr. The crowded synonyms indicating sensual and spiritual perception in Isa 41:20 (ישׂימוּ, sc. לבּם, Isa 41:22) are meant to express as strongly as possible the irresistible character of the impression. They will be quite unable to regard all this as accidental or self-produced, or as anything but the production of the power and grace of their God.

Isa 41:17-20 At the present time, indeed, the state of His people was a helpless one, but its cry for help was not in vain. “The poor and needy, who seek for water and there is none, their tongue faints for thirst. I Jehovah will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them. I open streams upon hills of the field, and springs in the midst of the valleys; I make the desert into a pond, and dry land into fountains of water.

I give in the desert cedars, acacias, and myrtles, and oleasters; I set in the steppe cypresses, plane-trees, and sherbin-trees together, that they may see, and know, and lay to heart and understand all together, that the hand of Jehovah hath accomplished this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it. ” Kimchi, Hitzig, and others refer these promises to the returning exiles; but there is also a description, without any restriction to the return home, of the miraculous change which would take place in the now comfortless and helpless condition of the exiles.

The shephâyı̄m , i. e. , bare, woodless hills rising up from the plain, Jer 12:12, the beqâ‛ōth , or deep valleys, by the sides of which there rise precipitous mountains, and the 'erets tsiyyâh , the land of burning heat or drought (cf. , Psa 63:2), depict the homeless condition of Israel, as it wandered over bald heights and through waterless plains about a land with parched and gaping soil.

For the characteristics of the object, which is placed before אענם, we may therefore compare such passages as Isa 44:3; Isa 55:1. נשׁתּה is either a pausal form for נשׁתּה, and therefore the niphal of שׁתת (to set, become shallow, dry up), or a pausal form for נשׁתה, and therefore the kal of נשׁת with dagesh affectuosum , like נתנּוּ in Eze 27:19 (Olshausen, §83, b ).

The form נשׁתה in Jer 51:30 may just as well be derived from שׁתת (Ges. §67, Anm. 11) as from נשׁת, whereas נשּׁתוּ may certainly be taken as the niphal of שׁתת after the form נמּל, נחר (Ges. §67, Anm. 5), though it would be safer to refer it to a kal נשׁת, which seems to be also favoured by ינּתשׁוּ in Jer 18:14 as a transposition of ינּשׁתוּ. The root נש, of which נשׁת would be a further expansion, really exhibits the meaning to dry up or thirst, in the Arabic nassa ; whereas the verbs נוּשׁ, אנשׁ, נסס (Isa 10:18), נשׁה, Syr.

nas' , nos' , Arab. nâsa , nasnasa , with the primary meaning to slacken, lose their hold, and נשׁא, נשׁה, נסע, to deceive, derange, and advance, form separate families. Just when they are thus on the point of pining away, they receive an answer to their prayer: their God opens streams, i. e. , causes streams to break forth on the hills of the field, and springs in the midst of the valleys.

The desert is transformed into a lake, and the steppe of burning sand into fountains of water. What was predicted in Isa 35:6-7 is echoed again here - a figurative representation of the manifold fulness of refreshing, consolation, and marvellous help which was to burst all at once upon those who were apparently forsaken of God. What is depicted in Isa 41:19, Isa 41:20, is the effect of these.

It is not merely a scanty vegetation that springs up, but a corresponding manifold fulness of stately, fragrant, and shady trees; so that the steppe, where neither foot nor eye could find a resting-place, is changed, as by a stroke of magic, into a large, dense, well-watered forest, and shines with sevenfold glory - an image of the many-sided manifestations of divine grace which are experienced by those who are comforted now. Isaiah is especially fond of such figures as these (vid.

, Isa 5:7; Isa 6:13; Isa 27:6; Isa 37:31). There are seven (4 + 3) trees named; seven indicating the divine character of this manifold development ( Psychol. p. 188). 'Erez is the generic name for the cedar; shittâh , the acacia, the Egyptian spina (ἄκανθα), Copt. shont ; hadas , the myrtle, ‛ēts shemen , the wild olive, as distinguished from zayith (ἡ ἀγριέλαιος, opposed to ἡ ἐλαία in Rom 11:17); berōsh , the cypress, at any rate more especially this; tidhâr we have rendered the “plane-tree,” after Saad.

; and te'asshūr the “ sherbin ” (a kind of cedar), after Saad. and Syr. The crowded synonyms indicating sensual and spiritual perception in Isa 41:20 (ישׂימוּ, sc. לבּם, Isa 41:22) are meant to express as strongly as possible the irresistible character of the impression. They will be quite unable to regard all this as accidental or self-produced, or as anything but the production of the power and grace of their God.

Isa 41:21-23 There follows now the second stage in the suit. “Bring hither your cause, saith Jehovah; bring forward your proofs, saith the king of Jacob. Let them bring forward, and make known to us what will happen: make known the beginning, what it is, and we will fix our heart upon it, and take knowledge of its issue; or let us hear what is to come. Make known what is coming later, and we will acknowledge that ye are gods: yea, do good, and do evil, and we will measure ourselves, and see together.

” In the first stage Jehovah appealed, in support of His deity, to the fact that it was He who had called the oppressor of the nations upon the arena of history. In this second stage He appeals to the fact that He only knows or can predict the future. There the challenge was addressed to the worshippers of idols, here to the idols themselves; but in both cases both of these are ranged on the one side, and Jehovah with His people upon the other.

It is with purpose that Jehovah is called the “King of Jacob,”as being the tutelar God of Israel, in contrast to the tutelar deities of the heathen. The challenge to the latter to establish their deity is first of all addressed to them directly in Isa 41:21, and then indirectly in Isa 41:22 , where Jehovah connects Himself with His people as the opposing party; but in Isa 41:22 He returns again to a direct address.

עצּמות are evidences (lit. robara , cf. , ὀχυρώματα, 2Co 10:4, from עצם, to be strong or stringent; mishn. נתעצּם, to contend with one another pro et contra ); here it signifies proofs that they can foresee the future. Jehovah for His part has displayed this knowledge, inasmuch as, at the very time when He threatened destruction to the heathen at the hands of Cyrus, He consoled His people with the announcement of their deliverance (Isa 41:8-20).

It is therefore the turn of the idol deities now: “Let them bring forward and announce to us the things that will come to pass. ” the general idea of what is in the future stands at the head. Then within this the choice is given them of proving their foreknowledge of what is afterwards to happen, by announcing either ראשׁנות, or even בּאות. These two ideas, therefore, are generic terms within the range of the things that are to happen.

Consequently הרשׁנות cannot mean “earlier predictions,” prius praedicta , as Hitzig, Knobel, and others suppose. This explanation is precluded in the present instance by the logic of the context. Both ideas lie upon the one line of the future; the one being more immediate, the other more remote, or as the expression alternating with הבאות implies לאחור האתיּות, ventura in posterum (“in later times,” compare Isa 42:23, “at a later period;” from the participle אתה, radical form אתי, vid.

, Ges. §75, Anm. 5, probably to distinguish it from אתות). This is the explanation adopted by Stier and Hahn, the latter of whom has correctly expounded the word, as denoting “the events about to happen first in the immediate future, which it is not so difficult to prognosticate from signs that are discernible in the present. ” The choice is given them, either to foretell “ things at the beginning ” ( haggı̄dū in our editions is erroneously pointed with kadma instead of geresh ), i.

e. , that which will take place first or next, “ what they be ” ( quae et qualia sint ), so that now, when the achărı̄th , “the latter end” (i. e. , the issue of that which is held out to view), as prognosticated from the standpoint of the present, really occurs, the prophetic utterance concerning it may be verified; or “things to come,” i. e. , things further off, in later times (in the remote future), the prediction of which is incomparably more difficult, because without any point of contact in the present.

They are to choose which they like (או from אוה, like vel from velle ): “ye do good, and do evil,” i. e. , (according to the proverbial use of the phrase; cf. , Zep 1:12 and Jer 10:5) only express yourselves in some way; come forward, and do either the one or the other. The meaning is, not that they are to stir themselves and predict either good or evil, but they are to show some sign of life, no matter what.

“ And we will measure ourselves (i. e. , look one another in the face, testing and measuring), and see together ,” viz. , what the result of the contest will be. השׁתּעה like התראה in 2Ki 14:8, 2Ki 14:11, with a cohortative âh , which is rarely met with in connection with verbs ל ה, and the tone upon the penultimate, the âh being attached without tone to the voluntative נשׁתּע in 2Ki 14:5 (Ewald, §§228, c ).

For the chethib ונראה, the Keri has the voluntative ונרא.

Isa 41:21-23 There follows now the second stage in the suit. “Bring hither your cause, saith Jehovah; bring forward your proofs, saith the king of Jacob. Let them bring forward, and make known to us what will happen: make known the beginning, what it is, and we will fix our heart upon it, and take knowledge of its issue; or let us hear what is to come. Make known what is coming later, and we will acknowledge that ye are gods: yea, do good, and do evil, and we will measure ourselves, and see together.

” In the first stage Jehovah appealed, in support of His deity, to the fact that it was He who had called the oppressor of the nations upon the arena of history. In this second stage He appeals to the fact that He only knows or can predict the future. There the challenge was addressed to the worshippers of idols, here to the idols themselves; but in both cases both of these are ranged on the one side, and Jehovah with His people upon the other.

It is with purpose that Jehovah is called the “King of Jacob,”as being the tutelar God of Israel, in contrast to the tutelar deities of the heathen. The challenge to the latter to establish their deity is first of all addressed to them directly in Isa 41:21, and then indirectly in Isa 41:22 , where Jehovah connects Himself with His people as the opposing party; but in Isa 41:22 He returns again to a direct address.

עצּמות are evidences (lit. robara , cf. , ὀχυρώματα, 2Co 10:4, from עצם, to be strong or stringent; mishn. נתעצּם, to contend with one another pro et contra ); here it signifies proofs that they can foresee the future. Jehovah for His part has displayed this knowledge, inasmuch as, at the very time when He threatened destruction to the heathen at the hands of Cyrus, He consoled His people with the announcement of their deliverance (Isa 41:8-20).

It is therefore the turn of the idol deities now: “Let them bring forward and announce to us the things that will come to pass. ” the general idea of what is in the future stands at the head. Then within this the choice is given them of proving their foreknowledge of what is afterwards to happen, by announcing either ראשׁנות, or even בּאות. These two ideas, therefore, are generic terms within the range of the things that are to happen.

Consequently הרשׁנות cannot mean “earlier predictions,” prius praedicta , as Hitzig, Knobel, and others suppose. This explanation is precluded in the present instance by the logic of the context. Both ideas lie upon the one line of the future; the one being more immediate, the other more remote, or as the expression alternating with הבאות implies לאחור האתיּות, ventura in posterum (“in later times,” compare Isa 42:23, “at a later period;” from the participle אתה, radical form אתי, vid.

, Ges. §75, Anm. 5, probably to distinguish it from אתות). This is the explanation adopted by Stier and Hahn, the latter of whom has correctly expounded the word, as denoting “the events about to happen first in the immediate future, which it is not so difficult to prognosticate from signs that are discernible in the present. ” The choice is given them, either to foretell “ things at the beginning ” ( haggı̄dū in our editions is erroneously pointed with kadma instead of geresh ), i.

e. , that which will take place first or next, “ what they be ” ( quae et qualia sint ), so that now, when the achărı̄th , “the latter end” (i. e. , the issue of that which is held out to view), as prognosticated from the standpoint of the present, really occurs, the prophetic utterance concerning it may be verified; or “things to come,” i. e. , things further off, in later times (in the remote future), the prediction of which is incomparably more difficult, because without any point of contact in the present.

They are to choose which they like (או from אוה, like vel from velle ): “ye do good, and do evil,” i. e. , (according to the proverbial use of the phrase; cf. , Zep 1:12 and Jer 10:5) only express yourselves in some way; come forward, and do either the one or the other. The meaning is, not that they are to stir themselves and predict either good or evil, but they are to show some sign of life, no matter what.

“ And we will measure ourselves (i. e. , look one another in the face, testing and measuring), and see together ,” viz. , what the result of the contest will be. השׁתּעה like התראה in 2Ki 14:8, 2Ki 14:11, with a cohortative âh , which is rarely met with in connection with verbs ל ה, and the tone upon the penultimate, the âh being attached without tone to the voluntative נשׁתּע in 2Ki 14:5 (Ewald, §§228, c ).

For the chethib ונראה, the Keri has the voluntative ונרא.

Isa 41:21-23 There follows now the second stage in the suit. “Bring hither your cause, saith Jehovah; bring forward your proofs, saith the king of Jacob. Let them bring forward, and make known to us what will happen: make known the beginning, what it is, and we will fix our heart upon it, and take knowledge of its issue; or let us hear what is to come. Make known what is coming later, and we will acknowledge that ye are gods: yea, do good, and do evil, and we will measure ourselves, and see together.

” In the first stage Jehovah appealed, in support of His deity, to the fact that it was He who had called the oppressor of the nations upon the arena of history. In this second stage He appeals to the fact that He only knows or can predict the future. There the challenge was addressed to the worshippers of idols, here to the idols themselves; but in both cases both of these are ranged on the one side, and Jehovah with His people upon the other.

It is with purpose that Jehovah is called the “King of Jacob,”as being the tutelar God of Israel, in contrast to the tutelar deities of the heathen. The challenge to the latter to establish their deity is first of all addressed to them directly in Isa 41:21, and then indirectly in Isa 41:22 , where Jehovah connects Himself with His people as the opposing party; but in Isa 41:22 He returns again to a direct address.

עצּמות are evidences (lit. robara , cf. , ὀχυρώματα, 2Co 10:4, from עצם, to be strong or stringent; mishn. נתעצּם, to contend with one another pro et contra ); here it signifies proofs that they can foresee the future. Jehovah for His part has displayed this knowledge, inasmuch as, at the very time when He threatened destruction to the heathen at the hands of Cyrus, He consoled His people with the announcement of their deliverance (Isa 41:8-20).

It is therefore the turn of the idol deities now: “Let them bring forward and announce to us the things that will come to pass. ” the general idea of what is in the future stands at the head. Then within this the choice is given them of proving their foreknowledge of what is afterwards to happen, by announcing either ראשׁנות, or even בּאות. These two ideas, therefore, are generic terms within the range of the things that are to happen.

Consequently הרשׁנות cannot mean “earlier predictions,” prius praedicta , as Hitzig, Knobel, and others suppose. This explanation is precluded in the present instance by the logic of the context. Both ideas lie upon the one line of the future; the one being more immediate, the other more remote, or as the expression alternating with הבאות implies לאחור האתיּות, ventura in posterum (“in later times,” compare Isa 42:23, “at a later period;” from the participle אתה, radical form אתי, vid.

, Ges. §75, Anm. 5, probably to distinguish it from אתות). This is the explanation adopted by Stier and Hahn, the latter of whom has correctly expounded the word, as denoting “the events about to happen first in the immediate future, which it is not so difficult to prognosticate from signs that are discernible in the present. ” The choice is given them, either to foretell “ things at the beginning ” ( haggı̄dū in our editions is erroneously pointed with kadma instead of geresh ), i.

e. , that which will take place first or next, “ what they be ” ( quae et qualia sint ), so that now, when the achărı̄th , “the latter end” (i. e. , the issue of that which is held out to view), as prognosticated from the standpoint of the present, really occurs, the prophetic utterance concerning it may be verified; or “things to come,” i. e. , things further off, in later times (in the remote future), the prediction of which is incomparably more difficult, because without any point of contact in the present.

They are to choose which they like (או from אוה, like vel from velle ): “ye do good, and do evil,” i. e. , (according to the proverbial use of the phrase; cf. , Zep 1:12 and Jer 10:5) only express yourselves in some way; come forward, and do either the one or the other. The meaning is, not that they are to stir themselves and predict either good or evil, but they are to show some sign of life, no matter what.

“ And we will measure ourselves (i. e. , look one another in the face, testing and measuring), and see together ,” viz. , what the result of the contest will be. השׁתּעה like התראה in 2Ki 14:8, 2Ki 14:11, with a cohortative âh , which is rarely met with in connection with verbs ל ה, and the tone upon the penultimate, the âh being attached without tone to the voluntative נשׁתּע in 2Ki 14:5 (Ewald, §§228, c ).

For the chethib ונראה, the Keri has the voluntative ונרא.

Isa 41:24 Jehovah has thus placed Himself in opposition to the heathen and their gods, as the God of history and prophecy. It now remains to be seen whether the idols will speak, to prove their deity. By no means; not only are they silent, but they cannot speak. Therefore Jehovah breaks out into words of wrath and contempt. “Behold, ye are of nothing, and your doing of nought: an abomination whoever chooseth you.

” The two מן are partitive, as in Isa 40:17; and מאפע is not an error of the pen for מאפס, as Gesenius and others suppose, but אפע from עפע = פּה (from which comes פּה), פּעה, Isa 42:14 (from which comes אפעה, Isa 59:5), to breathe, stands as a synonym to און, הבל, רוח. The attributive clause בּכם יבחר (supply אשׁר חוּא) is a virtual subject (Ewald, §333, b ): ye and your doings are equally nil ; and whoever chooses you for protectors, and makes you the objects of his worship, is morally the most degraded of beings.

Isa 41:25 The more conclusively and incontrovertibly, therefore, does Jehovah keep the field as the moulder of history and foreteller of the future, and therefore as God above all gods. “I have raised up from the north, and he came: from the rising of the sun one who invokes my name; and he treads upon satraps as mud, and like a potter kneadeth clay. ” The object of the verb hâ‛ı̄rōthı̄ (I have wakened up) is he who came when wakened up by Jehovah from the north and east, i.

e. , from Media and Persia (ויּאת = ויּאתּ for ויּאת, with evasion of the auxiliary pathach , Ges. §76, 2, c ), and, as the second clause affirms, who invokes or will invoke the name of Jehovah (at any rate, qui invocabit is the real meaning of qui invocat ). For although the Zarathustrian religion, which Cyrus followed, was nearest to the Jehovah religion of all the systems of heathenism, it was a heathen religion after all.

The doctrine of a great God ( baga vazarka ), the Creator of heaven and earth, and at the same time of a great number of Bagas and Yazatas, behind whose working and worship the great God was thrown into the shade, is (apart from the dualism condemned in Isa 45:7) the substance of the sacred writings of the Magi in our possession, as confirmed by the inscriptions of the Achemenides. But the awakened of Jehovah would, as is here predicted, “call with the name, or by means of the name, of Jehovah,” which may mean either call upon this name (Zep 3:9; Jer 10:25), or call out the name (compare Exo 33:19; Exo 34:5, with Exo 35:30) in the manner in which he does make use of it in the edict setting the exiles free (Ezr 1:2).

The verb יבא which follows (cf. , Isa 41:2) designated him still further as a conqueror of nations; the verb construed with an accusative is used here, as is very frequently the case, in the sense of hostile attack. The word Sâgân , which is met with first in Ezekiel - apart, that is to say, from the passage before us - may have owed its meaning in the Hebrew vocabulary to its similarity in sound to sōkhēn (Isa 22:15); at any rate, it is no doubt a Persian word, which became naturalized in the Hebrew (ζωγάνης in Athenaeus, and Neo-Pers.

sichne , a governor: see Ges. Thes .) , though this comparison is by no means so certain as that σατράπης is the same as the Ksatrapâv of the inscriptions, i. e. , protector of the kingdom. Without at all overlooking the fact that this word segânı̄m , so far as it can really be supposed to be a Persian word, favours the later composition of this portion of the book of Isaiah, we cannot admit that it has any decisive weight, inasmuch as the Persian word pardēs occurs even in the Song of Solomon.

And the indications which might be found in the word segânı̄m unfavourable to Isaiah’s authorship are abundantly counterbalanced by what immediately follows.

Isa 41:26-28 As Isa 41:25 points back to the first charge against the heathen and their gods (Isa 41:2-7), so Isa 41:26-28 point back to the second. Not only did Jehovah manifest Himself as the Universal Ruler in the waking up of Cyrus, but as the Omniscient Ruler also. “Who hath made it known from the beginning, we will acknowledge it, and from former time, we will say He is in the right?!

Yea, there was none that made known; yea, none that caused to hear; yea, none that heard your words. As the first I saith to Zion, Behold, behold, there it is: and I bestow evangelists upon Jerusalem. And I looked, and there was no man; and of these there was no one answering whom I would ask, and who would give me an answer. ” If any one of the heathen deities had foretold this appearance of Cyrus so long before as at the very commencement of that course of history which had thus reached its goal, Jehovah with His people, being thus taught by experience, would admit and acknowledge their divinity.

מראשׁ is used in the same sense as in Isa 48:16 : and also in Isa 41:4 and Isa 40:21, where it refers according to the context in each case, to the beginning of the particular line of history. צדּיק signifies either “he is right,” i. e. , in the right (compare the Arabic siddik , genuine), or in a neuter sense, “it is right” (= true), i. e. , the claim to divine honours is really founded upon divine performances.

But there was not one who had proclaimed it, or who gave a single sound of himself; no one had heard anything of the kind from them. אין receives a retrospective character from the connection; and bearing this in mind, the participles may be also resolved into imperfects. The repeated אף, passing beyond what is set down as possible, declares the reality of the very opposite.

What Jehovah thus proves the idols to want, He can lay claim to for Himself. In Isa 41:27 we need not assume that there is any hyperbaton , as Louis de Dieu, Rosenmüller, and others have done: “I first will give to Zion and Jerusalem one bringing glad tidings: behold, behold them. ” After what has gone before in Isa 41:26 we may easily supply אמרתּי, “I said,” in Isa 41:27 (compare Isa 8:19; Isa 14:16; Isa 27:2), not אמר, for the whole comparison drawn by Jehovah between Himself and the idols is retrospective, and looks back from the fulfilment in progress to the prophecies relating to it.

The only reply that we can look for to the question in Isa 41:26 is not, “I on the contrary do it,” but “I did it. ” At the same time, the rendering is a correct one: “Behold, behold them ” ( illa ; for the neuter use of the masculine, compare Isa 48:3; Isa 38:16; Isa 45:8). “As the first,” Jehovah replies (i. e. , without any one anticipating me), “Have I spoken to Zion: behold, behold, there it is,” pointing with the finger of prophecy to the coming salvation, which is here regarded as present; “and I gave to Jerusalem messengers of joy;” i.

e. , long ago, before what is now approaching could be known by any one, I foretold to my church, through the medium of prophets, the glad tidings of the deliverance from Babylon. If the author of chapters 40-66 were a prophet of the captivity, his reference here would be to such prophecies as Isa 11:11 (where Shinar is mentioned as a land of dispersion), and more especially still Mic 4:10, “There in Babylon wilt thou be delivered, there will Jehovah redeem thee out of the hand of thine enemies;” but if Isaiah were the author, he is looking back from the ideal standpoint of the time of the captivity, and of Cyrus more especially, to his own prophecies before the captivity (such as Isaiah 13:1-14:23, and Isa 21:1-10), just as Ezekiel, when prophesying of Gog and Magog, looks back in Isa 38:17 fro the ideal standpoint of this remote future, more especially to his own prophecies in relation to it.

In that case the mebhassēr , or evangelist, more especially referred to is the prophet himself (Grotius and Stier), namely, as being the foreteller of those prophets to whom the commission in Isa 40:1, “Comfort ye, comfort ye,” is addressed, and who are greeted in Isa 52:7-8 as the bearers of the joyful news of the existing fulfilment of the deliverance that has appeared, and therefore as the mebhassēr or evangelist of the future מבשׂרים. In any case, it follows from Isa 41:26, Isa 41:27 that the overthrow of Babylon and the redemption of Israel had long before been proclaimed by Jehovah through His prophets; and if our exposition is correct so far, the futures in Isa 41:28 are to be taken as imperfects: And I looked round (וארא, a voluntative in the hypothetical protasis, Ges.

§128, 2), and there was no one (who announced anything of the kind); and of these (the idols) there was no adviser (with regard to the future, Num 24:14), and none whom I could ask, and who answered me (the questioner). Consequently, just as the raising up of Cyrus proclaimed the sole omnipotence of Jehovah, so did the fact that the deliverance of Zion-Jerusalem, for which the raising up of Cyrus prepared the way, had been predicted by Him long before, proclaim His sole omniscience.

Isa 41:26-28 As Isa 41:25 points back to the first charge against the heathen and their gods (Isa 41:2-7), so Isa 41:26-28 point back to the second. Not only did Jehovah manifest Himself as the Universal Ruler in the waking up of Cyrus, but as the Omniscient Ruler also. “Who hath made it known from the beginning, we will acknowledge it, and from former time, we will say He is in the right?!

Yea, there was none that made known; yea, none that caused to hear; yea, none that heard your words. As the first I saith to Zion, Behold, behold, there it is: and I bestow evangelists upon Jerusalem. And I looked, and there was no man; and of these there was no one answering whom I would ask, and who would give me an answer. ” If any one of the heathen deities had foretold this appearance of Cyrus so long before as at the very commencement of that course of history which had thus reached its goal, Jehovah with His people, being thus taught by experience, would admit and acknowledge their divinity.

מראשׁ is used in the same sense as in Isa 48:16 : and also in Isa 41:4 and Isa 40:21, where it refers according to the context in each case, to the beginning of the particular line of history. צדּיק signifies either “he is right,” i. e. , in the right (compare the Arabic siddik , genuine), or in a neuter sense, “it is right” (= true), i. e. , the claim to divine honours is really founded upon divine performances.

But there was not one who had proclaimed it, or who gave a single sound of himself; no one had heard anything of the kind from them. אין receives a retrospective character from the connection; and bearing this in mind, the participles may be also resolved into imperfects. The repeated אף, passing beyond what is set down as possible, declares the reality of the very opposite.

What Jehovah thus proves the idols to want, He can lay claim to for Himself. In Isa 41:27 we need not assume that there is any hyperbaton , as Louis de Dieu, Rosenmüller, and others have done: “I first will give to Zion and Jerusalem one bringing glad tidings: behold, behold them. ” After what has gone before in Isa 41:26 we may easily supply אמרתּי, “I said,” in Isa 41:27 (compare Isa 8:19; Isa 14:16; Isa 27:2), not אמר, for the whole comparison drawn by Jehovah between Himself and the idols is retrospective, and looks back from the fulfilment in progress to the prophecies relating to it.

The only reply that we can look for to the question in Isa 41:26 is not, “I on the contrary do it,” but “I did it. ” At the same time, the rendering is a correct one: “Behold, behold them ” ( illa ; for the neuter use of the masculine, compare Isa 48:3; Isa 38:16; Isa 45:8). “As the first,” Jehovah replies (i. e. , without any one anticipating me), “Have I spoken to Zion: behold, behold, there it is,” pointing with the finger of prophecy to the coming salvation, which is here regarded as present; “and I gave to Jerusalem messengers of joy;” i.

e. , long ago, before what is now approaching could be known by any one, I foretold to my church, through the medium of prophets, the glad tidings of the deliverance from Babylon. If the author of chapters 40-66 were a prophet of the captivity, his reference here would be to such prophecies as Isa 11:11 (where Shinar is mentioned as a land of dispersion), and more especially still Mic 4:10, “There in Babylon wilt thou be delivered, there will Jehovah redeem thee out of the hand of thine enemies;” but if Isaiah were the author, he is looking back from the ideal standpoint of the time of the captivity, and of Cyrus more especially, to his own prophecies before the captivity (such as Isaiah 13:1-14:23, and Isa 21:1-10), just as Ezekiel, when prophesying of Gog and Magog, looks back in Isa 38:17 fro the ideal standpoint of this remote future, more especially to his own prophecies in relation to it.

In that case the mebhassēr , or evangelist, more especially referred to is the prophet himself (Grotius and Stier), namely, as being the foreteller of those prophets to whom the commission in Isa 40:1, “Comfort ye, comfort ye,” is addressed, and who are greeted in Isa 52:7-8 as the bearers of the joyful news of the existing fulfilment of the deliverance that has appeared, and therefore as the mebhassēr or evangelist of the future מבשׂרים. In any case, it follows from Isa 41:26, Isa 41:27 that the overthrow of Babylon and the redemption of Israel had long before been proclaimed by Jehovah through His prophets; and if our exposition is correct so far, the futures in Isa 41:28 are to be taken as imperfects: And I looked round (וארא, a voluntative in the hypothetical protasis, Ges.

§128, 2), and there was no one (who announced anything of the kind); and of these (the idols) there was no adviser (with regard to the future, Num 24:14), and none whom I could ask, and who answered me (the questioner). Consequently, just as the raising up of Cyrus proclaimed the sole omnipotence of Jehovah, so did the fact that the deliverance of Zion-Jerusalem, for which the raising up of Cyrus prepared the way, had been predicted by Him long before, proclaim His sole omniscience.

Isa 41:26-28 As Isa 41:25 points back to the first charge against the heathen and their gods (Isa 41:2-7), so Isa 41:26-28 point back to the second. Not only did Jehovah manifest Himself as the Universal Ruler in the waking up of Cyrus, but as the Omniscient Ruler also. “Who hath made it known from the beginning, we will acknowledge it, and from former time, we will say He is in the right?!

Yea, there was none that made known; yea, none that caused to hear; yea, none that heard your words. As the first I saith to Zion, Behold, behold, there it is: and I bestow evangelists upon Jerusalem. And I looked, and there was no man; and of these there was no one answering whom I would ask, and who would give me an answer. ” If any one of the heathen deities had foretold this appearance of Cyrus so long before as at the very commencement of that course of history which had thus reached its goal, Jehovah with His people, being thus taught by experience, would admit and acknowledge their divinity.

מראשׁ is used in the same sense as in Isa 48:16 : and also in Isa 41:4 and Isa 40:21, where it refers according to the context in each case, to the beginning of the particular line of history. צדּיק signifies either “he is right,” i. e. , in the right (compare the Arabic siddik , genuine), or in a neuter sense, “it is right” (= true), i. e. , the claim to divine honours is really founded upon divine performances.

But there was not one who had proclaimed it, or who gave a single sound of himself; no one had heard anything of the kind from them. אין receives a retrospective character from the connection; and bearing this in mind, the participles may be also resolved into imperfects. The repeated אף, passing beyond what is set down as possible, declares the reality of the very opposite.

What Jehovah thus proves the idols to want, He can lay claim to for Himself. In Isa 41:27 we need not assume that there is any hyperbaton , as Louis de Dieu, Rosenmüller, and others have done: “I first will give to Zion and Jerusalem one bringing glad tidings: behold, behold them. ” After what has gone before in Isa 41:26 we may easily supply אמרתּי, “I said,” in Isa 41:27 (compare Isa 8:19; Isa 14:16; Isa 27:2), not אמר, for the whole comparison drawn by Jehovah between Himself and the idols is retrospective, and looks back from the fulfilment in progress to the prophecies relating to it.

The only reply that we can look for to the question in Isa 41:26 is not, “I on the contrary do it,” but “I did it. ” At the same time, the rendering is a correct one: “Behold, behold them ” ( illa ; for the neuter use of the masculine, compare Isa 48:3; Isa 38:16; Isa 45:8). “As the first,” Jehovah replies (i. e. , without any one anticipating me), “Have I spoken to Zion: behold, behold, there it is,” pointing with the finger of prophecy to the coming salvation, which is here regarded as present; “and I gave to Jerusalem messengers of joy;” i.

e. , long ago, before what is now approaching could be known by any one, I foretold to my church, through the medium of prophets, the glad tidings of the deliverance from Babylon. If the author of chapters 40-66 were a prophet of the captivity, his reference here would be to such prophecies as Isa 11:11 (where Shinar is mentioned as a land of dispersion), and more especially still Mic 4:10, “There in Babylon wilt thou be delivered, there will Jehovah redeem thee out of the hand of thine enemies;” but if Isaiah were the author, he is looking back from the ideal standpoint of the time of the captivity, and of Cyrus more especially, to his own prophecies before the captivity (such as Isaiah 13:1-14:23, and Isa 21:1-10), just as Ezekiel, when prophesying of Gog and Magog, looks back in Isa 38:17 fro the ideal standpoint of this remote future, more especially to his own prophecies in relation to it.

In that case the mebhassēr , or evangelist, more especially referred to is the prophet himself (Grotius and Stier), namely, as being the foreteller of those prophets to whom the commission in Isa 40:1, “Comfort ye, comfort ye,” is addressed, and who are greeted in Isa 52:7-8 as the bearers of the joyful news of the existing fulfilment of the deliverance that has appeared, and therefore as the mebhassēr or evangelist of the future מבשׂרים. In any case, it follows from Isa 41:26, Isa 41:27 that the overthrow of Babylon and the redemption of Israel had long before been proclaimed by Jehovah through His prophets; and if our exposition is correct so far, the futures in Isa 41:28 are to be taken as imperfects: And I looked round (וארא, a voluntative in the hypothetical protasis, Ges.

§128, 2), and there was no one (who announced anything of the kind); and of these (the idols) there was no adviser (with regard to the future, Num 24:14), and none whom I could ask, and who answered me (the questioner). Consequently, just as the raising up of Cyrus proclaimed the sole omnipotence of Jehovah, so did the fact that the deliverance of Zion-Jerusalem, for which the raising up of Cyrus prepared the way, had been predicted by Him long before, proclaim His sole omniscience.

Isa 41:29 This closing declaration of Jehovah terminates with similar words of wrath and contempt to those with which the judicial process ended in Isa 41:24. “See them all, vanity; nothingness are their productions, wind and desolation their molten images. ” מעשׂיהם are not the works of the idols, but, as the parallel shows, the productions (plural, as in Eze 6:6; Jer 1:16) of the idolaters - in other words, the idols themselves - a parallel expression to נסכּיהם (from נסך, as in Isa 48:5 = massēkhâh , Isa 42:17).

אפס און is an emotional asyndeton (Ges. §155, 1, a ). The address is thus rounded off by returning to the idolaters, with whom it first started. The first part, vv. 1-24, contains the judicial pleadings; the second part, Isa 41:25. , recapitulates the evidence and the verdict.

Isa 42:1 The hēn (behold) in Isa 41:29 is now followed by a second hēn . With the former, Jehovah pronounced sentence upon the idolaters and their idols; with the latter, He introduces His “servant. ” In Isa 41:8 this epithet was applied to the nation, which had been chosen as the servant and for the service of Jehovah. But the servant of Jehovah who is presented to us here is distinct from Israel, and has so strong an individuality and such marked personal features, that the expression cannot possibly be merely a personified collective.

Nor can the prophet himself be intended; for what is here affirmed of this servant of Jehovah goes infinitely beyond anything to which a prophet was ever called, or of which a man was ever capable. It must therefore be the future Christ; and this is the view taken in the Targum, where the translation of our prophecy commences thus: “ Hâ' ‛abhdı̄ Meshı̄châ . ” Still there must be a connection between the national sense, in which the expression “servant of Jehovah” was used in Isa 41:8, and the personal sense in which it is used here.

The coming Saviour is not depicted as the Son of David, as in chapters 7-12, and elsewhere, but appears as the embodied idea of Israel, i. e. , as its truth and reality embodied in one person. The idea of “the servant of Jehovah” assumed, to speak figuratively, the from of a pyramid. The base was Israel as a whole; the central section was that Israel, which was not merely Israel according to the flesh, but according to the spirit also; the apex is the person of the Mediator of salvation springing out of Israel.

And the last of the three is regarded (1.) as the centre of the circle of the promised kingdom - the second David; (2.) the centre of the circle of the people of salvation - the second Israel; (3.) the centre of the circle of the human race - the second Adam. Throughout the whole of these prophecies in chapters 40-66 the knowledge of salvation is still in its second stage, and about to pass into the third.

Israel’s true nature as a servant of God, which had its roots in the election and calling of Jehovah, and manifested itself in conduct and action in harmony with this calling, is all concentrated in Him, the One, as its ripest fruit. The gracious purposes of God towards the whole human race, which were manifested even in the election of Israel, are brought by Him to their full completion.

Whilst judgments are inflicted upon the heathen by the oppressor of the nations, and display the nothingness of idolatry, the servant of Jehovah brings to them in a peaceful way the greatest of all blessings. “Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, whom my soul loveth: I have laid my Spirit upon Him; He will bring out right to the Gentiles. ” We must not render the first clause “by whom I hold.

” Tâmakh b' means to lay firm hold of and keep upright ( sustinere ). נפשׁי רצתה (supply בו or אתו, Job 33:26) is an attributive clause. The amplified subject extends as far as naphshii; then follows the predicate: I have endowed Him with my Spirit, and by virtue of this Spirit He will carry out mishpât , i. e. , absolute and therefore divine right, beyond the circle in which He Himself is to be found, even far away to the Gentiles.

Mishpât is the term employed here to denote true religion regarded on its practical side, as the rule and authority for life in all its relations, i. e. , religion as the law of life, νομός.

Isa 42:2 The prophet then proceeds to describe how the servant of Jehovah will manifest Himself in the world outside Israel by the promulgation of this right. “He will not cry, nor lift up, nor cause to be heard in the street, His voice. ” “His voice” is the object of “lift up,” as well as “cause to be heard. ” With our existing division of the verse, it must at least be supplied in thought.

Although he is certain of His divine call, and brings to the nations the highest and best, His manner of appearing is nevertheless quiet, gentle, and humble; the very opposite of those lying teachers, who endeavoured to exalt themselves by noisy demonstrations. He does not seek His own, and therefore denies Himself; He brings what commends itself, and therefore requires no forced trumpeting.

Isa 42:3 With this unassuming appearance there is associated a tender pastoral care. “A bruised reed He does not break, and a glimmering wick He does not put out: according to truth He brings out right. ” “ Bruised: ” râtsūts signifies here, as in Isa 36:6, what is cracked, and therefore half-broken already. Glimmering: kēheh (a form indicative of defects, like עוּר), that which is burning feebly, and very nearly extinguished.

Tertullian understands by the “bruised reed” ( arundinem contusam ) the faith of Israel, and by the “glimmering wick” ( linum ardens ) the momentary zeal of the Gentiles. But the words hardly admit of this distinction; the reference is rather a general one, to those whose inner and outer life is only hanging by a slender thread. In the statement that in such a case as this He does not completely break or extinguish, there is more implied than is really expressed.

Not only will He not destroy the life that is dying out, but He will actually save it; His course is not to destroy, but to save. If we explain the words that follow as meaning, “He will carry out right to truth,” i. e. , to its fullest efficacy and permanence (lxx εἰς ἀλήθειαν; instead of which we find εἰς νῖκος, “unto victory,” in Mat 12:20, as if the reading were לנצח, as in Hab 1:4), the connection between the first and last clauses of Isa 42:3 is a very loose one.

It becomes much closer if we take the ל as indicating the standard, as in Isa 11:3 and Isa 32:1, and adopt the rendering “according to truth” (Hitzig and Knobel). It is on its subjective and practical side that truth is referred to here, viz. , as denoting such a knowledge, and acknowledgement of the true facts in the complicated affairs of men, as will promote both equity and kindness.

Isa 42:4 The figures in Isa 42:3 now lead to the thought that the servant of God will never be extinguished or become broken Himself. “He will not become faint or broken, till He establish right upon earth, and the islands wait for His instruction. ” As יכהה (become faint) points back to כהה פשׁתה (the finat or glimmering wick), so ירּוץ must point back to רצוּץ קנה (the bruised or broken reed); it cannot therefore be derived from רוּץ (to run) in the sense of “He will not be rash or impetuous, but execute His calling with wise moderation,” as Hengstenberg supposes, but as in Ecc 12:6, from רצץ = ירץ (Ges.

§67, Anm. 9), in the neuter sense of infringetur (will break). His zeal will not be extinguished, nor will anything break His strength, till He shall have secured for right a firm standing on the earth (ישׂים is a fut. ex. so far as the meaning is concerned, like יבצּע in Isa 10:12). The question arises now, whether what follows is also governed by עד, in the sense of “and until the islands shall have believed his instruction,” as Hitzig supposes; or whether it is an independent sentence, as rendered by the lxx and in Mat 12:21.

We prefer the latter, both because of Isa 51:5, and also because, although לדבר ה יחל may certainly mean to exercise a believing confidence in the word of God (Psa 119:74, Psa 119:81), לתורתו יחל can only mean “to wait with longing for a person’s instruction” (Job 29:23), and especially in this case, where no thought is more naturally suggested, than that the messenger to the Gentile world will be welcomed by a consciousness of need already existing in the heathen world itself. There is a gratia praeparans at work in the Gentile world, as these prophecies all presuppose, in perfect harmony with the Gospel of John, with which they have so much affinity; and it is an actual fact, that the cry for redemption runs through the whole human race, i.

e. , an earnest longing, the ultimate object of which, however unconsciously, is the servant of Jehovah and his instruction from Zion (Isa 2:3) - in other words, the gospel.