initial commit of ebook 30608HEADmain

1 files changed, 18488 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/30608.txt b/30608.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a6e46d3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/30608.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,18488 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Christology of the Old Testament: And a
+Commentary on the Messianic Predictions. Vol. 2, by Ernst Hengstenberg
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Christology of the Old Testament: And a Commentary on the Messianic Predictions. Vol. 2
+
+Author: Ernst Hengstenberg
+
+Translator: Theodore Meyer
+
+Release Date: December 5, 2009 [EBook #30608]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHRISTOLOGY OF OLD TESTAMENT, V2 ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Charles Bowen, from images obtained from Google Books.
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Note: Images taken from the 1861 edition, found at
+Books.Google.com., are the source of the text used for this ebook. This
+original book was from Harvard University and digitized in 2006.
+
+Unclear or missing punctuation marks were corrected by reference to the
+1856 edition of this work.
+
+The Latin diphthong oe is expressed by [oe].
+
+Greek words are directly transliterated using the English equivalents
+of the Greek; the Greek eta is transliterated as e and omega as o.
+Diacritic marks are omitted with the exception of the initial hard
+breathing mark which is indicated by an "h" before the initial vowel of
+the word.
+
+Hebrew words, which in this book are mainly represented without
+the vowel and pronunciation points, are transcribed as follows:
+
+Alef   = a                     Lahmed     = l
+Bet    = b                     Mem        = m (final = M)
+Gimel  = g                     Nun        = n (final = N)
+Dalet  = d                     Samekh     = s
+He     = h                     Ahyin      = i
+Vav    = v                     Peh        = p (final = P)
+Zayin  = z                     Tsadi      = c (final = C)
+Het    = H                     Qof        = q
+Tet    = T                     Resh       = r
+Yod    = i                     Shin       = w
+Kahf   = k (final = K)         Tav        = t
+
+
+
+
+[Pg i]
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                                CLARK'S
+
+
+                                FOREIGN
+
+
+                          THEOLOGICAL LIBRARY
+
+
+
+                               NEW SERIES.
+                                 VOL. II.
+
+
+
+            Hengstenberg's Christology of the Old Testament.
+                                 VOL. II.
+
+
+
+                               EDINBURGH:
+                    T. & T. CLARK, 38, GEORGE STREET.
+       LONDON: J. GLADDING; WARD AND CO.; AND JACKSON AND WALFORD
+                         DUBLIN: JOHN ROBERTSON
+
+                               MDCCCLXI.
+
+
+[Pg ii]
+[Blank Page]
+
+
+[Pg iii]
+
+
+
+
+                               CHRISTOLOGY
+
+                                   OF
+
+                           THE OLD TESTAMENT,
+
+                                  AND A
+
+                  COMMENTARY ON THE MESSIANIC PREDICTIONS
+
+
+
+                                   BY
+                           E. W. HENGSTENBERG,
+                   DR. AND PROF. OF THEOL. IN BERLIN.
+
+
+
+                    SECOND EDITION GREATLY IMPROVED.
+
+
+
+                       TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN
+                                 BY THE
+                        THE REV. THEODORE MEYER.
+               HEBREW TUTOR IN THE NEW COLLEGE, EDINBURGH.
+
+
+                               VOLUME II.
+
+
+                               EDINBURGH:
+                   T. AND T. CLARK, 38, GEORGE STREET.
+      LONDON: HAMILTON, ADAMS, AND CO.; SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, AND CO.;
+            WARD AND CO.; JACKSON AND WALFORD, ETC. DUBLIN:
+                 JOHN ROBERTSON, AND HODGES AND SMITH.
+
+                                MDCCCLXI.
+
+
+[Pg iv]
+
+
+
+
+                                 NOTICE.
+    _This Work is copyright in this country by arrangement with the
+                                 Author._
+
+
+[Pg v]
+
+
+
+
+                            LIST OF CONTENTS.
+
+
+                                                                Page
+MESSIANIC PREDICTIONS IN THE PROPHETS.
+   THE PROPHET ISAIAH.
+      General Preliminary Remarks,                                 1
+      Chap. ii.-iv.--The Sprout of the Lord,                      10
+      Chap. vii.--Immanuel,                                       26
+      Chap. viii. 23-ix. 6--Unto us a Child is born,              66
+      Chap. ix. 1-7,                                              75
+      Chap. xi., xii.--The Twig of Jesse,                         94
+      On Matthew ii. 23,                                         106
+      Chap. xii.,                                                133
+      Chaps. xiii. 1-xiv. 27,                                    135
+      Chaps. xvii., xviii.,                                      137
+      Chap. xix.,                                                141
+      Chap. xxiii.--The Burden upon Tyre,                        146
+      Chaps. xxiv.-xxvii.,                                       149
+      Chaps. xxviii.-xxxiii.,                                    154
+      Chap. xxxv.,                                               158
+      General Preliminary Remarks on Chaps, xl.-lxvi.,           163
+      Chap. xlii. 1-9,                                           196
+      Chap. xlix. 1-9,                                           226
+      Chap. 1. 4-11,                                             246
+      Chap. li. 16,                                              256
+      Chaps. lii. 13-liii. 12,                                   259
+      I. History of the Interpretation.
+         A. With the Jews,                                       311
+         B. History of the Interpretation with the Christians,   319
+      II. The Arguments against the Messianic Interpretation,    327
+      III. The Arguments in favour of the Messianic
+           Interpretation,                                       330
+      IV. Examination of the Non-Messianic Interpretation,       334
+      Chap. lv. 1-5,                                             343
+      Chap. lxi. 1-3,                                            351
+   THE PROPHET ZEPHANIAH,                                        356
+   THE PROPHET JEREMIAH.
+      General Preliminary Remarks,                               362
+      Chap. iii. 14-17,                                          373
+      Chap. xxiii. 1-8,                                          398
+      Chap. xxxi. 31-40,                                         424
+      Chap. xxxiii. 14-26,                                       459
+
+
+[Pg vi]
+[Blank Page]
+
+
+[Pg 1]
+
+
+
+
+                           THE PROPHET ISAIAH.
+
+
+
+
+                      GENERAL PRELIMINARY REMARKS.
+
+
+Isaiah is the principal prophetical figure in the first period of
+canonical prophetism, _i.e._, the Assyrian period, just as Jeremiah is
+in the second, _i.e._, the Babylonian. With Isaiah are connected in the
+kingdom of Judah: Joel, Obadiah, and Micah; in the kingdom of Israel:
+Hosea, Amos, and Jonah.
+
+The name "Isaiah" signifies the "Salvation of the Lord." In this name
+we have the key-note of his prophecies, just as the name Jeremiah: "The
+Lord casts down," indicates the nature of his prophecies, in which the
+prevailing element is entirely of a threatening character. That the
+proclamation of salvation occupies a very prominent place in Isaiah,
+was seen even by the Fathers of the Church. _Jerome_ says: "I shall
+expound Isaiah in such a manner that he shall appear not as a prophet
+only, but as an Evangelist and an Apostle;" and in another passage:
+"Isaiah seems to me to have uttered not a prophecy but a Gospel." And
+_Augustine_ says, _De Civ. Dei_, 18, c. 29, that, according to the
+opinion of many, Isaiah, on account of his numerous prophecies of
+Christ and the Church, deserved the name of an Evangelist rather than
+that of a Prophet. When, after his conversion, _Augustine_ applied to
+_Ambrose_ with the question, which among the Sacred Books he should
+read in preference to all others, he proposed to him Isaiah, "because
+before all others it was he who had more openly declared the Gospel and
+the calling of the Gentiles." (_Aug. Conf._ ix. 5.) With the Fathers of
+the Church _Luther_ coincides. He says in commendation of Isaiah: "He
+is full of loving, comforting, cheering words for all poor consciences,
+and wretched, afflicted hearts." Of course, there is in Isaiah no want
+of severe reproofs and threatenings. If it were [Pg 2] otherwise, he
+would have gone beyond the boundary by which true prophetism is
+separated from false. "There is in it," as Luther says, "enough of
+threatenings and terrors against the hardened, haughty, obdurate heads
+of the wicked, if it might be of some use." But the threatenings never
+form the close in Isaiah; they always at last run out into the promise;
+and while, for example, in the great majority of Jeremiah's prophecies,
+the promise, which cannot be wanting in any true prophet, is commonly
+only short, and hinted at, sometimes consisting only of words which are
+thrown into the midst of the several threatenings, _e. g._, iv. 27:
+"Yet will I not make a full end,"--in Isaiah the stream of consolation
+flows in the richest fulness. The promise absolutely prevails in the
+second part, from chap. xl.-lxvi. The reason of this peculiarity is to
+be sought for chiefly in the historical circumstances. Isaiah lived at
+a time in which, in the kingdom of Judah, the corruption was far from
+having already reached its greatest height,--in which there still
+existed, in that kingdom, a numerous "election" which gathered round
+the prophet as their spiritual centre. With a view to this circle,
+Isaiah utters the words: "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people." The
+contemporary prophets of the kingdom of the ten tribes, which was
+poisoned in its very first origin, found a different state of things;
+the field there was already ripe for the harvest of judgment. And at
+the time of Jeremiah, Judah had become like her apostate sister. At
+that time it was not so much needed to comfort the miserable, as to
+terrify sinners in their security. It was only after the wrath of God
+had manifested itself in deeds, only after the judgment of God had been
+executed upon Jerusalem, or was immediately at hand,--it was only then
+that, in Jeremiah, and so in Ezekiel also, the stream of promise broke
+forth without hinderance.
+
+Chronology is, throughout, the principle according to which the
+Prophecies of Isaiah are arranged. In the first six chapters, we obtain
+a survey of the Prophet's ministry under Uzziah and Jotham. Chap. vii.
+to x. 4 belongs to the time of Ahaz. From chap. x. 4 to the close of
+chap. xxxv. every thing belongs to the time of the Assyrian invasion in
+the fourteenth year of Hezekiah; in the face of which invasion the
+prophetic gift of Isaiah was displayed as it had never been before. The
+section, chap. xxxvi.-xxxix., furnishes us with the historical
+commentary on the preceding [Pg 3] prophecies from the Assyrian period,
+and forms, at the same time, the transition to the second part, which
+still belongs to the same period, and the starting point of which is
+Judah's deliverance from Asshur. In this most remarkable year of the
+Prophet's life--a year rich in the manifestation of God's glory in
+judgment and mercy--his prophecy flowed out in full streams, and spread
+to every side. Not the destinies of Judah only, but those of the
+Gentile nations also are drawn within its sphere. The Prophet does not
+confine himself to the events immediately at hand, but in his ecstatic
+state, the state of an elevated, and, as it were, armed consciousness,
+in which he was during this whole period, his eye looks into the
+farthest distances. He sees, especially, that, at some future period,
+the Babylonian power, which began, even in his time, to germinate,
+would take the place of the Assyrian,--that, like it, it would find the
+field of Judah white for the harvest,--that, for this oppressor of the
+world, destruction is prepared by _Koresh_ (Cyrus), the conqueror from
+the East, and that he will liberate the people from their exile; and,
+at the close of the development, he beholds the Saviour of the world,
+whose image he depicts in the most glowing colours.
+
+Isaiah has especially brought out the view of the Prophetic and
+Priestly offices of Christ, while in the former prophecies it was
+almost alone the Kingly office which appeared; it is only in Deut.
+xviii. that the Prophetic office, and in Ps. cx. that the Priestly
+office, is pointed at. Of the two states of Christ, it is the doctrine
+of the state of humiliation, the doctrine of the suffering Christ,
+which here meets us, while formerly it was the state of exaltation
+which was prominently brought before us,--although Isaiah too can very
+well describe it when it is necessary to meet the fears regarding the
+destruction of the Theocracy by the assaults of the powerful heathen
+nations. The first attempt at a description of the humbled, suffering,
+and expiating Christ, is found in chap. xi. 1. The real seat of this
+proclamation is, however, in the second part, which is destined more
+for the election, than for the whole nation. In chap. xlii. we meet the
+servant of God, who, as a Saviour meek and lowly in heart, does not
+break the bruised reed, nor quench the smoking flax, and by this
+merciful love establishes righteousness on the whole earth. In chap.
+xlix., the Prophet describes how the covenant-people requite with
+ingratitude the faithful labours of the Servant of God, but that [Pg 4]
+the Lord, to recompense Him for the obstinacy of Israel, gives Him the
+Gentiles for an inheritance. In chap. l. we have presented to us that
+aspect of the sufferings of the Servant of God which is common to
+Christ and His people--viz., how, in fulfilling His calling. He offered
+His back to the smiters, and did not hide His face from shame and
+spitting. Then, finally, in chap. liii.--that culminating point of the
+prophecy of the Old Testament--Christ is placed before our eyes in His
+highest work, in His atoning and vicarious suffering, as the truth of
+both the Old Testament high-priest, and the Old Testament sin-offering.
+
+There are still the following Messianic features which are peculiar to
+Isaiah. A clear Old Testament witness for the divinity of Christ is
+offered by chap. ix. 5 (6); the birth by a virgin, closely connected
+with His divinity, is announced in chap. vii. 14; according to chap.
+viii. 23 (ix. 1.) Galilee, and, in general, the country surrounding the
+Sea of Gennesareth, being that part of the country which hitherto had
+chiefly been covered with disgrace, are, in a very special manner, to
+be honoured by the appearance of the Saviour, who shall come to have
+mercy upon the miserable, and to seek that which was lost. Isaiah has,
+further, first taught that, by the redemption, the consequences of the
+Fall would disappear in the irrational creation also, and that it
+should return to paradisaic innocence, chap. xi. 6-9. He has first
+announced to the people of God the glorious truth, that death, as it
+had not existed in the beginning, should, at the end also, be expelled,
+chap. xxv. 8; xxvi. 19. The healing powers which by Christ should be
+imparted to miserable mankind, Isaiah has described in chap xxxv. in
+words, which by the fulfilment have, in a remarkable manner, been
+confirmed.
+
+Let us endeavour to form, from the single scattered features which
+occur in the prophecies of Isaiah, a comprehensive view of his
+prospects into the future.
+
+The announcement first uttered by Moses of an impending exile of the
+people, and desolation of the country, is brought before us by Isaiah
+in the first six chapters, in the prophecies belonging to the time of
+Uzziah and Jotham, at which the future had not yet been so clearly laid
+open before the Prophet as it was at a later period, at the time of
+Ahaz, and, very especially, in the fourteenth year of Hezekiah. A
+reference to [Pg 5] the respective announcements of the Pentateuch is
+found in chap. xxxvii. 26, where, in opposition to the imagination of
+the King of Asshur, that, by his own power, he had penetrated as a
+conqueror as far as Judah, Isaiah asks him whether he had not heard
+that the Lord, long ago and from ancient times, had formed such a
+resolution regarding His people. These words can be referred only to
+the threatenings of the Pentateuch, which a short-sighted criticism
+endeavoured to ascribe to a far later period, without considering that
+the germ of this knowledge of the future is found in the Decalogue
+also, the genuineness of which is, at present, almost unanimously
+conceded: "In order that thy (Israel's) days may be long in the land
+which the Lord thy God giveth thee."
+
+In the solemnly introduced short summary of the history of the
+covenant-people, in chap. vi., there is, after the announcement of the
+impending complete desolation of the country and the carrying away of
+its inhabitants in vers. 11, 12, the indication of a _second_ judgment
+which will not less make an end, in ver. 13: "But yet there is a tenth
+part in it, and it shall again be destroyed;" and this goes hand in
+hand with the promise that the _election_ shall become partakers of the
+Messianic salvation.
+
+The Prophet clearly sees that, by the _Syrico-Ephraemitic_ war, the
+full realization of that threatening of the Pentateuch will not be
+brought about, as far as Judah is concerned; that here a faint prelude
+only to the real fulfilment is the point in question. Although the
+allied kings speak in chap. vii. 6: "Let us go up against Judea and vex
+it, and let us conquer it for us, and set a king in the midst of it,
+even the son of Tabeal," the Lord speaks in chap. vii. 7: "It shall not
+stand, neither shall it come to pass." And although the heart of the
+king and the heart of his people were moved as the trees of the wood
+are moved with the wind, the Prophet says: "Fear not, let not thy heart
+be tender for the tails of those two smoking firebrands."
+
+It is Asshur that shall do more for the realization of that divine
+decree first revealed by Moses. It is he who, immediately after that
+expedition against Judah, shall break the power of the kingdom of the
+ten tribes, chap. viii. 4: "Before the child shall be able to cry: 'My
+father and my mother,'the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria
+shall be carried before the King of [Pg 6] Assyria." The communion of
+guilt into which it has entered with Damascus shall also implicate it
+in a communion of punishment with it, chap. xvii. 3. The adversaries of
+Rezin shall devour Israel with open mouth, chap. ix. 11, 12. Yea Asshur
+shall, some time afterwards, put an end altogether to the kingdom of
+Israel; "Within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken that
+it shall not be a people any more," chap. vii. 8. Upon Judah also
+severe sufferings shall be inflicted by Asshur. He shall invade and
+devastate their land, chap. vii. 17, and chap. viii. He shall
+irresistibly penetrate to the neighbourhood of Jerusalem, chap. x.
+28-32. But when he is just preparing to inflict the mortal blow upon
+the head of the people of God, the Lord shall put a stop to him: "He
+shall cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon shall
+fall by the mighty one," chap. x. 34. "Asshur shall be broken in the
+land of the Lord, and upon His mountains be trodden under foot; and his
+yoke shall depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their
+shoulders," chap. xiv. 25. "And Asshur shall fall with the sword not of
+a man," chap. xxxi. 8. These prophecies found their fulfilment in the
+destruction of Sennacherib's host before Jerusalem,--an event which no
+human ingenuity could have known even a day beforehand. But Isaiah does
+not content himself with promising to trembling Zion the help of God
+against Asshur in that momentary calamity. In harmony with Hosea and
+Micah, he promises to Judah, in general, security from Asshur. He says
+to Hezekiah, after that danger was over, in chap. xxxviii. 6: "And I
+will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the King of Assyria,
+and I will defend this city."
+
+Behind the Assyrian kingdom, the Prophet beholds a new power
+germinating, viz., the Babylonian or Chaldean; and he announces most
+distinctly and repeatedly that from this shall proceed a comprehensive
+execution of the threatenings against unfaithful Judah. According to
+chap. xxiii. 13, the Chaldeans overturn the Assyrian monarchy, and
+conquer proud Tyre which had resisted the assault of the Assyrians.
+Shinar or Babylon appears in chap. xi. 11, in the list of the places to
+which Judah has been removed in punishment. In chap. xiii. 1-xiv. 27,
+Babylon is, for the first time, distinctly and definitely mentioned as
+the threatening power of the future, by which Judah is to be carried
+into captivity. The corresponding announcement in chap. xxxix. is so
+[Pg 7] closely and intimately interwoven with the historical context,
+that even _Gesenius_ did not venture to deny its origin by Isaiah, just
+as he was compelled also to acknowledge the genuineness of the prophecy
+against Tyre, in which the Babylonian dominion is most distinctly
+foretold, and even the duration of that dominion is fixed. The 70 years
+of Jeremiah have here already their foundation.
+
+The Prophet sees distinctly and definitely that Egypt, the rival
+African world's power, on which the sharp-sighted politicians of his
+time founded their hope for deliverance, would not be equal to the
+Asiatic world's power representing itself in the Assyrian and
+Babylonian phases. He knows what he could not know from any other
+source than by immediate communication of the Spirit of God, that, by
+its struggle against the Asiatic power, Egypt would altogether lose its
+old political importance, and would never recover it; compare remarks
+on chap. xix.
+
+As the power which is to overthrow the Babylonian Empire appear, in
+chap. xxxiii. 17, the Medes. In chap. xxi. 2, Elam, which, according to
+the _usus loquendi_ of Isaiah, means Persia, is mentioned besides
+Media. This power, and at its head, the conqueror from the East, Cyrus,
+will bring deliverance to Judah. By it they obtain a restoration to
+their native land.[1] Nevertheless Elam appears in chap. xxii. 16 as
+the representative of the world's power oppressing Judah in the future;
+and from chap. xi. 11 we are likewise led to expect that the world's
+power will in future shew itself in an Elamitic phase also, and that
+the difference between Babel and Elam is one of degree only, just as,
+indeed, it appeared in history; comp. Neh. ix. 36, 37.
+
+An intimation of an European phasis of the world's power, hostile to
+the kingdom of God, is to be found in chap. xi. 11.
+
+After the Kingdom of God has, for such protracted periods, been subject
+to the world's power, the relation will suddenly be reversed; at the
+end of the days the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be exalted
+above all the hills, and all nations shall flow into it, chap. ii. 2.
+
+This great change shall be accomplished by the Messiah, chaps. iv.,
+ix., xi., xxxiii. 17, who proceeds from the house of [Pg 8] David,
+chap. ix. 6 (7), lv. 3, but only after it has sunk down to the utmost
+lowliness, chap. xi. 1. With the human, He combines the divine nature.
+This appears not only from the names which are given to Him in chap.
+ix. 5 (6), but also from the works which are assigned to Him,--works by
+far exceeding human power. He rules over the whole earth, according to
+chap. xi.; He slays, according to xi. 4, the wicked with the breath of
+His mouth (compare chap. l. 11, where likewise He appears as a partaker
+of the omnipotent punitive power of God); He removes the consequences
+of sin even from the irrational creation, chap. xi. 6-9; by His
+absolute righteousness He is enabled to become the substitute of the
+whole human race, and thereby to accomplish their salvation resting on
+this substitution, chap. liii.
+
+The Messiah appears at first in the form of a servant, low and humble,
+chap. xi. 1, liii. 2. His ministry is quiet and concealed, chap. xlii.
+2, as that of a Saviour who with tender love applies himself to the
+miserable, chap. xlii. 3, lxi. 1. At first it is limited to Israel,
+chap. xlix. 1-6, where it is enjoyed especially by the most degraded of
+all the parts of the country, viz., that around the sea of Galilee,
+chap. viii. 23 (ix. 1.) Severe sufferings will be inflicted upon Him in
+carrying out His ministry. These proceed from the same people whom He
+has come to raise up, and to endow (according to chap. xlii. 6, xlix.
+8), with the full truth of the covenant into which the Lord has entered
+with them. The Servant of God bears these suffering's with unbroken
+courage. They bring about, through His mediation, the punishment of God
+upon those from whom they proceeded, and become the reason why the
+salvation passes over to the Gentiles, by whose deferential homage the
+Servant of God is indemnified for what He has lost in the Jews, chap.
+xlix. 1-9, l. 4-11. (The foundation for the detailed announcement in
+these passages is given already in the sketch in chap. vi.,--according
+to which an election only of the people attain to salvation, while the
+mass becomes a prey to destruction.) But it is just by these
+sufferings, which issue at last in a violent death, that the Servant of
+God reaches the full height of His destination. They possess a
+vicarious character, and effect the reconciliation of a whole sinful
+world, chap. lii. 13-liii. 12. Subsequently to the suffering, and on
+the ground of it, begins the exercise of the Kingly office of Christ,
+chap. liii. 12. He brings law and righteousness to the [Pg 9] Gentile
+world, chap. xlii. 1; light into their darkness, chap. xlii. 6. He
+becomes the centre around which the whole Gentile world gathers, chap.
+xi. 10: "And it shall come to pass in that day, the root of Jesse which
+shall stand for an ensign of the people, to it shall the Gentiles seek,
+and His rest shall be glory;" comp. chap. lx., where the delighted eye
+of the Prophet beholds how the crowds of the nations from the whole
+earth turn to Zion; chap. xviii., where the future reception of the
+Ethiopians into the Kingdom of God is specially prophecied; chap. xix.,
+according to which Egypt turns to the God of Israel, and by the tie of
+a common love to Him, is united with Asshur, his rival in the time of
+the Prophet, and so likewise with Israel, which has so much to suffer
+from him; chap. xxiii., according to which, in the time of salvation.
+Tyre also does homage to the God of Israel. The Servant of God becomes,
+at the same time, the _Witness_, and the Prince and Lawgiver of the
+nations, chap. lv. 4. Just as the Spirit of the Lord rests upon Him,
+chap. xi. 2, xlii. 1, lxi. 1, so there takes place in His days an
+outpouring of the Holy Spirit, chap. xxxii. 15, xliv. 3, comp. with
+chap. liv. 13. Sin is put an end to by Him, chap. xi. 9, and an end is
+put especially to war, chap. ii. 4. The Gentiles gathered to the Lord
+become at last the medium of His salvation for the covenant-people, who
+at first had rejected it, chap. xi. 12, lx. 9, lxvi. 20, 21. The end is
+the restoration of the paradisaic condition, chap. xi. 6-9, lxv. 25;
+the new heavens and the new earth, chap. lxv. 17, lxvi. 22; but the
+wicked shall inherit eternal condemnation, chap. lxvi. 24.
+
+
+
+[Footnote 1: _Vitringa_: There are no predictions in reference to the
+temporal deliverance of the Jewish Church, in which the Prophet shews
+himself more than in those which relate to the downfall of the
+Babylonian Empire, and the deliverance of the people of God by Cyrus.]
+
+
+
+[Pg 10]
+
+
+
+
+                       THE PROPHECY--CHAP. II.-IV.
+                         THE SPROUT OF THE LORD.
+
+
+It has been already proved, in Vol. i., p. 416 ff., that this discourse
+belongs to the first period of the Prophet's ministry. It consists of
+three parts. In the first, chap. ii. 2-4, the Prophet draws a picture
+of the Messianic time, at which the Kingdom of God, now despised,
+should be elevated above all the kingdoms of the world, should exercise
+an attractive power over the Gentiles, and should cause peace to dwell
+among them; comp. Vol. i., p. 437 ff. In the second part, from chap.
+ii. 5-iv. 1, the Prophet describes the prevailing corruption, exhorts
+to repentance, threatens divine judgments. This part is introduced, and
+is connected with the preceding, by the admonition in ii. 5, addressed
+to the people, to prepare, by true godliness, for a participation in
+that blessedness, to beware lest they should be excluded through their
+own fault. In the third part, chap. iv. 2-6, the prophet returns to the
+proclamation of salvation, so that the whole is, as it were, surrounded
+by the promise. It was necessary that this should be prominently
+brought out, in order that sinners might not only be terrified by fear,
+but also allured by hope, to repentance,--and in order that the elect
+might not imagine that the sin of the masses, and the judgment
+inflicted in consequence of it, did away with the mercy of the Lord
+towards His people, and with His faithfulness to His promises.
+Salvation does not come without judgment. This feature, by which true
+prophetism is distinguished from false, which, divesting God of His
+righteousness, announced salvation to unreformed sinners, to the whole
+rude mass of the people,--this feature is once more prominently brought
+out in ver. 4. But salvation for the elect comes as necessarily as
+judgment does upon the sinners. In the midst of the deepest abasement
+of the people of God, God raises from out of the midst of them the
+Saviour by whom they are raised to the highest glory, chap. iv. 2. They
+are installed into the dignity of the saints of God, after the penitent
+ones have been renewed by His Spirit, and the [Pg 11] obstinate sinners
+have been exterminated by His judgment, ver. 3, 4. God's gracious
+presence affords them protection from their enemies, and from all
+tribulation and danger, ver. 5, 6.
+
+The first part, in which Isaiah follows Micah (comp. the arguments in
+proof of originality in Micah, Vol. i., p. 413 ff.), has already been
+expounded on a former occasion. We have here only to answer the
+question, why it is that the Prophet opens his discourse with a
+proclamation of salvation borrowed from Micah? His object certainly was
+to render the minds of the people susceptible of the subsequent
+admonition and reproof, by placing at the head a promise which had
+already become familiar and precious to the people. The position which
+the Messianic proclamation occupies in Isaiah is altogether
+misunderstood if, with _Kleinert_ and _Ewald_, we assume that the
+passage does not, in Isaiah, belong to the real substance of the
+prophecy; that it is merely placed in front as a kind of text, the
+abuse and misinterpretation of which the Prophet meets in that which
+follows, so that the sense would be: the blessed time promised by
+former prophets will come _indeed_, but _only_ after severe, rigorous
+judgments upon all who had forsaken Jehovah. It is especially ver. 5
+which militates against this interpretation, where, in the words: "Come
+ye and let us walk in the light of the Lord,"[1] the prophet gives an
+_express declaration_ as to the object of the description which he has
+placed in front, and expresses himself in regard to it in perfect
+harmony [Pg 12] with Heb. iv. 1: [Greek: phobethomen oun mepote
+kataleipomenes epangelias ... doke tis ex humon husterekenai.] This
+shows, that after the manner of an evangelical preacher, and in
+conformity with his name, he wishes to allure to repentance by pointing
+to the great salvation of the future;--that the [Greek: engike he
+basileia ton ouranon] of the first part serves as a foundation to the
+[Greek: metanoeite oun] of the second.
+
+The threatening of punishment contained in the second part is destitute
+of any particular reference. It bears a general character,
+comprehending the whole of the mischief with which the Lord is to visit
+the unfaithfulness of His people. Most thoroughly was the animating
+idea realized in the Roman catastrophe, the consequence of which is the
+helplessness which still presses upon the people. The preparatory
+steps were the decay of the people at the time of Ahaz--especially
+the Chaldean overthrow--and, generally, everything which the people
+had to suffer in the time of the dominion of the Assyrian, Chaldean,
+Medo-Persian, and Greek kingdoms. As none of these kingdoms were as yet
+on the stage, or in sight, it is quite natural that the threatening
+here keeps altogether within general terms; it was given to Isaiah
+himself afterwards to individualize it much more.
+
+It is with the third part only that we have here more particularly to
+employ ourselves.
+
+Ver. 2. "_In that day the Sprout of the Lord becomes for beauty and
+glory, and the fruit of the land for exaltation and ornament, to the
+escaped of Israel._"
+
+Ver. 3. "_And it shall come to pass, he that was left in Zion, and was
+spared in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, every one that is written to
+life in Jerusalem._"
+
+Ver. 4. "_When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of
+Zion, and shall remove the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by
+the spirit of right and the spirit of destruction._"
+
+Ver. 5. "_And the Lord creates over the place of Mount Zion, and over
+her assemblies clouds by day and smoke, and the brightness of flaming
+fire by night, for above all glory is a covering._"
+
+Ver. 6. "_And a tabernacle shall be for a shadow by day from the heat,
+and, for a refuge and covert from storm and from rain._"
+
+Ver. 2. "_In that day_" _i.e._, not by any means _after_ the suffering,
+but _in the midst of it_, comp. chap. iii. 18; iv. 1, where, by [Pg 13]
+the words "in that day," contemporaneousness is likewise expressed.
+Parallel is chap. ix. 1 (2), where the people that walketh in darkness
+seeth a great light. According to Micah v. 2 (3) also, the people are
+given up to the dominion of the world's powers until the time that she
+who is bearing has brought forth. Inasmuch as the Messianic
+proclamation bears the same general comprehensive character as the
+threatening of punishment, and includes in itself beginning and end,
+the suffering may partly also reach into the Messianic time. It
+dismisses from its discipline those who are delivered up to it,
+gradually only, after they have become ripe for a participation in the
+Messianic salvation.--There cannot be any doubt that, by the "_Sprout
+of the Lord_" the Messiah is designated,--an explanation which we meet
+with so early as in the Chaldee Paraphrast ([Hebrew: bedna hhva ihi
+mwiHa dii lHdvh vliqr]), from which even _Kimchi_ did not venture to
+differ, which was in the Christian Church, too, the prevailing one, and
+which Rationalism was the first to give up. The Messiah is here quite
+in His proper place. The Prophet had, in chap. iii. 12-15, in a very
+special manner, derived the misery of the people from their bad rulers.
+What is now more rational, therefore, than that he should connect the
+salvation and prosperity likewise with the person of a Divine Ruler?
+comp. chap. i. 26. In the adjoining prophecies of Isaiah, especially in
+chaps. vii., ix., and xi., the person of the Messiah likewise forms the
+centre of the proclamation of salvation; so that, _a priori_, a mention
+of it must be expected here. To the same result we are led by the
+analogy of Micah; comp. Vol. i. p. 443-45, 449. _Farther_--The
+representation of the Messiah, under the image of a sprout or shoot, is
+very common in Scripture; comp. chap. xi. 1-10; liii. 2; Rev. v. 5. But
+of decisive weight are those passages in which precisely our word
+[Hebrew: cmH] occurs as a designation of the Messiah. The two passages,
+Jer. xxiii. 5: "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, and I raise unto
+David a righteous Sprout;" and xxxiii. 15: "In those days, and at that
+time, shall I cause the Sprout of righteousness to grow up unto David,"
+may at once and plainly be considered as an _interpretation_ of the
+passage before us, and as a commentary upon it; and that so much the
+more that there, as well as here, all salvation is connected with this
+Sprout of Jehovah; comp. Jer. xxiii. 6: "In His days Judah [Pg 14]
+shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely, and this is His name
+whereby he shall be called: The Lord our righteousness." The two other
+passages, Zech. iii. 8: "Behold, I bring my servant _Zemach_," and vi.
+12: "Behold, a man whose name is _Zemach_" are of so much the greater
+consequence that in them _Zemach_ (_i.e._, Sprout) occurs as a kind of
+_nomen proprium_, the sense of which is supposed as being known from
+former prophecies to which the Prophet all but expressly refers; or as
+_Vitringa_ remarks on these passages: "That man who, in the oracles of
+the preceding Prophets (Is. and Jer.) bears the name of 'Sprout.'" Of
+no less consequence, _finally_, is the parallel passage, chap. xxviii.
+5: "In that day shall the Lord of hosts be for a crown of glory, and
+for a diadem of beauty unto the residue of His people." The words
+[Hebrew: cbi] and [Hebrew: tpart] there meet us again. The same is
+there ascribed to the Lord which is here attributed to the Sprout of
+the Lord. That can be readily accounted for, only if the Sprout of the
+Lord be the Messiah. For the Messiah appears everywhere as the channel
+through which the Lord imparts to His Church all the fulness of His
+blessings, as the Immanuel by whom the promise given at the very
+threshold of the Old Testament: "I dwell in the midst of them," is most
+perfectly realized. "This is the name whereby He shall be called: The
+Lord our righteousness," says Jeremiah, in the passage quoted.--The
+"Sprout of the Lord" may designate either him whom the Lord causes to
+sprout, or him who has sprouted forth from the Lord, _i.e._, the Son of
+God. Against the latter interpretation it is objected by _Hoffmann_
+(_Weissagung und Erfuellung._ Th. 1, S. 214): "[Hebrew: cmH] is an
+intransitive verb, so that [Hebrew: cmH] may be as well connected with
+a noun which says, who causes to sprout forth, as with one which says,
+whence the thing sprouts forth. Now it is quite obvious that, in the
+passage before us, the former case applies, and not the latter,
+inasmuch as one cannot say that something, or even some one, sprouts
+forth from Jehovah; it is only with a thing, not with a person, that
+[Hebrew: cmH] can be connected." But it is impossible to admit that
+this objection is well founded. The person may very well be conceived
+of as the soil from which the sprout goes forth. Yet we must, indeed,
+acknowledge that the Messiah is nowhere called a Sprout of David. But
+what decides in favour of the first view are the [Pg 15] parallel
+passages. In Jer. xxiii. 5, xxxiii. 15, the Lord raises up to David a
+righteous Sprout, and causes Him to grow up unto David. Hence here,
+too, the Sprout will in that sense only be the Lord's, that he does not
+sprout forth out of Him, but through Him. In Zech. iii. 8 the Lord
+brings his servant _Zemach_; in Ps. cxxxii. 17, it is said: "There I
+cause a horn to sprout to David," and already in the fundamental
+passage, 2 Sam. xxiii. 5, which contains the first germ of our passage,
+David says: "For all my salvation and all my pleasure should He not
+make it to _sprout_ forth."--As the words "Sprout of the Lord" denote
+the heavenly origin of the Redeemer, so do the words [Hebrew: pri harC]
+the earthly one, the soil from which the Lord causes the Saviour to
+sprout up. These words are, by _Vitringa_ and others, translated: "the
+fruit of the earth," but the correct translation is "the fruit of the
+_land_." The passages, Num. xiii. 26: "And shewed them the fruit of the
+land;" and Deut. i. 25: "And they took in their hands of the fruit of
+the land, and brought it unto us, and brought us word again, and said,
+good is the land which the Lord our God doth give us,"--these two
+passages are, besides that under consideration, the only ones in which
+the phrase [Hebrew: pri harC] occurs; and there is here, no doubt, an
+allusion to them. The excellent natural fruit of ancient times is a
+type of the spiritual fruit. To the same result--that [Hebrew: harC]
+designates the definite land, that land which, in the preceding verses,
+in the description of the prevailing conniption, and of the divine
+judgments, was always spoken of,--to this result we are led by the fact
+also, that everywhere in the Old Testament where the contrariety of the
+divine and human origin of the Messiah is mentioned, the human origin
+is more distinctly qualified and limited. This is especially the case
+in those passages which, being dependent upon that before us, maybe
+considered as a commentary upon it; in Jer. xxiii. 5, xxxiii. 15, where
+the Lord raises a Sprout unto _David_, and Zech. vi. 12, where the man
+whose name is _Zemach_ (Sprout) grows up out of its soil; comp. Heb.
+vii. 14, where, in allusion to the Old Testament passages of the
+Sprout--the verb [Greek: anatellein] is commonly used of the sprouting
+forth of the plants (see _Bleek_ on this passage)--it is said: [Greek:
+ex Iouda anatetalken ho Kurios hemon], _Bengel_: _ut germen justitiae_;
+farther, Mic. v. 1 (2), where the eternal existence of the Messiah, [Pg
+16] and His birth in Bethlehem are contrasted with one another; Is. ix.
+5, (6), where the words: "Unto _us_ a child is born, unto _us_ a son is
+given," are contrasted with the various designations of the Messiah,
+according to His divine majesty. This qualification and limitation
+which everywhere takes place, have their ground in the circumstance
+that the Messiah is constantly represented to the covenant-people as
+their property; and that He, indeed, was, inasmuch as salvation went
+out from Jews (John iv. 22), and was destined for the Jews, into whose
+communion the Gentiles were to be received; comp. my Commentary on
+Revel. vii. 4. "The Sprout of the Lord," "the fruit of the land," is
+accordingly He whom the Lord shall make to sprout forth from Israel.
+The Sprout of the Lord, the fruit of the land is to become to the
+escaped of Israel for _beauty_ and _glory_, for _exaltation_ and
+_ornament_. The passages to be compared are 2 Sam. i. 19, where Saul
+and Jonathan are called [Hebrew: cbi iwral]; _farther_, Is. xxviii. 5:
+"In that day shall the Lord of hosts be for a crown of beauty, and for
+a diadem of ornament unto the residue of His people," where the words
+[Hebrew: cbi] and [Hebrew: tpart] are likewise used; _finally_, chap.
+xxiv. 16, where, in reference to the Messianic time, it is said: "From
+the uttermost part of the earth do we hear songs of praise: beauty (
+[Hebrew: cbi]) to the righteous." By the appearance of Christ, the
+covenant-people, hitherto despised, were placed in the centre of the
+world's history; by it the Lord took away the rebuke of His people from
+off all the earth, chap. xxv. 8. There is evidently in these words a
+reference to the preceding threatening of punishment, especially to
+chap. iii. 18: "In that day the Lord will take away the ornament," &c.:
+But _Drechsler_ is wrong in fixing and expressing this reference thus:
+"Instead of farther running after strange things, Israel will find its
+glory and ornament in Him who is the long promised seed of Abrahamitic
+descent." For it is not the position which Israel takes that is spoken
+of, but that which is granted to them. The antithesis is between the
+false glory which God takes away, and the true glory which He gives.
+The Lord cannot, by any possibility, for any length of time, appear
+merely _taking away_; He takes those seeming blessings, only in order
+to be able to give the true ones. Every taking away is a prophecy of
+giving.--"_To the escaped of Israel_," who, according to the idea of a
+people of God, and according to [Pg 17] the promise of the Law (comp.
+Deut. xxx. 1, ff.) can never be wanting, as little as it is possible
+that the salvation should be partaken of by the whole _mass_ of the
+people; sifting judgments must necessarily go before and along with it.
+True prophetism everywhere knows of salvation for a remnant only. On
+[Hebrew: pliTh], which does not mean "deliverance," so that the
+abstract would thus here stand for the concrete, but "that which has
+escaped," comp. remarks on Joel iii. 5, Vol. 1, p. 338.
+
+All which now remains is to examine those explanations of this verse
+which differ from the Messianic interpretation. 1. Following the
+interpretation of _Grotius_ and others, _Gesenius_, in his Commentary,
+understands by the Sprout of the Lord the new growth of the people
+after their various defeats. His explanation is: "Then the sprout of
+Jehovah will be splendid and glorious, and the fruit of the land
+excellent and beautiful for the escaped of Israel." _Fruit of the land_
+he takes in its literal sense, and understands it to mean the product
+of the land. The same view is held by _Knobel_: "_He becomes for beauty
+and glory_, _i.e._, the people, having reformed, prosper and form a
+splendid, glorious state." And _Maurer_ in his Dictionary says: "The
+Sprout of Jehovah seems to be the morally improved remnant, the new,
+sanctified increase of the people." But in opposition to such a view
+there is, _first_, the circumstance, that according to it the [Hebrew:
+l] before [Hebrew: lcbi] and [Hebrew: lkbvr] must be understood
+differently from what it is in [Hebrew: lgavN], and [Hebrew: ltpart]
+which immediately follow and exactly correspond with them. There are,
+_secondly_, the parallel passages chap. xxviii. 5, xxiv. 16, according
+to which [Hebrew: cbi] "beauty" is conferred upon the escaped, but they
+themselves do not become beauty. _Finally_--It is always most natural
+to suppose that [Hebrew: cmH ihvh] and [Hebrew: pri harC] correspond
+with one another, and denote the same subject which is here described
+after his various aspects only. For in the same manner as [Hebrew: cmH]
+and [Hebrew: pri] go hand in hand, both being taken from the territory
+of botany, so [Hebrew: ihvh] and [Hebrew: harC] also stand in a
+contrast which is not to be mistaken. 2. _Hitzig_, _Ewald_, _Meier_,
+and others not only refer "the fruit of the land," but also the "Sprout
+of Jehovah" to that which Jehovah makes to sprout forth.[2] It is true
+that, in the prophetic [Pg 18] announcements, among the blessings of
+the future the rich produce of the land is also mentioned (comp. chap.
+xxx. 23-25), and the same is very expressly done in the Law also; but
+in not a single one of these passages does the strange expression
+occur, that this fruitfulness should serve to the escaped for beauty
+and glory, for exaltation and ornament, or any other that bears the
+slightest resemblance to it. Against this explanation there is, _in
+addition_, the circumstance that the barrenness of the country is not
+at all pointed out in the preceding context. _Finally_--When we
+understand this expression as referring to the Messiah, this verse,
+standing as it does at the head of the proclamation of salvation,
+contains the fundamental thought; and in what follows we obtain the
+expansion. In the verse before us we are told that in Christ the people
+attain to glory,--and, in those which follow, how this glory is
+manifested in them. But according to this view, every internal
+connexion of the verse before us with what follows is entirely
+destroyed. 3. According to _Hendewerk_, by the "Sprout of the Lord,"
+"the collective person of the ruling portion in the state during the
+Messianic happy time," is designated. This opinion is the beginning of
+a return to the Messianic interpretation. But then only could that
+ideal person be here referred to, if elsewhere in Isaiah too it would
+come out strongly and decidedly. As this, however, is not the case; as,
+on the contrary, the Messiah everywhere in Isaiah meets us in shining
+clearness, it would be arbitrary to give up the _person_ in favour of a
+_personification_. 4. _Umbreit_ acknowledges that, in the case of
+[Hebrew: cmH ihvh], the Messianic interpretation is the only correct
+one. "The two subsequent prophecies in chap. ix. and xi.," he says,
+"are to be considered as a commentary on our short text." But it is
+characteristic of his compromising manner that by "the fruit of the
+land" he understands "the consequences of the dominion of the Messiah
+for the land, the fruits which, in consequence of his appearing, the
+consecrated soil brings forth,"--thus plainly overlooking the clear [Pg
+19] contrast between the Sprout of the Lord, and the fruit of the land,
+by which evidently the same thing is designated from different aspects.
+
+Ver. 3. The Prophet now begins to show, more in detail, in how far the
+Sprout of the Lord and the fruit of the land would serve for the honour
+and glory of the Church. The words: "He that was left in Zion and was
+spared in Jerusalem," take up the idea suggested by the "escaped of
+Israel" in ver. 2. The double designation is intended to direct
+attention to the thought that the remnant, and the remnant only, are
+called to a participation in the glory. _Zion_ and _Jerusalem_, as the
+centre of the covenant-people, here represent the whole; this is
+evident from the circumstance that at the close of ver. 2, which is
+here resumed, the escaped of _Israel_ were spoken of Ever since the
+sanctuary and the royal palace were founded at Zion, it was in a
+spiritual point of view, the residence of all Israel, who even
+personally met there at the high festivals.--Whoever is left in Zion
+"_shall be called holy_." The fundamental notion of holiness is that of
+separation. God is holy, inasmuch as He is separated from all that is
+created and finite, and is elevated above all that is finite; comp. my
+Commentary on Rev. iv. 8. _Believers_ are holy, because they are
+separated from the world as regards their moral existence and their
+destiny. Here only the latter aspect is considered. Holy in a moral
+sense they were already, inasmuch as it is this which forms the
+condition of their being spared in the divine judgments. They became
+holy because they are partakers of the beauty, of the exaltation, and
+ornament which are to be bestowed upon the escaped by the Sprout of the
+Lord. The circumstance that they have been installed into the dignity
+of the saints of God implies that, when the Spirit of the Lord has
+appeared, the world's power has no longer any dominion over them, but
+that, on the contrary, they shall judge the world. In like manner we
+read in Exod. xix. 6, in the description of the _reward_ for
+faithfulness: "And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy
+nation;" comp. ver. 5: "And now if you will obey my voice and keep my
+covenant, ye shall be a property unto me out of all people." In
+reference to the exalted dignity and glory, holiness occurs in Deut.
+vii. 6: "For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God; the Lord
+thy God hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself out of
+all the people that are upon [Pg 20] the face of the earth." When the
+company of Korah said: "All the congregation, they are holy" (Numb.
+xvi. 3), they had in view, not the moral holiness but the dignity--a
+circumstance which is quite obvious from words added: "And in the midst
+of them is the Lord." And so Moses likewise speaks of the dignity in
+Numb. xvi. 7: "Whom the Lord shall choose, he is the holy one." In Rom.
+i. 7; Heb. iii. 1, holiness is declared to consist in being loved,
+called, and chosen by God.--As regards the fulfilment of this promise,
+it has its _horas_ and _moras_. It began with the first appearance of
+Christ, by which the position of the true Israel to the world was
+substantially and fundamentally changed. It was not without meaning
+that, as early as in the apostolic times, the "Saints" was a kind of
+_nomen proprium_ of believers, comp. Acts ix. 13, 32. We are even now
+the sons of God, and hence even already installed into an important
+portion of the inheritance of holiness; but it has not yet appeared
+what we shall be, 1 John iii. 2. But the beginning, and the
+continuation pervading all ages, viz., God's dealings throughout the
+whole of history, whereby he ever anew lifts up His Church from the
+dust of lowliness, afford to us the guarantee for the completion,
+which is, with graphic vividness, described in the last two chapters
+of Revelation.--"_To be called_" is more than merely "to be;" it
+indicates that the _being_ is so marked as to procure for itself
+acknowledgment.--The words: "_Every one that is written to life in
+Jerusalem_" anew point out that judgment will go before, and by the
+side of grace. The meaning of [Hebrew: HiiM] is, according to the
+fundamental passage in Ps. lxix. 29, "not living ones" (_Hoffmann_,
+_Weiss._ i. S. 208), but "life." In Revelation, too, the book of life,
+and not the book of the living ones, is spoken of "To be written to
+life" is equivalent to being ordained to life, Acts xiii. 48; comp. my
+Comment. on Ps. lxix. 29; Rev. iii. 5. Life is not naked life,--a
+miserable life is, according to the view of Scripture, not to be called
+a life, but is a form of death only--but life in the full enjoyment of
+the favour of God; comp. my Comment. on Ps. xvi. 11, xxx. 6, xxxvi. 10;
+xlii. 9; lxiii. 4. The Chaldean thus paraphrases it: "All they that are
+written to eternal life shall see the consolation of Jerusalem, _i.e._
+the Messiah." Comp. Dan. xii. 1; Rev. iii. 5, xiii. 8, xx. 15, xxii.
+19; Phil. iv. 3; Luke x. 20. The bodily death of believers cannot
+exclude them from a participation in being written to [Pg 21] life;
+for, being a mere transition to life, it can, in truth, not be called a
+death. Here, too, the word of Christ applies: "The maid is not dead but
+sleepeth," Matt. ix. 24. The fact that there is no contradiction
+between bodily death and life, _i.e._ a participation in the blessings
+of the Kingdom of Christ, is pointed out by Isaiah himself in chap.
+xxvi. 19: "Thy dead men shall _live_, my dead bodies shall arise, for a
+dew of light is thy dew."
+
+Ver. 4. The Prophet points out that before the Church is raised to the
+dignity of the saints of God, a thorough change of its moral
+conditions, an energetic expunging of the sin now prevailing in her,
+must take place, "_When the Lord has washed away the filth of the
+daughters of Zion._" The "daughters of Zion" are none other than those
+whose haughtiness, luxury, and wantonness were described in chap. iii.
+16 ff., and to whom the deepest abasement was then threatened. The
+filth, under the image of which sin is here represented (comp. Prov.
+xxx. 12); "A generation pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed
+from their filthiness," forms the contrast to the splendid attire which
+is there spoken of Behind this splendid attire the filthiness is
+concealed. The filth is not washed away (1 Cor. vi. 11; Eph. v. 26)
+from the daughters of Jerusalem,--for, inasmuch as this washing away is
+accomplished by means of the spirit of destruction, it could not apply
+to them--but from Jerusalem; comp. the phrase, "from the midst
+thereof," which immediately follows. Jerusalem, the city of the Lord,
+in which no unclean person, and no unclean thing are permitted to
+dwell, is cleansed from the filth with which its unworthy daughters
+contaminate it. "_And shall remove the blood of Jerusalem._" The "blood
+of Jerusalem" is the blood which attaches to Jerusalem, which has been
+shed in it. The connection of the punishment of the sins of avarice on
+the part of the rulers, in chap. iii. 13-15, with the punishment of the
+luxury and ostentation on the part of the women, is illustrative of the
+relation of filth and blood to each other. Blood is shed in order to
+furnish pride and vanity with the means of their gratification. The
+avarice of the rulers, and their shedding of blood, are put together in
+Ezek. xxii. 13; comp. ver. 27: "Her princes are in the midst thereof
+like wolves ravening the prey, shedding blood, destroying souls, to get
+dishonest gain." Bloodguiltiness those too incur who deprive the poor
+of the necessary means of support, Mic. iii. 2, 3. The comparison of
+[Pg 22] chap. i. 15: "Your hands are full of blood," and of ver. 21:
+"But now murderers," compared with vers. 17, 23, 26, shews that we have
+to think especially of unjust judges and avaricious rulers. Yet, there
+is no reason for limiting ourselves to the nobles and rulers _alone_;
+comp. Ezek. xxii. 29: "The people of the land use oppression, and
+boldly practice robbery, and vex the poor and needy, and oppress the
+stranger." Where sins so gross are still prevalent, where the law of
+the Lord is so wantonly broken, an installation into the dignity of
+the saints of God is out of the question. For that, it is absolutely
+essential that exertions be made that the high destination of the
+people: "Ye shall be holy for I am holy," become a truth; that in
+a moral point of view it show itself as truly separated from the
+world,--and that is something so infinitely great, that men are utterly
+unable for it, that it can proceed from God only, with whom nothing is
+impossible.--The last words of the verse are commonly explained: "by
+the spirit of _judgment_, and by the spirit of destruction or burning."
+In that case the putting away of the filth and blood by the judging
+activity of the Lord, by the destruction of sin, would be spoken of
+[Hebrew: mwpT], however, may also be taken in the sense of "right:" by
+the spirit of right which lays hold of, and changes the well disposed
+(comp. Mic. iii. 8: "But I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord,
+and of _right_ and might"), and by the spirit of destruction which
+consumes the disobedient. In favour of the latter view are the parallel
+passages; above all, chap. xxviii. 6, where it is said of the Messianic
+time, "In that day the Lord will become, &c.," "And for a spirit of
+right to him that sitteth for right;" farther, chap. i. 27, 28: "Zion
+shall be redeemed by right, and her converts by righteousness. But the
+transgressors and sinners are destroyed together, and they that forsake
+the Lord are consumed." Comp. Matt. iii. 11: [Greek autos humas
+baptisei en pneumati hagio kai puri], where likewise a double washing,
+that of grace and that of wrath, is spoken of. In chap. xxxii. 15:
+"Until the Spirit be poured out upon us from on high," Isaiah likewise
+points to the regeneration which, in the Messianic time, will be
+accomplished by the Spirit; and it is, according to the whole _usus
+loquendi_ of the Old Testament, most natural to think of the Spirit
+transforming from within The Spirit of God scarcely occurs elsewhere in
+the Old Testament as the executor of God's judgments; so that the
+supposition is [Pg 23] very natural that the spirit of destruction has
+been brought in by the spirit of right only.--The word [Hebrew: ber]
+is, by some, understood as "burning," by others, as "destruction." We
+ourselves decide in favour of the latter signification, which occurs
+also in chap. iv. 13, for this reason, that it is in that signification
+that [Hebrew: ber] is, in Deuteronomy, used as the _terminus technicus_
+of the extirpation of the wicked. If the Church does not comply with
+the command: [Greek: exareite ton poneron ex humon auton], 1 Cor. v.
+13; Deut. xiii. 6 (5), God himself will enforce His authority by His
+Spirit, who carries out the judgments of the avenging God, just as He
+carries out every influence of the Creator upon the created. On the
+"Spirit of the Lord," comp. my remarks on Rev. i. 4.
+
+Ver. 5. The image is here taken from the journey of Israel through the
+wilderness. During that journey, they were guided and protected by a
+symbol of God's presence, which by day presented itself as smoke, and
+by night assumed the form of flaming fire. By this symbol the God of
+Israel was designated as the jealous God, as the living, personal
+energy, energetic in His love for His people, energetic in wrath
+against His and their enemies. Comp. especially Exod. xiii. 21: "And
+the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud to lead them on
+the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light;" and xl.
+38: "For a cloud was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by
+night;" comp. Numb. ix. 15, 16. The same phenomenon is to be repeated
+in future, although in a different form. In a manner the most real, the
+Lord will manifest himself as the living energy of His Church, dwelling
+in the midst of her, and ruling over her as a protector, so that the
+world's power can no longer injure her. That such will be done in and
+by His _Sprout_, in Christ, appears from the relation of the verse
+under consideration to ver. 2; for the verse before us still belongs to
+the expansion of the proposition placed at the head of the whole: "The
+_Sprout_ of the Lord becomes for beauty and glory, and the fruit of the
+land for exaltation and ornament to the escaped of Israel." Christ in
+His person and Spirit is the true Shechinah, the true indwelling of God
+in His Church. This indwelling is, even in the Law, designated as the
+highest privilege of the covenant-people; its being raised to a higher
+power is therefore to the Prophet the highest blessing of the future,
+the source from which all other blessings flow. That which the heathen
+in vain longed [Pg 24] for and imagined; that which Israel hitherto
+possessed only very imperfectly, a _praesens numen_, whereby the
+antithesis of heaven and earth is done away with, and earth is
+glorified into a heaven;--that, the purified Church of the Lord
+possesses in the most perfect and real manner, and in it, absolute
+security against the world, a decided victory over it. The words:
+"_Over her assemblies_," show that the whole life of the people shall
+then bear a religious character, and shall be a continual service of
+God, comp. Acts ii. 42, where, as a type of the completion of the
+Church, it is said: "And they continued stedfastly in the Apostles'
+doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers."
+[Hebrew: mqra] is only the name for that which is called, "the
+assembly," and stands in Levit. xxiii. and Is. i. 13 of the religious
+assemblies which were held on the holy days, comp. my pamphlet: _Ueber
+den Tag des Herrn S_. 32. The same phenomenon is, according to its
+appearance by day, designated, at the same time, as _clouds_ and
+_smoke_. Smoke is never "vapour, vapoury clouds" (_Knobel_); and here
+the smoke by day corresponds with the _flaming fire_ by night. If then
+the smoke can be considered as a product of the fire only (comp. my
+remarks on Rev. xv. 8), the cloud cannot come into consideration
+according to its matter, but according to its form only. The smoke
+assumes the form of a cloud which affords protection from the burning
+sun of tribulations, as once, in the burning desert, from the scorching
+heat of the natural sun, comp. Num. x. 34: "And the cloud of the Lord
+was upon them;" Ps. cv. 39: "He spread a cloud for a covering;" Is.
+xxv. 5. The cloud which thus affords protection to the Church turns a
+threatening face towards her enemies. Rev. xv. 8.--The words: "_For
+above all glory is a covering_," point to the ground of the protecting,
+gracious presence of God in the Church. Several interpreters explain
+the sense thus: "As we cover and preserve precious things more
+carefully, in order that they may not be injured, so does God in His
+grace surround His Church, which has been adorned with glorious
+virtues, and raised to the high dignity of the saints of God, and
+protects her from every danger." Others understand by [Hebrew: kl-kbvd]
+the whole glory mentioned in the preceding context; but in that case we
+should expect the article. One may also supply the limitation: For, _in
+the Kingdom of God_, there is a covering over all glory.
+
+[Pg 25]
+
+Ver. 6. God--this is the same sense--protects His Church from every
+danger and calamity. By His gracious presence in His Sprout, He affords
+to them that protection which a hut does from sun, storms, and rain.
+Luther says: "In this passage, accordingly, Christ is held up to us as
+He who in all tribulations, bodily as well as spiritual, is our
+protection." There is an allusion to the 21st verse of Ps. xxxi. (which
+was written by David): "Thou hidest them in the secret of thy
+countenance from the conspiracy of every one; thou keepest them
+secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues." The pavilion in
+this Psalm is a spiritual one, viz., God's grace and protection. That
+word of David shall be gloriously fulfilled when the Sprout of the Lord
+shall appear.--The "_Sun_" comes into consideration in its scorching
+quality; and the "_heat_" is in Scripture the image of temptations,
+sufferings, and trials; comp. remarks on Rev. viii. 12, xvi. 8; Song of
+Sol. i. 6; Ps. cxxi. 6; Matt. xiii. 6, compared with v. 21; Is. xlix.
+10, xxv. 4; and, according to the last passage, we must especially have
+in view the enmity and assaults of the world's power. The "_rain_"
+appears as an image of tribulation in the Song of Sol. ii. 11; Is. xxv.
+4: "The spirit of the terrible ones (the passions of the kings of the
+world, and conquerors) is like a violent shower against the wall;"
+xxxii. 2.--A comparison of the Messianic prophecy in chap ii. with that
+which we have now considered shows very clearly how necessary it is to
+regard the single Messianic prophecies as fragments only, supplementing
+one another, inasmuch as commonly a few aspects only were presented to
+the spiritual eye of the Prophet. Just as the description in chap. ii.
+receives an important supplement from the passage now considered,
+inasmuch as the latter contains the mention of the personal Messiah, so
+it, again, supplements that before us by announcing the participation
+by the Gentiles in the blessings of the Messianic Kingdom.
+
+
+
+[Footnote 1: Light is the image of salvation; to walk in the light is
+to enjoy a participation in it. Israel is not wantonly to wander away
+from the path of light which the Lord has opened up to them, into the
+dark desolation of misery. In the words [Hebrew: lkv vnlkh] there is a
+clear reference to [Hebrew: lkv vnelh] of the Gentile nations in ver.
+3. If the Gentiles apply with such zeal for a participation in the
+blessings of the Kingdom of God, how disgraceful would it be if you,
+the people of the covenant, the children of the Kingdom, should lose
+your glorious possession by your ungodly walk. In vers. 6-11 the
+Prophet states the grounds of his admonition to the people to walk in
+the light of the Lord which he had expressed in the preceding verse.
+This admonition implies that there existed a danger of losing a
+participation in the light; and it is this danger which the Prophet
+here more particularly details. It is not without reason, so the words
+may be paraphrased, that I say: "Walk ye in the light of the Lord," for
+at present the Lord has _forsaken_ the people on account of their sins,
+and with that, a participation in His light is incompatible. By being
+full of heathenish superstition, of false confidence in earthly things,
+yea, even of the most disgraceful that can be imagined for Israel,
+viz., gross idolatry, they rather become more and more ripe for the
+divine judgment which will break in irresistibly upon them.]
+
+[Footnote 2: So _Gesenius_ also in the _Thesaurus_: "The whole earth
+shall be holy and shall more beautifully bloom and be adorned with
+plenty of fruits and corn for the benefit of those who have escaped
+from those calamities." _Gesenius'_ wavering clearly shows how little
+satisfaction the non-Messianic explanation affords to its own abettors.
+Besides the explanations of [Hebrew: cmH ihvh] by "the new growth of
+the people," and "the rich produce of the country," he advances still a
+third one, viz., "a divinely favoured ruler,"--an explanation which has
+even the grammar against it, as we are at liberty to translate only:
+"The Sprout of the Lord;" and likewise the analogy of [Hebrew: pri
+harC], according to which the Genitive can have a reference to the
+_origin_ only.]
+
+
+
+[Pg 26]
+
+
+
+
+                        THE PROPHECY, CHAP. VII.
+                               IMMANUEL.
+
+
+A crisis of the most important nature in the history of Israel is
+formed by the Syrico-Ephraemitic war, by the expedition of the allied
+kings, Rezin of Damascus, and Pekah of Samaria, which had been already
+prepared under the reign of Jotham, and which broke out in the first
+years of Ahaz. It was in consequence of this war that Asshur came
+into the land. The inroad of the Assyrian King, Pul, under Menahem
+of Israel, had been transitory only, comp. Vol. 1. p. 165. It was
+only with the invasion under Ahaz that the tendency of Asshur began
+of making lasting conquests on the other side of the Euphrates,
+which could not fail to bring about a collision with the Egyptian
+power. The succeeding powers in Asia and Europe followed Asshur's
+steps. "Hitherto,"--so says _Caspari_, in his pamphlet on the
+Syrico-Ephraemitic war, S. 17 ff.--"hitherto Israel had to do with the
+small neighbouring nations only,--now, in punishment of their sins,
+oppressed by them; then, in reward of their obedience, oppressing and
+ruling over them. And the Syrico-Ephraemitic war itself had been a link
+only in the chain of these attacks--its last link. Israel, having
+arrived at the point of being hardened, and having entered upon a path
+in accordance with this tendency, required another more severe
+corrective--its being crushed by the mighty world's power. The
+appearance of these mighty powers, just at the period when Israel
+entered upon their hardening, is most providential.--The beginning of
+the end of the kingdom of the ten tribes had come, and the breaking up
+of its independent political existence had commenced. As enmity to
+Judah had given its origin to the kingdom of the ten tribes, so also
+did it bring about its destruction; born out of it, it died of it. It
+owed its existence to the incipient enmity; when the latter was
+accomplished (Isa. vii. 6,) it caused its death.--The Assyrians came to
+the help of Judah, but charged a high price for their help, viz.,
+Judah's submission and fealty. Thirty heavy years of servitude, and, to
+a great part, of [Pg 27] fears of the worst, 2 Kings xvi. 18; Is.
+xxxiii. 18 (?); xxxvii. 3, followed for this kingdom also; and when, at
+the close of this period, it freed itself from them after the fashion
+of the kingdom of Israel, it shared nearly the same fate, 2 Kings
+xviii. 31 ff. It was only to the mercy of the Lord, who looked
+graciously upon the feeble beginnings of conversion, that it owed its
+deliverance. The Assyrian power, which had put an end to the kingdoms
+of Damascus and Israel, and which was the first power that appeared on
+the stage of history and came into conflict with the people of God,
+became a significant sign of the final fate of the world's power in its
+attacks upon the Kingdom of God. But, as a prelude to the long series
+of visitations which it had to endure from the world's power in its
+different phases, Judah was even now led to the very brink of
+destruction; there came a period, the 14th year of Hezekiah, when
+almost nothing more of it was to be seen by the outward eye than its
+metropolis exposed to the utmost danger."
+
+A remarkable proof of the fact that the spirit which filled the
+prophets was a higher one than their own, is the fact that Isaiah
+recognized so distinctly and clearly the importance of the decisive
+moment.
+
+In close connection with the great crisis at which the history of the
+people of God had arrived, stands the richer display of the Messianic
+announcement which begins with the chapter before us. Messiah is
+henceforth represented to Judah as an Immanuel against the world's
+powers, as the surety for its deliverance from the severe oppressions
+hanging over it, as He who at last, at His appearance, would conquer
+the world, and lay it at the feet of the people of God.
+
+After these general introductory remarks, let us turn more particularly
+to the contents of the chapter before us. It was told to the house of
+David: "Aram is encamped in Ephraim." The position of Ahaz was, humanly
+considered, desperate. His enemies were far superior to him, and he
+could scarcely hope for help from heaven, for he had an evil
+conscience. The idea of seeking help from Asshur was natural. Isaiah
+received a commission to oppose this idea before it became a firm
+resolution. In doing so he, by no means, occupies the position of an
+ingenious politician. On the contrary, the whole commission is [Pg 28]
+forced upon him. It can scarcely be doubted that the Assyrians would
+have penetrated to Western Asia, even if Ahaz had not called them to
+his assistance. The expedition of the Syrians and Ephraimites with the
+view of making conquests, could not but turn their attention to that
+quarter. As the instruments of the judgments upon Damascus and Samaria,
+which Isaiah announced as impending under any circumstances, we can
+surely think of none but Asshur. But if once they came into these
+regions, in order to chastise the haughtiness of the Syrians and
+Ephraimites, who would set up as a new conquering power, then was Judah
+too threatened by them. _In a political point of view it did not make
+any great difference whether Ahaz sought help from the Assyrians, or
+not_; on the contrary, the king of Asshur could not but be more
+favourably disposed towards him for so doing. _Isaiah, throughout,
+rather occupies the position of the man of God._ The kings of the
+people of God were, in general, not prevented from forming alliances;
+but such alliances must belong to the category of permitted human
+resources. Such, however, was not the case here. Asshur was a
+conquering power, altogether selfish. His help had to be purchased with
+dependance, and with the danger of entire destruction; to stay upon him
+was to stay upon their destroyer, Is. x. 20. Such an alliance was a _de
+facto_ denial of the God of Israel, an insult to His omnipotence and
+grace. If Ahaz had obeyed Him; if he had limited himself to the use of
+the human means granted to him by the Lord without trusting in them,
+and had placed all his confidence in the Lord, He would have delivered
+him in the same manner as He afterwards delivered Hezekiah, in the
+first instance from Aram and Ephraim, and then from Asshur also. But
+although Ahaz did not follow the prophet, his mission was by no means
+in vain. Even before the mission, this result lay open before the Lord
+who sent him. The great point was to establish, before the first
+conflict of Israel with the world's power, thus much, that this
+conflict had been brought about by the sin of the house of David, and
+that hence it did not afford any cause for doubting the omnipotence and
+mercy of the Lord whose help had been offered, but rejected.
+
+The Prophet seeks out the king at a place to which he had been driven
+by his despairing disquietude which was clinging convulsively to human
+resources. He endeavours, first, to exert [Pg 29] an influence upon him
+by taking with him his son, whose symbolical name, containing a
+prophecy of the future destinies of the people, indicated that the
+king's fear of a total destruction of the State was without foundation.
+After the king has thus been prepared, he endeavours to make a deeper
+impression upon him by the announcement, distinct and referring to the
+present case, that the enemies should not only entirely fail in their
+intention of conquering and dividing between themselves the kingdom of
+Judah; but that the kingdom of Ephraim was itself hastening towards
+that destruction which it was preparing for its brethren, and that
+after sixty-five years it should altogether lose its national
+independence and existence, ver. 1-9. But Ahaz makes no reply; and his
+whole deportment shows that he does not follow the Prophet's
+exhortation to "take heed and be quiet," and that the words: "If ye do
+not believe, ye shall not be established," with which the Prophet
+closes his address, have not made any impression upon him. In order
+that the greatness of the king's hardness of heart may become manifest,
+the Prophet offers, in the commission of the Lord, to confirm the
+certainty of his statement by a miraculous sign, which the king himself
+is called upon to fix, without any restriction, in order that any
+suspicion of imposition may be removed. "But Ahaz, the unbeliever, is
+afraid of heavenly communications, has already chosen his help, wishes
+that every thing should go on in an easy human manner, and refuses the
+Lord's offer in a polite turn which even refers to the Law. A sign is
+then forced upon him, because as the king of Judah, he must see and
+hear for all Judah that the Lord is faithful and good."[1] The Prophet,
+in ver. 14, points to the birth of the Saviour by a Virgin. How then
+was it possible that in the present collision that people should be
+destroyed, among whom, according to former promises. He was to be born;
+that that family should be extinguished from which he was to be
+descended? The name "Immanuel," by which the future Saviour is
+designated as "He in whom the Lord is, in the truest manner, to be with
+His people," is a guarantee for His help in the present distress also.
+The Prophet then states the time in which the land shall be entirely
+delivered from its present enemies. The contemporaries, as the
+representative of whom [Pg 30] the child appears (the Prophet, in the
+energy of his faith, has transferred the birth of this child from the
+future to the present), shall, after the short space of about two
+years, again obtain the full enjoyment of the products of the land,
+ver. 15. For, before this period has elapsed, destruction will fall
+upon the hostile kings in their own land, ver. 16. The danger,
+however--and this is pointed out in ver. 17-25--will come from just
+that quarter from which Ahaz expects help, viz., from Asshur. But the
+security for deliverance from this danger also--the conqueror of the
+world's power which was soon to begin its course in Asshur, is none
+other than Immanuel, whom the Prophet, in the beginning of the
+humiliation of the people of God, makes, so to say, to become man, in
+order that, during the impending deep humiliation of the people of God,
+He may accompany it in its history during all the stages of its
+existence, until He should really become man. He is, however in this
+discourse, not yet pointed out as the deliverer from Asshur, and the
+world's power represented by him. The darkness of the misery to be
+inflicted by Asshur should not, and could not, in the meantime, be
+cleared up for Ahaz; the picture must end in night. But in the
+following discourse, chap. viii. 1, ix. 6 (7), which serves as a
+necessary supplement to the one before us, the Saviour is depicted
+before the eyes of those despairing in the sight of Asshur; and the
+two-fold repetition of His name Immanuel, in chap. viii. 8, 10, serves
+to show that the two discourses are intimately connected, and form one
+whole.
+
+Ahaz persevered in his unbelief, according to 2 Kings xvi. 7, 8. He
+sent messengers with large presents to Tiglath-pileser, King of
+Assyria, saying: "I am _thy servant_ and _thy son_ (a word as ominous
+as that: 'We have no king but Caesar,'in John xix. 35); come up and
+save me out of the hand of the King of Aram, and out of the hand of the
+King of Israel which rise up against me." But before the asked-for help
+came, king and people had to endure very severe sufferings from Aram
+and Ephraim. Ahaz, after having first made preparations to secure
+Jerusalem against the impending siege, sent out his armies. They met
+with a twofold heavy defeat from the divided armies of the allied
+kings,[2] from which he might have been spared by [Pg 31] being still,
+and hoping. The hostile armies then came up to Jerusalem, and laid
+siege to it. It was probably by the intelligence of the advance of
+Asshur that they were induced to raise the siege. It was now confirmed
+that the Prophet had been right in designating the two hostile kings as
+mere tails of smoking firebrands. Damascus was taken by the King of
+Ophir; the inhabitants were carried away into exile to Kir; Rezin was
+slain, 2 Kings xvi. 9: the land of Israel was devastated; a portion of
+its inhabitants was carried away into exile; the king was made
+tributary, 2 Kings xv. 29. Exactly at the time fixed by the Prophet,
+the overthrow of the two hostile kingdoms took place; but the
+deliverance which, without any farther sacrifice, Ahaz would have
+obtained, if he had believed the Prophet, had now to be purchased by
+very heavy sacrifices; and with perfect justice it is said in 2 Chron.
+xxviii. 20, 21, that the king of Asshur did not help him, but rather,
+by coming unto him, distressed him. Ahaz purchased this help at the
+price of his independence, and had probably to submit to very hard
+claims being made upon him. (_Caspari_, S. 60.) The world's power, to
+which Ahaz had offered a finger, seized, more and more, the whole hand,
+and held it by a firm grasp. Under Hezekiah, faith broke through the
+consequences of the sin of the family; but this interruption lasted as
+long only as did the faith. In addition to that which Ahaz had, for his
+unbelief, to suffer from Aram, Ephraim, and Asshur, came the rebellion
+of the neighbouring nations,--of the Edomites, according to 2 Chron.
+xxviii. 17, and of the Philistines, according to ver. 18.
+
+Ver. 1. "_And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz, the son of Jotham,
+the son of Uzziah, that Rezin, the king of Aram, and Pekah the son of
+Remaliah, the king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem, to war against
+it, and could not fight against it._"
+
+In thus tracing back the pedigree of Ahaz to Uzziah, there is a
+reference to chap. vi. 1: "In the year that King Uzziah [Pg 32] died,"
+&c. These two chapters stand related to each other as prophecy and
+fulfilment. It was in the year of Uzziah's death that the Prophet had
+been seized with fearful forebodings; and by the divine word these
+fearful forebodings had soon been raised into a clear knowledge of the
+threatening judgments which were impending. Under Ahaz, the second
+successor of Uzziah, this knowledge began to be realized, keeping pace
+with the hardening which in Ahaz had become personified. He, the type
+of the unbelieving Jewish people, did not hear and understand, did not
+see and perceive; and the announcement of the Prophet served merely
+to increase his hardening. Even as early as that, the germ of the
+carrying away of the people, announced by the Prophet in chap. vi., was
+formed.--The circumstance of the hostile kings being introduced as
+_going up_ implies the spiritual elevation of Jerusalem; comp. remarks
+on Ps. xlviii. 3; xlviii. 17. The city of God is unconquerable unless
+her inhabitants and, above all, the anointed one of God, make, by their
+unbelief, their glorious privilege of no avail. In the last words:
+"_And could not fight against it_," (the singular [Hebrew: ikl] because
+Rezin is the chief person, Rezin and Pekah being identical with Rezin
+with Pekah, comp. Esth. iv. 16), the result of the siege is
+anticipated; and this is easily accounted for by the consideration that
+ver. 1 serves as an introduction to the whole account, stating, in
+general terms, the circumstances which induced the Prophet to come
+publicly forward. In the following verses, the share only is mentioned
+which the Prophet took in the matter; and the account is closed after
+he has discharged his commission. The apparent contradiction to 2 Kings
+xvi. 5, according to which Jerusalem was really besieged,--a
+contradiction which occurs also in that passage itself: "And they
+besieged Ahaz, and could not fight"--is most simply reconciled by the
+remark that a fruitless struggle can, as it were, not be called a
+struggle, just as, _e. g._, in the Old Testament, such as have a name
+little known are spoken of as being without a name.
+
+Ver. 2, "_And it was told to the house of David, saying: Aram rests
+upon Ephraim. Then his heart trembled, and the heart of his people,
+like as the trembling of the trees of the wood before the wind._"
+
+The representative of the house of David was, according to [Pg 33] ver.
+1, Ahaz, to whom the suffix in [Hebrew: lbbv] refers. It is thereby
+intimated that Ahaz does not come into consideration as an individual,
+but as a representative of the whole Davidic family, of which the
+members were responsible, conjunctly and severally, and which in Ahaz
+denied their God, and gave themselves up to the world's power,--a deed
+of the family from the consequences of which a heroic faith only, like
+that of Hezekiah, could deliver, but in such a manner only that it at
+once became valid again when this faith ceased, until at length in
+Christ the house of David was raised to glory. Ver. 19 shows that
+[Hebrew: nvH] must be taken in the signification "to let oneself down,"
+"to sit down," "to encamp." The anguish of the natural man, who has not
+his strength in God at the breaking in of danger, is most graphically
+described.
+
+Ver. 3. "_And the Lord said to Isaiah: Go out to meet Ahaz, thou and
+Shearjashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, in
+the highway of the fuller's field._"
+
+Why is the Prophet to seek out the king just at this place? The answer
+is given by chap. xxii. 2. "And a reservoir you make between the two
+walls for the waters of the old pool: and not do ye look unto him who
+makes it (viz., the impending calamity), and not do ye regard him who
+fashioned it long ago." When a siege of Jerusalem was imminent, in the
+lower territory, the first task was to cut off the water from the
+hostile army. This measure Hezekiah, according to 2 Chron. xxxii. 3,
+took against Sennacherib: "And he took counsel with his princes and his
+mighty men, to stop the waters of the fountains which were without the
+city, and they helped him." That might be done in faith; but he who,
+like Ahaz, did not stand in the faith, sought in it, _per se_, his
+safety; his despairing heart clung to such measures. The stopping of
+the fountains was, in his case, on a level with seeking help from the
+Assyrians. It is thus in the midst of his sin that the Prophet seeks
+out the king, and recalls to his conscience: "take heed and be quiet."
+But why did the Prophet take his son Shearjashub with him? It surely
+cannot be without significance; for otherwise it would not have been
+recorded, far less would it have been done at the express command of
+the Lord. As the boy does not appear actively, the reason can only be
+in the signification of the name. According to chap. viii., the Prophet
+was accustomed to give to [Pg 34] his sons symbolical names which had a
+relation to the destinies of the nation. They were, according to chap.
+viii. 18, "for signs and for wonders in Israel." But as an
+interpretation of the name, the passage chap. x. 21 is to be
+considered: "The remnant shall return, the remnant of Jacob unto the
+mighty God." The word [Hebrew: wvb] can, accordingly, be understood of
+returning to the Lord, of repentance only, comp. chap. i. 27; Hos. iii.
+5. But with repentance the recovery of salvation is indissolubly
+connected. The reason why it is impossible that they who commit the sin
+against the Holy Ghost shall never recover salvation lies solely in the
+circumstance, that it is impossible that they should be renewed to
+repentance. The fundamental passage, which is comprehended in the name
+of the Prophet's son: "And thou returnest unto the Lord thy God.... And
+the Lord thy God turneth thy captivity (_i.e._, thy misery), and hath
+compassion upon thee, and returneth and gathereth thee from all the
+nations" (Deut. xxx. 2, 3), emphatically points out the indissoluble
+connection of the return to the Lord, and of the return of the Lord to
+His people. This connection comes out so much the more clearly, when we
+consider that, according to Scripture, repentance is not the work of
+man but of God, and is nothing else but the beginning of the bestowal
+of salvation; comp. Deut. xxx. 6: "And the Lord thy God circumciseth
+thine heart, and the heart of thy seed to love the Lord thy God with
+all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live;" Zech.
+xii. 10. King and people feared entire destruction; and it was at this
+that their powerful enemies aimed. Isaiah took his son with him, "as
+the living proof of the preservation of the nation, even amidst the
+most fearful destruction of the greater part of it." After having in
+this manner endeavoured to free their minds from the extreme of fear,
+he seeks to elevate them to joyful hopes, by the prophetical
+announcement proper, which showed that, from this quarter, not even the
+future great judgment, which would leave a portion only, was to be
+feared.
+
+Ver. 4. "_And say unto him: Take heed and be quiet; fear not, nor let
+thy heart be tender for the two ends of these smoking firebrands, for
+the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram, and of the son of Remaliah._"
+
+[Pg 35]
+
+The words "_Take heed_" point to the dangerous consequences of fear;
+comp. ver. 9: "If ye do not believe, ye shall not be established." On
+the words "_be quiet_," lit., make quiet, viz., thy heart and walk,
+comp. chap. xxx. 15: "For thus saith the Lord: By returning and rest ye
+shall be saved; in _quietness_ and confidence shall be your strength;
+and ye would not." Such as he was, Ahaz could not respond to the
+exhortations to be quiet. Quietness is a product of _faith_. But the
+way of faith stood open to Ahaz every moment, and by his promising word
+and by his example, the Prophet invited him to enter upon it. In the
+words: "Fear not," &c., there is an unmistakable reference to Deut. xx.
+1, ff., according to which passage the priest was, on the occasion of
+hostile oppression, to speak to the people: "Let not your hearts be
+tender, and be not terrified." That which, in the Law, the priest was
+commanded to do, is here done by the Prophet, who was obliged so often
+to step in as a substitute, when the class of the ordinary servants
+fell short of the height of their calling.--The "firebrand" is the
+image of the conqueror who destroys countries by the fire of war, comp.
+remarks on Rev. viii. 8. The Prophet is just about to announce to the
+hostile kings their impending overthrow; for this reason, he calls them
+_ends_ of firebrands, which no longer blaze, but only glimmer. He calls
+them thus because he considers them with the eye of _faith_; to the
+bodily eye a bright flame still presented itself, as the last words:
+"For the fierce anger," &c., and vers. 5 and 6 show. _Chrysostom_
+remarks: "He calls these kings 'firebrands,'to indicate at the same
+time their violence, and that they are to be easily overcome; and it is
+for this reason, that he adds 'smoking,'_i.e._, that they were near
+being altogether extinguished."
+
+Vers. 5, 6. "_Because Aram meditates evil against thee, Ephraim and the
+son of Remaliah, saying: Let us go up against Judah, and drive it to
+extremity, and conquer it for us, and set up as a king in the midst of
+it the son of Tabeal._"
+
+We have here, farther carried out, the thought indicated by the words:
+"for the fierce anger," &c. The interval, in the original text, between
+vers. 6 and 7, is put in to prevent the false connection of these
+verses with ver. 7 (_Hitzig_ and _Ewald_).--[Hebrew: qvC] always means
+"to loathe," "to experience disgust;" here, [Pg 36] in Hiph., "to cause
+disgust," "to drive to extremity;" comp. my work on Balaam, Rem. on
+Num. xxii. 3.--[Hebrew: bqe] means always: "to cleave asunder," "to
+open," "to conquer."--The words: "_For us_," show that Tabeal is to be
+the vassal only of the two kings. The absolute confidence with which
+the Prophet recognizes the futility of the plan of the two kings, forms
+a glaring contrast to the modern view of Prophetism, Ver. 2 shows in
+what light ordinary consciousness did, and could not fail to look on
+the then existing state of things.
+
+Ver. 7. "_Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: It shall not stand, neither
+shall it come to pass._" (A plan stands when it is carried out.)
+
+Ver. 8. "_For the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is
+Rezin, and in threescore and five years more, Ephraim shall be broken,
+and be no more a people._"
+
+Ver. 9. "_And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria
+is Remaliah's son. If ye believe not, ye shall not be established._"
+
+Each of these two verses forms a complete whole.--The words: "For the
+head of Aram," &c., to "Rezin" receive their explanation from the
+antithesis to vers. 5 and 6, where the king of Aram and the king of
+Ephraim had declared their intention of extending their dominion over
+Judah. As, concerning this intention and this hope, the Lord has
+declared His will that it shall not be, we must understand: Not as
+regards Judah, and not as regards Jerusalem. It is in vain that men's
+thoughts exalt themselves against the purposes of God. From Aram, the
+Prophet turns, in the second part of the verse, to Ephraim: "And even
+Ephraim! What could it prevail against the Lord and His Kingdom! It
+surely should give up all attempts to get more; its days are numbered,
+the sword is already suspended over its own head." But inasmuch as it
+is possible, although not likely, that Ephraim, before its own
+overthrow, may still bring evil upon Judah, this is expressly denied in
+ver. 9: Samaria, according to the counsel of God, and the limit
+assigned to it, is the head of Ephraim only, and not, at the same time,
+of Judah, &c. With this are then connected the closing words: "If ye
+believe not, ye shall not be established" (properly, the consequence
+will be that ye do not continue), which are equivalent to it: it is
+hence not Samaria [Pg 37] and the son of Remaliah that you have to
+fear; the enemy whom you have to dread, whom you have to contend
+against with prayer and supplication, is in yourselves. Take heed lest
+a similar cause produce a similar effect, as in the last clause of ver.
+8 it has been threatened against Ephraim.--This prophecy and warning,
+one would have expected to have produced an effect so much the deeper,
+because they were not uttered by some obscure fanatic, but by a worthy
+member of a class which had in its favour the sanction of the Lawgiver,
+and which in the course of centuries had been so often and so
+gloriously owned and acknowledged by God.[3]
+
+[Pg 38]
+
+Vers. 10, 11. "_And the Lord spoke farther unto Ahaz, saying, Ask thee
+a sign of the Lord thy God; ask it from the depth, or above from the
+height._"
+
+Ahaz observed a dignified silence after those words of the Prophet;
+but his whole manner shews the Prophet that they have not made any
+impression upon him. If David's spirit had rested on Ahaz, he would
+surely, if he had wavered at all, have, on the word of the Prophet,
+thrown himself into the arras of his God. But in order that the
+depth of his apostacy, the greatness of his guilt, and the justice
+of the divine judgments may become manifest, God shows him even a
+deeper condescension. The Prophet offers to prove the truth of his
+announcement by any miraculous work which the king himself should
+determine, and from which he might, at the same time, see God's
+omnipotence, and the Divine mission of the Prophet. As Ahaz refused
+the offered sign, the word 2 Tim. ii. 12, 13: [Greek: ei arnoumetha,
+kakeinos arnesetai hemas. ei apistoumen, ekeinos pistos
+menei--arnesasthai gar heauton ou dunatai] came into application.
+According to Deut. vii. 9 ff. the truth and faithfulness of God must
+now manifest itself in the [Pg 39] infliction of severe visitations
+upon the house of David.--The character of a _sign_ is, in general,
+borne by everything which serves for certifying facts which belong to
+the territory of faith, and not to that of sight. 1. In some instances,
+the sign consists in a mere naked word; thus in Exod. iii. 12: "And
+this shall be the sign unto thee that I have sent thee: When thou hast
+brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this
+mountain." Moses'doubts of the truth of his Divine mission originated
+in the consciousness of his own unworthiness, and in the condition of
+those to whom he was sent. From these doubts he was delivered by the
+announcement that, at the place where he had been called, he, at the
+head of the delivered people, should serve his God. This was to him a
+_sign_ that God was in earnest in calling him. 2. In other instances
+the assurance given by the sign consists in its perceptibility and
+corporeality; so that the word assumes, as it were, flesh and blood. A
+case of this kind it is, _e.g._, when, in chap. viii. 18, Isaiah calls
+his two sons, to whom, at the command of God, he had given symbolical
+names, expressive of the future salvation of the covenant-people,
+"Signs and wonders in Israel;" farther, chap. xx. 3, where the Prophet
+walks naked and barefoot for a sign of the calamity impending over
+Egypt and Ethiopia in three years. 3. In another class of signs, a fact
+is announced which is, in itself, natural, but not to be foreseen by
+any human combination, the coming to pass of which, in the immediate
+future, furnishes the proof that, at a distant future, that will be
+fulfilled which was foretold as impending. The wonderful element, and
+the demonstrative power do not, in such a case, lie in the matter of
+the sign, but in the telling of it beforehand. It is in this sense
+that, in 1 Sam. x., Samuel gives several _signs_ to Saul, that God had
+destined him to be king, _e.g._, that in a place exactly fixed, he
+would meet two men who would bring him the intelligence that the lost
+asses were found; that, farther onwards, he would meet with three men,
+one of whom would be carrying three kids, another, three loaves of
+bread, and another, a bottle of wine, &c. In 1 Sam. ii. 34, the sudden
+death of his two sons is given to Eli as a sign that all the calamities
+threatened against his family should certainly come to pass. In Jer.
+xliv. 29, 30, the impending defeat of Pharaoh-Hophras is given as a
+_sign_ of the divine vengeance breaking in upon the Jews in Egypt. Even
+before the [Pg 40] thing came to pass, it could not in such a case, be
+otherwise than that the previous condition and foundation brought
+before the eyes in a lively manner (Jer. xliv. 30: "_Behold_, I give
+Pharaoh-Hophras into the hands of his enemies") gave a powerful shock
+to the doubts as to whether the fact in question would come to pass. 4.
+In other cases, the assurance was given in such a manner, that all
+doubts as to the truth of the announcement were set at rest by the
+immediate performance of a miraculous work going beyond the ordinary
+laws of nature. Thus, _e.g._, Isaiah says to Hezekiah, in chap. xxviii.
+7: "And this shall be the sign unto thee from the Lord, that the Lord
+will do this thing which He has spoken," and, as a _sign_ that the Lord
+would add fifteen years to the life of the King, who was sick unto
+death, he makes the shadow on the sun-dial of Ahaz to go back ten
+degrees. Of this description were also the signs granted to Gideon,
+and, in many respects, the plagues in Egypt also. In the passage before
+us, no other sign can possibly be spoken of than one of the _two last
+classes_. For it was a real, miraculous sign only which could possibly
+exert any influence on a mind so darkened as was that of Ahaz, and it
+was the vain offer of such an one only which was fitted to bring to
+light his obduracy. If, then, the Prophet was willing and able to give
+a real, miraculous sign, why, then, is the answer of Ahaz so
+unsuitable? And we can surely not suppose, as _Meier_ does, that he
+should have intentionally misunderstood the Prophet. The temptation of
+the Lord by the children of Israel, to which the word of the Lord,
+Deut. vi. 16, quoted by Ahaz, refers, consisted, according to Exod.
+xvii., in their having asked _water_, as a _miraculous sign_ that the
+Lord was truly in the midst of them. How could the Prophet reproach
+Ahaz with having offended, not men merely, but God, unless he had
+offered to prove, by a fact which lay absolutely beyond the limits of
+nature, the truth of his announcement, the divinity of Him who gave it,
+the divinity of his own mission, and the soundness of his advice?
+_Hendewerk_ is of opinion that "it is difficult to say what the author
+would have made to be the sign in the heavens; probably, a very simple
+thing." But in making this objection it is forgotten that Isaiah gives
+_free choice_ to the king. _Hitzig_ says: "Without knowing it, Isaiah
+here plays a very dangerous game. For if Ahaz had accepted his
+proposition, Jehovah would [Pg 41] probably have left His servant in
+the lurch, and he would have begun to doubt of his God and of himself."
+In these words, at all events, it is conceded that the prophets
+themselves would not be what people in modern times would have them to
+be. If such was their position towards _miracles_, then, in their own
+convictions, _prophecies_, too, must be something else than general
+descriptions, and indefinite forebodings. But how should it have been
+possible that an order could have maintained itself for centuries, the
+most prominent members of which gave themselves up to such enthusiastic
+imprudence and rashness? Moreover, it is overlooked that afterwards, to
+Hezekiah, our Prophet grants that in reality which here he offers to
+Ahaz in vain,--[Hebrew: hemq] and [Hebrew: hgbh] are _Infin. absol._
+"going high," "going low." The Imperat. [Hebrew: walh] must be
+understood after [Hebrew: hgbh] also. Some explain [Hebrew: walh] by
+"to hell," "down to hell;" but this is against the form of the word,
+which it would be arbitrary to change. Nor does one exactly see how, if
+we except, perhaps, the apparition of one dead, Isaiah could have given
+to the king a sign from the Sheol; and in other passages, too (comp.
+Joel iii. 3 [ii. 30]), signs in the heavens and in the earth are
+contrasted with one another. _Theodoret_ remarks that both kinds of
+miracles, among which the Lord here allowed a choice to Ahaz, were
+granted by Him to his pious son, Hezekiah, inasmuch as He wrought a
+phenomenon in _heaven_ which affected the going back of the shadow on
+the sun-dial of Ahaz; and on _earth_, inasmuch as He, in a wonderful
+manner, destroyed the Assyrians, and restored the king to health.
+_Jerome_ farther remarks, that, from among the plagues in Egypt, the
+lice, frogs, &c., were signs on earth; the hail, fire, and three day's
+darkness, were signs in the heaven. It is on the passage before us that
+the Pharisees take their stand, when in Matt. xvi. 1 they ask from the
+Lord that He should grant them a sign from heaven. If even the Prophet
+Isaiah offered to prove in such a manner his divine mission, then,
+according to their opinion, Christ was much more bound to do this,
+inasmuch as He set up far higher claims. But they overlooked the
+circumstance that enough had already been granted for convincing those
+who were well disposed, and that it can never be a duty to convince
+obstinate unbelief in a manner so palpable.
+
+[Pg 42]
+
+Ver. 12. "_And Ahaz said: I will not ask, neither will I tempt the
+Lord._"
+
+Ahaz declines the offer by referring to Deut. vi. 16., and thus
+assuming the guise of reverence for God and His commandment. "He
+pretends," says _Calvin_, "to have faith in the words of the Prophet,
+and not to require anything besides the word." The same declarations of
+the Law, the Lord opposes to Satan, when the latter would induce Him to
+do something for which he had no word of God, Matt. iv. 7. That would
+really have been a tempting of God. Ahaz had no doubt that the miracle
+would really be performed; but he had a dislike to enter within the
+mystical sphere. Who knows whether the God who grants the miracle is
+really the highest God? comp. Is. x. 10, 11, xxxvi. 18-20, xxxvii.
+10-12. Who knows whether He is not laying for him a trap; whether, by
+preventing him from seeking the help of man. He is not to bring upon
+him the destruction which his conscience tells him he has so richly
+deserved? At all events the affording of His help is clogged with a
+condition which he is resolved not to fulfil, viz., his conversion. A
+better and easier bargain, he thought, could be struck with the
+Assyrians; how insatiable soever they might be, they did not ask the
+heart. How many do even now-a-days rather perish in sin and misery,
+than be converted!
+
+Ver. 13. "_And he said: Hear ye now, O house of David: Is it too little
+for you to provoke man, that you provoke also my God?_"
+
+When Ahaz had before refused to believe in the simple announcement of
+the Prophet, his sin was more pardonable; for, inasmuch as Isaiah had
+not proved himself outwardly as a divine ambassador, Ahaz sinned to a
+certain degree against man only, against the Prophet only, by unjustly
+suspecting him of a deceitful pretension to a divine revelation. Hence,
+Isaiah continues mild and gentle. But when Ahaz declined the offered
+sign, _God himself_ was provoked by him, and his wickedness came
+evidently to light. It is substantially the same difference as that
+between the sin against the _Son of Man_, the Christ coming outwardly
+and as a man only (Bengel: _quo statu conspicu, quatenus aequo tum loco
+cum hominibus conversabatur_), and the sin against the Holy Ghost who
+powerfully glorifies Him outwardly and inwardly. It is the antithesis
+[Pg 43] of the relative ignorance of what one is doing, and of the
+absolute unwillingness which purposely hardens itself to the truth
+known, or easy to be known. We say _relative_ ignorance; for an element
+of obduracy and hardening already existed, if he did not believe the
+Prophet, even without a sign. For the fact that the Prophet was sent by
+God, and spoke God's word, was testified to all who would hear it, even
+by the inner voice, just as in every sin against the Son of Man there
+is always already an element of the sin against the Holy Ghost.--The
+truth that godlessness is the highest folly is here seen in a very
+evident manner. The same Ahaz who rejects the offer of the living God,
+who palpably wishes to reveal to him that He is a living God,
+sacrifices his son to the dead idol Moloch, who never yet gave the
+smallest sign of life! In this mirror we may see the condition of human
+nature.--The circumstance that it is not Ahaz, but the house of David
+that is addressed, indicates that the deed is a deed of the whole
+house.--The Prophet says, "_My God_," _i.e._, the God whose faithful
+servant I am, and in whom ye hypocrites have no more any share. In Ver.
+11, the Prophet had still called Him the God of Ahaz.
+
+Ver. 14. "_Therefore the Lord himself giveth you a sign: Behold the
+Virgin is with child, and heareth a Son, and thou callest his name
+Immanuel._"
+
+Ahaz had refused the proffered sign; the whole depth of his apostacy
+had become manifest; no further regard was to be had to him. But it was
+necessary to strengthen those who feared God, in their confidence in
+the Lord, and in their hope in him. For this reason, the Prophet gives
+a sign, even against the will of Ahaz, by which the announcement of the
+deliverance from the two kings was confirmed. Your weak, prostrate
+faith, he says, may erect itself on the certain fact that, in the Son
+of the Virgin, the Lord will some day be with us in the truest manner,
+and may perceive therein a guarantee and a pledge of the lower help in
+the present danger also.--"Therefore"--because ye will not fix upon a
+sign. _Reinke_, in the ably written Monograph on this passage, assigns
+to [Hebrew: lkN] the signification, "nevertheless," which is not
+supported by the _usus loquendi_.--[Hebrew: itN] must be translated as
+a Present; for the pregnancy of the Virgin and birth of Immanuel are
+present to [Pg 44] the Prophet; and the fact cannot serve as a sign, in
+so far as it manifests itself outwardly, but only in so far as, by
+being foretold, it is realized as present.--[Hebrew: hva] _He_, _i.e._,
+of His own accord without any co-operation, such as would have taken
+place if Ahaz had asked the sign.--[Hebrew: lkM] refers by its form to
+the house of David; but in determining the sign, it is not the real
+condition of its representative at that time which is regarded, but as
+he ought to be. In substance, the sign given to ungodly Ahaz is
+destined for believers only.--[Hebrew: hnh] "behold" indicates the
+energy with which the Prophet anticipates the future; in his spirit
+it becomes to him the immediate present. Thus it was understood as
+early as by _Chrysostom_: [Greek: monon gar ouk horontos en ta ginomena
+kai phantazomenou kai pollen echontos huper ton eiremenon plerophorian,
+ton gar hemeteron ophthalmon ekeinoi saphesteron ta me horomena
+eblepon.]--The article in [Hebrew: helmh] cannot refer to _the_ virgin
+_known_ as the mother of the Saviour; for, besides the passage before
+us, it is only Micah v. 2 (3) which mentions the mother of the Saviour,
+and it is our passage only which speaks of her as a _virgin_. In
+harmony with [Hebrew: hnh], the article in [Hebrew: helmh] might be
+explained from the circumstance that the Virgin is present to the
+inward perception of the Prophet--equivalent to "the virgin there." But
+since the use of the article in the _generic_ sense is so general, it
+is most natural to understand "the virgin" as forming a contrast to the
+married or old woman, and hence, in substance, as here equivalent to
+_a_ virgin. To this view we are led also by the circumstance that, in
+the parallel passage, Mic. v. 2 (3) [Hebrew: ivldh] "a bearing woman"
+is used without the article.--[Hebrew: elmh] is, by old expositors,
+commonly derived from [Hebrew: elM] in the signification "to conceal" A
+virgin, they assume, is called a _concealed_ one, with reference to the
+customs of the East, where the virgins are obliged to lead a concealed
+life. Thus it was understood by _Jerome_ also: "_Almah_ is not applied
+to girls or virgins generally, but is used emphatically of a hidden and
+concealed virgin, who is never accessible to the look of males, but who
+is with great care watched by the parents." But all parties now rightly
+agree that the word is to be derived from [Hebrew: elM], in the
+signification, "to grow up." To offer here any arguments in proof would
+be a work of supererogation, as they are offered by all dictionaries.
+But with all that, _Luther's_ remark is even now in full force: "If [Pg
+45] a Jew or a Christian can prove to me that in any passage of
+Scripture _Almah_ means 'a married woman,'I will give him a hundred
+florins, although God alone knows where I may find them." It is true
+that [Hebrew: elmh] is distinguished from [Hebrew: btvlh], which
+designates the virgin state as such, and in this signification occurs
+in Joel i. 8. also where the bride laments over her bridegroom whom she
+has lost by death. Inviolate chastity is, in itself, not implied in the
+word. But certain it is that [Hebrew: elmh] designates an unmarried
+person in the first years of youth; and if this be the case, un
+violated chastity is a matter of course in this context; for if the
+mother of the Saviour was to be an _unmarried_ person, she could be a
+virgin only; and, in general, it is inconceivable that the Prophet
+should have brought forward a relation of impure love. In favour of "an
+unmarried person" is, in the first instance, the derivation. Being
+derived from [Hebrew: elM], "to grow up," "to become marriageable,"
+[Hebrew: elmh] can denote nothing else than _puella nubilis_. But still
+more decisive is the _usus loquendi_. In Arabic and Syriac the
+corresponding words are never used of married women, and _Jerome_
+remarks, that in the Punic dialect also a virgin proper is called
+[Hebrew: elmh]. Besides in the passage before us, the word occurs in
+Hebrew six times (Gen. xxiv. 43; Exod. ii. 8; Ps. lxviii. 26; Song of
+Sol. i. 3, vi. 8; Prov. xxx. 19); but in all these passages the word
+is undeniably used of unmarried persons. In the two passages of the
+Song of Solomon, the [Hebrew: elmvt] designate the nations which have
+not yet attained to an union with the heavenly Solomon, but are
+destined for this union. In chap. vi. 8, they are, as _brides_,
+expressly contrasted with the _wives_ of the first and second class.
+Marriage forms the boundary; the _Almah_ appears here distinctly as the
+anti-thesis to a married woman. It is the passage in Proverbs only
+which requires a more minute examination, as the opponents have given
+up all the other passages, and seek in it alone a support for their
+assertion that [Hebrew: elmh] may be used of a married woman also. The
+passage in its connection runs as follows: Ver. 18. "There be three
+things which are too wonderful for me, and four which I know not. Ver.
+19. The way of an eagle in the air, the way of a serpent upon the rock,
+the way of a ship in the heart of the sea, and the way of a man with a
+maid. Ver. 20. This is the way of an adulterous woman; she [Pg 46]
+eateth, and wipeth her mouth and saith: I have done no wickedness."
+According to _De Wette_, _Bertheau_, and others, the _tertium
+comparationis_ for every thing is to lie in this only, that the ways do
+not leave any trace that could be recognized. But the traceless
+disappearing is altogether without foundation; there is not one word to
+indicate it; and it is quite impossible that that on which every thing
+depends should have been left to conjecture. Farther,--instead of the
+eagle, every other bird might have been mentioned, and the words "in
+the air" would be without meaning, as well as the words "in the heart
+of the sea" mentioned in reference to the ship. But the real point of
+view is expressly stated in ver. 18. It is the _incomprehensible_. It
+is thus only that ver. 20, for which the other verses prepare the way,
+falls in with the tendency of the whole. In the way of the adulteress,
+that which is pointed out is not that it cannot be known, but the moral
+incomprehensibility that she, practising great wickedness which is
+worthy of death, and will unavoidably bring destruction upon her,
+behaves as if there were nothing wrong, as if a permitted enjoyment
+were the point in question, that she eats the poisoned bread of
+unchaste enjoyment as if it were ordinary bread; comp. ix. 17, xx. 17;
+Ps. xiv. 4. Four incomprehensible things in the natural territory are
+made use of to illustrate an incomprehensible thing in the ethical
+territory. The whole purpose is _to point out the mystery of sin_. In
+the case of the _eagle_, it is the boldness of his flight in which the
+miraculous consists. The speed and boldness of his flight is elsewhere
+also very commonly mentioned as the characteristic of the eagle; it is
+just that which makes him the king of birds. In the case of the
+_serpent_, the wonder is that, although wanting feet, it yet moves over
+the smooth rock which is inaccessible to the proud horse; comp. Amos
+vi. 12: "Do horses run upon the rock." In the _ship_, it is the
+circumstance that she safely passes over the abyss which, as it would
+appear, could not fail to swallow her up. _The way of a man with a
+maid_ occupies the last place in order to intimate that [Hebrew: drK],
+as in the case of the adulteress, denotes the _spiritual_ way. What is
+here meant is the relation of the man to the virgin, _generally_, for
+if any _particular_ aspect had been regarded, _e. g._, that of
+boldness, cunning, or secrecy, it [Pg 47] ought to have been pointed
+at. The way of the man with the maid is the secret of which mention is
+made as early as in Gen. ii. 24,--the union of the strong with the weak
+and tender (comp. the parallel passage, Jer. xxxi. 22), the secret
+attraction which connects with one another the hearts, and at last, the
+bodies. The end of the way is marriage. It is the _young_ love which
+specially bears the character of the mysterious; after the relation has
+been established, it attracts less wonder.--[Hebrew: hrh] is the femin.
+of the verbal adj. [Hebrew: hrh]. The fundamental passage, Gen. xvi.
+11, where the angel of the Lord says to Hagar: "Behold thou art with
+child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael, because
+the Lord has heard thy affliction," shows that we must translate: The
+virgin _is_ with child, and not: becomes with child. The allusion to
+that passage in Genesis is very significant. In that case, as well as
+in the one under consideration, salvation is brought into connection
+with the birth of a child. To the birth of Ishmael, the despairing
+Hagar is directed as to a security for the divine favour; to the birth
+of Immanuel, the desponding people are directed as to the actual proof
+that God is with them. If the _Almah_ represents herself to the Prophet
+as being already with child, then passages such as Is. xxix. 8, Matt.
+xi. 5, are not applicable. A virgin who is with child cannot be one who
+was a virgin.--The form [Hebrew: qrat] may be 3d fem. for [Hebrew:
+qrah], comp. Jer. xliv. 23; but the fundamental passage in Gen. xvi. 11
+is decisive for considering it as the 2d fem.: "_thou_ callest," as an
+address to the virgin; in which case the form is altogether regular. It
+was not a rare occurrence in Israel that mothers gave the name to
+children, Gen. iv. 1, 25, xix. 37, xxix. 32. The circumstance,
+therefore, that the giving of the name is assigned to the mother (the
+virgin) affords no ground for supposing, as many of the older
+expositors do, that this is an intimation that the child would not have
+a human father. "Thou callest" can, on the contrary, according to the
+custom then prevalent, be substantially equivalent to: they shall name,
+Matt. [Greek: kalesousi], _Jerome_: _vocabitur_. The name is, of
+course, not to be considered as an ordinary _nomen proprium_, but as a
+designation of his nature and character. It may be understood in
+different ways. Several interpreters, _e. g._, _Jerome_, referring to
+passages such as Ps. xlvi. 8, lxxxix. 25, Is. xliii. 2, Jer. i. 8, see
+[Pg 48] in it nothing else than an appeal to, and promise of divine
+aid. According to others, the name is to be referred to God's becoming
+man in the Messiah; thus _Theodoret_ says: "The name reveals the God
+who is with us, the God who became man, the God who took upon Him the
+human nature." In a similar manner _Irenaeus_, _Tertullian_,
+_Chrysostom_, _Lactantius_, _Calvin_, and others, express themselves.
+But those very parallel passages just quoted show that the name in
+itself has no distinct reference to the incarnation of God in Christ.
+But from the passage chap. ix. 5, (6), which is so closely connected
+with the one before us, and in which the Messiah is called _God-hero_,
+(the mighty God), and His divine nature so emphatically pointed out
+(comp. also Mic. v. 1 [2],) it plainly appears that the Prophet had in
+view the highest and truest form of God's being with His people, such
+as was made manifest when the word became flesh. (Chrysostom says:
+"Then, above all, God was with us on earth, when He was seen on earth,
+and conversed with man, and manifested so great care for us.")
+
+According, then, to the interpretation given, this verse before us
+affirms that, at some future period, the Messiah should be born by a
+virgin, among the covenant people, who in the truest manner would bring
+God near to them, and open the treasures of His salvation. In Vol. I.
+p. 500 ff., we proved that this explanation occurs already in the
+Gospel according to St. Matthew. According to the interpretation of the
+Apostle, the passage can refer to Christ only, and finds in him not
+only the highest, but the only fulfilment. In the Christian Church,
+throughout all ages, the Messianic explanation was the prevailing one.
+It was held by all the Fathers of the Church, and by all other
+Christian commentators down to the middle of the 18th century,--only
+that some, besides the higher reference to the Messiah, assumed a lower
+one to some event of that period. With the revival of faith, this view,
+too, has been revived. It is proved by the parallel passage, chap. ix.
+5 (6). That passage presents so remarkable an agreement with the one
+now under consideration, that we cannot but assume the same subject in
+both. "Behold, a virgin is with child, and beareth a son"--"A child is
+born unto us, a son is given;"--"They call him Immanuel," _i.e._, Him
+in whom God will be with us in the truest manner--"They call Him [Pg
+49] Wonder-Counsellor, the God-Hero, Ever-Father, the Prince of Peace."
+Both of these passages can the less be separated from one another, that
+chap. viii. 8 is evidently intended to lead from the one to the other.
+In this passage it is said of the _world's power_, which in the
+meantime, and in the first place, was represented by _Asshur_: "And the
+stretchings out of his wings are the fulness of the breadth of thy
+land, Immanuel," i. e., his wings will cover the whole extent of thy
+land,--the stretching of the wings of this immense bird of prey,
+Asshur, comprehends the whole land. In the words: "Thy land, O
+Immanuel," the prophecy of the wonderful Child, in chap. viii. 23-ix. 6
+(ix. 1-7), is already prepared. The land in which Immanuel is to be
+born, which belongs to Him, cannot remain continually the property of
+heathen enemies. Every destruction is, at the same time, a prophecy of
+the restoration. A look to the wonderful Child, and despair must flee.
+Behind the clouds, the sun is shining. Every attempt to assign the
+Immanuel to the lower sphere, must by this passage be rendered futile.
+For how, in that case, could Canaan be called _His_ land? The
+signification "native country" which [Hebrew: arC], it is true,
+sometimes receives by the context, does not suit here. For the passage
+just points out the contrast of reality and idea, that the world's
+power takes possession of the land which _belongs_ to Immanuel, and
+hence prepares for the announcement contained in that which follows,
+viz., that this contrast shall be done away with, and that this shall
+be done as soon as the legitimate proprietor comes into His kingdom.
+Farther,--Decisive in favour of the Messianic explanation is also the
+passage Mic. v. 1, 2, (2, 3), where, in correspondence to _virgin_
+here, we have, _she who is bearing_. The latter, indeed, is not
+expressly called a virgin; but it follows, as a matter of course, that
+she be so, as she is to bear the Hero of Divine origin ("_of
+eternity_"), who, hence, cannot have been begotten by any mortal. Both
+of the prophecies mutually illustrate one another. "Micah designates
+the Divine origin of the Promised One; Isaiah, the miraculous
+circumstances of His birth" (_Rosenmueller_) Just as Isaiah holds up the
+birth of Immanuel as the pledge that the covenant-people would not
+perish in their present catastrophe; just as he points to the shining
+form of Immanuel, announcing the victory over the [Pg 50] world, in
+order to comfort them in the impending severe oppression by the world's
+power (viii. 8);--so Micah makes the oppression by the world's power
+continue only until the time that she who is bearing brings forth. As
+Micah, in v. 1 (2), contrasts the divine dignity and nature with the
+birth in time, so, in Isaiah, Immanuel, He in whom God will most truly
+be with His people, is born by a virgin.
+
+The arguments which the Jews, and, following their example, the
+rationalistic interpreters, especially _Gesenius_, and with them
+_Olshausen_, have advanced against the Messianic explanation, prove
+nothing. They are these:
+
+1. "A reference to the Messiah who, after the lapse of centuries, is to
+be born of a virgin, appears to be without meaning in the present
+circumstances." This argument proves too much, and, hence, nothing. _It
+would be valid against Messianic prophecies in general_, the existence
+of which certainly cannot be denied. Do not Jeremiah and Ezekiel, at
+the time when the people were carried away into captivity, comfort them
+by the announcement that the kingdom of God should, in a far more
+glorious manner, be established by Messiah, whose appearance was yet
+several centuries distant? The highest proof of Israel's dignity and
+election, was the promise that, at some future time, the Messiah was to
+be born among them. How, indeed, could the Lord leave, without the
+lower help in the present calamity, a people with whom He was to be, at
+some future period, in the truest manner? The Prophet refers to the
+future Saviour in a way quite similar to that in which the Apostle
+refers to Him, after He had appeared: "Who did not spare His only
+begotten Son, but gave Him up for us all, how should He not in Him give
+us all things freely?" Let us only realize the truth that the hope in
+the Messiah formed the centre of the life of believers; that this hope
+was, by fear, repressed only, but not destroyed. All which was needed,
+therefore, was to revive this hope, and with it the special hope for
+the present distress also was given--the assurance, firm as a rock,
+that in it the covenant-people could not perish. This revival took
+place in this way, that in the mind of the Prophet, the Messianic hope
+was, by the Holy Spirit, rekindled, so that at his light all might
+kindle their lights. The Messianic idea here meets us in such
+originality [Pg 51] and freshness, as if here were its real fountain
+head. The faith already existing is only the foundation, only the point
+of connexion. What is essential is the new revelation of the old truth,
+and that could not fail to be affecting, overpowering to susceptible
+minds.
+
+2. "The ground of consolation is too _general_. The Messiah might be
+born from the family of Ahaz without the Jewish state being preserved
+in its then existing condition, and without Ahaz continuing on the
+throne. The Babylonish captivity intervened, and yet Messiah was to be
+born. Isaiah would thus have made himself guilty of a false sophistical
+argumentation."--We answer: What they, at that time, feared, was the
+total destruction of state and people. This appears sufficiently from
+the circumstance that the prophet takes his son Shearjashub with him;
+and indeed the intentions of the enemy in this respect are expressed
+with sufficient clearness in ver. 6. It is this _extreme_ of fear which
+the Prophet here first opposes. Just as, according to the preceding
+verses, he met the fear of entire destruction by taking with him his
+son Shearjashub, "the remnant will be converted," without thereby
+excluding a temporary carrying away, so he there also prepares the mind
+for the announcement contained in vers. 15, 16, of the near deliverance
+from the present danger, by first representing the fear of an entire
+destruction to be unfounded. A people, moreover, to whom, at some
+future period, although it may be at a very remote future, a divine
+_Saviour_ is to be sent, must, in the present also, be under special
+divine protection. They may be visited by severe sufferings, they may
+be brought to the very verge of destruction,--whether that shall be the
+case the Prophet does not, as yet, declare,--but one thing is sure,
+that to them all things must work together for good; and that is the
+main point. He who is convinced of this, may calmly and quietly look at
+the course of events.
+
+3. "The sense in which [Hebrew: avt] is elsewhere used in Scripture, is
+altogether disregarded by this interpretation. For, according to it,
+[Hebrew: avt] would refer to a future event; but according to the _usus
+loquendi_ elsewhere observed, [Hebrew: avt] 'is a prophesied second
+event, the earlier fulfilment of which is to afford a sure guarantee
+for the fulfilment of the first, which is really the point at issue.'"
+But, in opposition to this, it is sufficient to [Pg 52] refer to Exod.
+iii. 12, where Moses receives this as a sign of his Divine mission, and
+of the deliverance of the people to be effected by him: "When thou hast
+brought forth my people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this
+mountain." In chap. xxxvii. 30, our Prophet himself, as a confirmation
+of the word spoken in reference to the king of Asshur: "I make thee
+return by the way by which thou earnest," gives this sign, that, in the
+third year after this, agriculture should already have altogether
+returned into its old tracks, and the cultivation of the country should
+have been altogether restored.[4] The fact here given as a sign is
+later than that which is to be thereby made sure. The sign consists
+only in this, that the idea is vividly called up and realized in the
+mind, that the land would recover from the destruction; and this of
+course, implies the destruction of the enemy. But in our chapter
+itself,--the name of Shearjashub affords the example of a sign (comp.
+chap. vii. 18), which is taken from the territory of the distant
+future. It is time that _commonly_ [Hebrew: avt] is not used of future
+things; but this has its reason not in the idea of [Hebrew: avt], but
+solely in the circumstance that, ordinarily, the future cannot serve
+as a sign of assurance. But it is quite obvious that, in the present
+case, the Messianic announcement _could_ afford such a sign, and that
+in a far higher degree than the future facts given as signs in Exod.
+iii., and Isa. xxxvii. The kingdom of glory which has been promised
+to us, forms to us also a sure pledge that in all the distresses of
+the Church, the Lord will not withhold His help from her. But the
+Covenant-people stood in the same relation to the first appearance of
+Christ, as we do to the second.
+
+(4.) "The passage, chap. viii. 3, 4, presents the most marked
+resemblance to the one before us. If _there_ the Messianic explanation
+be decidedly inadmissible, it must be so _here_ also. The name and
+birth of a child serves, there as here, for a sign of the deliverance
+from the Syrian dominion. If then _there_ the mother of the child be
+the wife of the Prophet, and the child a son of his, the same must be
+the case _here_ also." But it is _a priori_ improbable that the Prophet
+should have given [Pg 53] to two of his sons names which had reference
+to the same event. To this must be added the circumstance, that the
+_time is wanting_ for the birth of two sons of the Prophet. Before
+Immanuel knows to refuse the evil and choose the good, the country of
+both the hostile kings shall be desolated, chap. vii. 15; before
+Mahershalalhashbaz knows to cry My Father, My Mother, the riches of
+Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be carried before the king of
+Assyria, chap. viii. 4. The two births hence coincide. At all events,
+it is impossible to find the time for a double birth by the same
+mother. Several interpreters (_Gesenius_, _Hitzig_, _Hendewerk_,)
+assume the identity of Immanuel and Mahershalalhashbaz; but this is
+altogether inadmissible, even from the difference of the names. It is
+the less admissible to assume a double name for the child, as the name
+Shearjashub plainly enough shews that the Prophet was in earnest with
+the names of his children; and indeed, unless they had been real proper
+names, there would have existed no reason at all for giving them to
+them. To have assigned several names to one child would have weakened
+their power. The agreement must, therefore, rather be explained from
+the circumstance, that it was by the announcement in chap. vii. 14 that
+the Prophet was induced to the symbolical action in chap. viii. 3, 4.
+He has, in chap. vii. 14, given to the despairing people the birth of a
+child, who would bring the highest salvation for Israel, as a pledge of
+their deliverance. The birth of a child and its name were then required
+as an actual prophecy of help in the present distress,--a help which
+was to be granted with a view to that Child, who not only indicates,
+but grants deliverance from all distresses, and to whom the Prophet
+reverts in chap. ix., and even already in chap. viii. 8.--Moreover,
+besides the agreement there is found a thorough difference. In chap.
+vii. the mother of the child is called [Hebrew: helmh], whereby a
+virgin only can be designated; in chap. viii., "the prophetess." In
+chap. vii. there is not even the slightest allusion to the Prophet's
+being the father; while in chap. viii. this circumstance is expressly
+and emphatically pointed out. In chap. vii. it is the mother who gives
+the name to the child; in chap. viii. it is the Prophet. Far closer is
+the agreement of chap. ix. 5 (6) with chap. vii. 14. It especially
+appears in the circumstances that in neither of them [Pg 54] is the
+father of the child designated; and, farther, in the correspondence of
+Immanuel with [Hebrew: al gbvr], God-Hero.
+
+(5.) "Against the Messianic explanation, and in favour of that of a son
+of the Prophet, is the passage chap. viii. 18, where the Prophet says
+that his sons have been given to him for signs and wonders in Israel."
+But although Immanuel be erroneously reckoned among the sons of the
+Prophet, there still remain Shearjashub and Mahershalalhashbaz. The
+latter name refers, _in the first instance only_, to Aram and Ephraim
+specially; or the general truth which it declares is applied to this
+relation only. But, just as the name Shearjashub announces new
+_salvation_ to the prostrate _people of God_, so the second name
+announces near _destruction_ to the triumphing _world_ hostile to God;
+so that both the names supplement one another. As _signs_, these two
+sons of the Prophet pointed to the future deliverance and salvation of
+Israel, and the defeat of the world; and the very circumstance that
+they did so when, humanly viewed, all seemed to be lost, was a subject
+for wonder. But that we can in no case make Immanuel a third son of the
+Prophet, we have already proved.
+
+Ver. 15. _Cream and honey shall he eat, when he knows to refuse the
+evil and choose the good._ Ver. 16. _For before the boy shall know to
+refuse the evil and choose the good, the country shall be forsaken of
+the two kings of which thou standest in awe._
+
+The older Messianic explanation has, in these two verses, exposed
+itself to the charge of being quite arbitrary. Most of the interpreters
+assume that, in ver. 15, the true humanity of the Saviour is announced.
+The name Immanuel is intended to indicate the divine nature; the eating
+of milk and honey the human nature. Milk and honey are in this case
+considered as the ordinary food for babes; like other children. He
+shall grow up, and, like them, gradually develope. Thus _Jerome_ says:
+"I shall mention another feature still more wonderful: That you may not
+believe that he will be born a phantasm. He will use the food of
+infants, will eat butter and milk." _Calvin_ says: "In order that here
+we may not think of some spectre, the Prophet states signs of humanity
+from which he proves that Christ, indeed put on our flesh." In the same
+manner _Irenaenus_, _Chrysostom_, _Basil_, and, in our century,
+_Kleuker_ and _Rosenmueller_ speak.--But this explanation [Pg 55] is
+altogether overthrown by ver. 16. Most interpreters assume, in the
+latter verse, a change of subject; by [Hebrew: ner], not Immanuel, but
+Shearjashub, who accompanied the Prophet, is to be understood.
+According to others, it is not any definite boy who is designated by
+[Hebrew: ner]; but it is said in general, that the devastation of the
+hostile country would take place in a still shorter time than that
+which elapses between the birth of a boy and his development. Such is
+_Calvin's_ view. But the supposition of a change of subject is
+altogether excluded, even by the circumstance that one and the same
+quality, the distinction between good and evil, is in both verses
+ascribed to the subject. Others, like _J. H. Michaelis_, refer ver. 16
+also to the Messiah, and seek to get out of the difficulty by a _jam
+dudum_. It is not worth while to enter more particularly upon these
+productions of awkward embarassment. All that is required is, to remove
+the stone of offence which has caused these interpreters to stumble.
+Towards this a good beginning has been made by _Vitringa_, without,
+however, completely attaining the object. In ver. 14, the Prophet has
+seen the birth of the Messiah as present. Holding fast this idea, and
+expanding it, the Prophet makes him who has been born accompany the
+people through all the stages of its existence. We have here an _ideal
+anticipation of the real incarnation_, the right of which lies in the
+circumstance, that all blessings and deliverances which, before Christ,
+were bestowed upon the covenant-people, had their root in His future
+birth, and the cause of which was given in the circumstance, that the
+covenant-people had entered upon the moment of their great crisis, of
+their conflict with the world's powers, which could not but address a
+call to invest the comforting thought with, as it were, flesh and
+blood, and in this manner to place it into the midst of the popular
+life. What the Prophet means, and intends to say here is this, _that,
+in the space of about a twelvemonth, the overthrow of the hostile
+kingdoms would already have taken place_. As the representative of the
+cotemporaries, he brings forward the wonderful child who, as it were,
+formed the soul of the popular life. _At the time when this child knows
+to distinguish between good and bad food, hence, after the space of
+about a twelvemonth, he will not have any want of nobler food,_ ver.
+15, _for before he has entered upon this stage, the land of_ [Pg 56]
+_the two hostile kings shall be desolate._ In the subsequent prophecy,
+the same wonderful child, grown up into a warlike hero, brings the
+deliverance from Asshur, and the world's power represented by it.--We
+have still to consider and discuss the particular. _What is indicated
+by the eating of cream and honey?_ The erroneous answer to this
+question, which has become current ever since _Gesenius_, has put
+everything into confusion, and has misled expositors such as _Hitzig_
+and _Meier_ to cut the knot, by asserting that ver. 15 is spurious.
+Cream and honey can come into consideration as the noblest food only;
+the eating of them can indicate only a _condition of plenty and
+prosperity_. "A land flowing with milk and honey" is, in the books of
+Moses, a standing expression for designating the rich fulness of noble
+food which the Holy Land offers. A land which flows with milk and honey
+is, according to Numb. xiv. 7, 8, a "very good land." The _cream_ is,
+as it were, a gradation of _milk_. Considering the predilection for fat
+and sweet food which we perceive everywhere in the Old Testament, there
+can scarcely be anything better than cream and honey; and it is
+certainly not spoken in accordance with Israelitish taste, if _Hofmann_
+(_Weiss_, i. S. 227) thus paraphrases the sense: "It is not because he
+does not know what tastes well and better (cream and honey thus the
+evil!), that he will live upon the food which an uncultivated land can
+afford, but because there is none other." In Deut. xxxii. 13, 14, cream
+and honey appear among the noblest products of the Holy Land. Abraham
+places cream before his heavenly guests, Gen. xviii. 8. The plenty in
+honey and cream appears in Job xx. 7, as a characteristic sign of the
+divine blessing of which the wicked are deprived. It is solely and
+exclusively vers. 21 and 22 that are referred to for establishing the
+erroneous interpretation. It is asserted that, according to these
+verses, the eating of milk and honey must be considered as an evil, as
+the sad consequence of a general devastation of the hind. But there are
+grave objections to any attempt at explaining a preceding from a
+subsequent passage; the opposite mode of proceeding is the right one.
+It is altogether wrong, however, to suppose that vers. 21, 22, contain
+a threatening. In those verses the Prophet, on the contrary, allows, as
+is usual with him, a _ray of light_ to fall upon the dark picture of
+the [Pg 57] calamity which threatens from Asshur; and it could, indeed,
+_a priori_, be scarcely imagined that the threatening should not be
+interrupted, at least by such a gentle allusion to the salvation to be
+bestowed upon them after the misery (comp. in reference to a similar
+sudden breaking through of the proclamation of salvation in Hosea, Vol.
+I., p. 175, and the remarks on Micah ii. 12, 13); but then he returns
+to the threatening, because it was, in the meantime, his principal
+vocation to utter it, and thereby to destroy the foolish illusions of
+the God-forgetting king. It is in the subsequent prophecy only, chap
+viii. 1; ix. 6 (7) that that which is alluded to in vers. 21, 22 is
+carried out. The little which has been left--this is the sense--the
+Lord will bless so abundantly, that those who are spared in the divine
+judgment will enjoy a rich abundance of divine blessings. Parallel is
+the utterance of Isaiah in 2 Kings xix. 30: "And the escaped of the
+house of Judah, that which has been left, taketh root downward, and
+beareth fruit upward."--If thus the eating of cream and honey be
+rightly understood, there is no farther necessity for explaining, in
+opposition to the rules of grammar, [Hebrew: ldetv] by "(only) until he
+knows" (comp. against this interpretation _Drechsler's Comment._).
+[Hebrew: ldetv] can only mean: "belonging to his knowledge, _i.e._,
+when he knows." _Good_ and _evil_ are, as early as Deut. i. 39: "Your
+sons who to-day do not know good and evil," used more in a physical
+than in a moral sense. Michaelis: "_rerum omnium ignari_." The parallel
+expression, "not to be able to discern between the right hand and the
+left hand," in Jonah iv. 11 (Michaelis: "_discretio rationis et
+judicii, ut sciant utra manus sit dextra aut sinistra_") likewise loses
+sight of the moral sense. But good and evil are very decidedly used in
+a physical sense in 2 Sam. xix. 36 (35), where Barzillai says: "I am
+this day fourscore years old, can I discern between good and evil, or
+has thy servant a taste of what I eat or drink, or do I hear any more
+the voice of singing men or singing women?" The connection with the
+eating of cream and honey, by which the good and evil is qualified,
+clearly proves that good and evil are, in our passage, used in a
+similar sense. To the same result we are led by the circumstance also,
+that the evil _precedes_, which must so much the rather have a meaning,
+that nowhere else is this the case with this phrase. The evil, the [Pg
+58] bad food in the time of war, precedes; the good follows after it:
+Cream and honey, the good, he will eat when he knows to refuse the evil
+and choose the good, _i.e._, when he is beyond the time where he does
+not yet know to make any great difference between the food, and in
+which, therefore, the evil, the bad food, is felt as an evil. If the
+good and the evil be understood in a physical sense, then, in harmony
+with chap. viii. 4, we must think of the period of about one year.
+Moral consciousness develops much later than sensual liking and
+disliking.--The construction of [Hebrew: mas] and [Hebrew: bHr]
+with [Hebrew: b] points to the affection which accompanies the
+action.--[Hebrew: ki] in ver. 16 suits very well, according to the view
+which we have taken, in its ordinary signification, "for." The full
+enjoyment of the good things of the land will return in the period of
+about twelve months (in chap. xxxvii. 30 a longer terra is fixed,
+because the Assyrian desolation was much greater than the Aramean);
+_for_, even before the year has expired, devastation shall be inflicted
+upon the land of the enemies. [Hebrew: hadmh] comprehends at the same
+time the Syrian and Ephraimitish land.
+
+From ver. 17-25 the Prophet describes how the Assyrians, the object of
+the hope of the house of David, and also the Egyptian attracted by
+them, who, however, occupy a position altogether subordinate, shall
+fill the land, and change it into a wilderness. The fundamental
+thought, ever true, is this: He who, instead of seeking help from his
+God, seeks it from the world, is ruined by the world. This truth,
+which, through the fault of Ahaz, did not gain any _saving_ influence,
+obtained an _accusing_ one; it stood there as an incontrovertible
+testimony that it was not the Lord who had forsaken His people, but
+that they had forsaken themselves. It was a necessary condition of the
+blessed influence of the impending calamity that such a testimony
+should exist; without it, the calamity would not have led to
+repentance, but to despair and defiance.--From the circumstance that in
+ver. 17, which contains the outlines of the whole, upon the words: "The
+Lord shall bring upon thee and thy people," there follow still the
+words: "And upon thy father's house," it appears that the fulfilment
+must not be sought for in the time of Ahaz only. In the time of Ahaz,
+the _beginning_ only of the calamities here indicated can accordingly
+be sought for,--the _germ_ from which all that followed [Pg 59] was
+afterwards developed. Nor shall we be allowed to limit ourselves to
+that which Judah suffered from the Assyrians, commonly so called. It is
+significant that, in 2 Kings xxiii. 29, Nebuchadnezzar is called King
+of Asshur. Asshur, as the first representative of the world's power,
+represents the world's power in general.
+
+
+                           * * * * * * * * * *
+
+
+We have still to submit to an examination those explanations of vers
+14-16 which differ, in essential points, from that which we have given.
+Difference of opinion--the characteristic sign of error--meets us here,
+and that in a very striking manner, in those who oppose the convictions
+of the whole Christian Church.
+
+1. _Rosenmueller_ expressed his adherence to the Messianic explanation,
+but supposed that the Prophet was of opinion that the Messiah would be
+born in his time. Even _Bruno Bauer_ (_Critik der Synopt._ i. S. 19)
+could not resist the impression that Immanuel could be none other than
+the Messiah. But he, too, is of opinion that Isaiah expected a Messiah,
+who was to be born at once, and to become the "deliverer from the
+collision of that time." This view has been expanded especially by
+_Ewald_. "False," so he says, "is every interpretation which does not
+see that the Prophet is here speaking of the Messiah to be born, and
+hence of Him to whom the land really belongs, and in thinking of whom
+the Prophet's heart beats with joyful hope, chap. viii. 8, ix. 5, 6 (6,
+7)." But not being able to realize that which can be seen only by
+faith--a territory, in general, very inaccessible to modern exposition
+of Scripture--he, in ver. 14, puts in the _real_ Present instead of the
+_ideal_, and thinks that the Prophet imagined that the conception and
+birth of the Messiah would take place at once. By [Hebrew: elmh] he
+understands, like ourselves, a virgin; but such an one as is so at the
+present moment only, but will soon afterwards cease to be so;--and in
+supposing this, he overlooks the fact that the virgin is introduced as
+being already with child, and that her bearing appears as present. In
+ver. 15, the time when the boy knows &c., is, according to him, the
+maturer juvenile age from ten to twenty years. It is during this that
+the devastation of the land by the Assyrians is to take place, of which
+[Pg 60] the Prophet treats more in detail afterwards in ver. 17 ff. But
+opposed to this view is the circumstance that, even before the boy
+enters upon this maturer age (ver. 16), hence in a few years after
+this, the allied Damascus and Ephraim shall be desolated; so little are
+these two kings able to conquer Jerusalem, and so certain is it that a
+divine deliverance is in store for this country in the immediate
+future. And, in every point of view, this explanation shows itself to
+be untenable. The supposition that a _real_ Present is spoken of in
+ver. 14 saddles upon the Prophet an absurd hallucination; and nothing
+analogous to it can be referred to in the whole of the Old Testament.
+According to statements of the Prophet in other passages, he sees yet
+many things intervening between the Messianic time and his own;
+according to chap. vi. 11-13, not only the entire carrying away of the
+whole people, (and he cannot well consider the Assyrians as the
+instruments of it, were it only for this reason, that he is always
+consistent in the announcement that they should not succeed in the
+capture of Jerusalem), but also a later second divine judgment.
+According to chap. xi., the Messiah is to grow up as a twig from the
+stem of Jesse completely cut down. This supposition of His appearance,
+the complete decay of the Davidic dynasty, did not in any way exist in
+the time of the Prophet. According to chap. xxxix., and other passages,
+the Prophet recognised in Babylon the appearance of a new phase of the
+world's power which would, at some future period, follow the steps of
+the Assyrian power which existed at the time of the Prophet, and which
+should execute upon Judah the judgment of the Lord. We pointed out
+(Vol. I. p. 417 ff.) that in the Prophet Micah also, the contemporary
+of Isaiah, there lies a long series of events between the Present and
+the time when she who is bearing brings forth. _Farther_--In harmony
+with all other Prophets, Isaiah too looks for the Messiah from the
+house of David, with which, by the promise of Nathan in 2 Sam. vii.
+salvation was indissolubly connected, and the high importance of which
+for the weal and woe of the people appears also from the circumstance
+of its being several times mentioned in our chapter. Hence it would be
+a son of Ahaz only of whom we could here think; and then we should be
+shut up to Hezekiah, his first-born. But in that case there arises the
+difficulty which Luther already brought forward against the Jews: [Pg
+61] "The Jews understand thereby Hezekiah. But the blind people, while
+anxious to remedy their error, themselves manifest their laziness and
+ignorance; for Hezekiah was born nine years before this prophecy was
+uttered!"--"The eating of cream and honey" is, in this explanation,
+altogether erroneously understood as a designation of the devastated
+condition of the land. From our remarks, it sufficiently appears that
+the expression "to refuse the evil," &c., cannot denote the maturer
+juvenile age. And many additional points might, in like manner, be
+urged.
+
+2. Several interpreters do not indeed deny the reference to the
+Messiah, but suppose that, _in the first instance_, the Prophet had in
+view some occurrence of his own time. They assume that the Prophet,
+while speaking of a boy of his own time, makes use, under the guidance
+of divine providence, of expressions, which apply more to Christ, and
+can, in an improper and inferior sense only, be true of this boy. This
+opinion was advanced as early as in the time of Jerome, by some
+anonymous author who, on that account, is severely censured by him:
+"Some Judaizer from among us asserts that the Prophet had two sons,
+Shearjashub and Immanuel. Immanuel too was, according to him, born by
+the prophetess, the wife of the Prophet, and a type of the Saviour, our
+Lord; so that the former son Shearjashub (which means 'remnant,'or
+'converting') designates the Jewish people that have been left and
+afterwards converted; while the second son Immanuel, 'with us is God,'
+signifies the calling of the Gentiles after the Word became flesh and
+dwelt among us." This explanation was defended by, among others
+_Grotius_, _Richard Simon_, and _Clericus_; and then, in our century,
+by _Olshausen_, who says: "The unity of the reference lies in the name
+Immanuel; the son of Isaiah had the _name_ but Christ the _essence_. He
+was the visible God whom the former only represented." In a modified
+form, this view is held by _Lowth_, _Koppe_, and _von Meyer_, also.
+According to them, the Prophet is indeed not supposed to speak of a
+definite boy who was to be born in his time, but yet, to connect the
+destinies of his land with the name and destinies of a boy whose
+conception he, at the moment, imagines to be possible. "The most
+obvious meaning which would present itself to Ahaz," says _von Meyer_,
+"was this: If now a girl was to marry, to become [Pg 62] pregnant, and
+to bear a child, she may call him 'God with us,'for God will be with
+us at his time." But the prophecy is, after all, to have an ultimate
+reference to Christ. "The prophecy," says _Lowth_, "is introduced in so
+solemn a manner; the sign, after Ahaz had refused the call to fix upon
+any thing from the whole territory of nature according to his own
+choice, is so emphatically declared to be one selected and given by God
+himself; the terms of the prophecy are so unique in their kind, and the
+name of the child is so expressive; they comprehend in them so much
+more than the circumstances of the birth of an ordinary child require,
+or could even permit, that we may easily suppose, that in minds, which
+were already prepared by the expectation of a great Saviour who was to
+come forth from the house of David, they excited hopes which stretched
+farther than any with which the present cause could inspire them,
+especially if it was found that in the succeeding prophecy, published
+immediately afterwards, this child was, under the name of Immanuel,
+treated as the Lord and Prince of the land of Judah. Who else could
+this be than the heir of the throne of David, under which character a
+great, and even divine person had been promised?" The reasons for the
+Messianic explanation are very well exhibited in these words of
+_Lowth_; but he, as little as any other of these interpreters, has been
+able to vindicate the assumption of a _double sense_. When more closely
+examined, the supposition is a mere makeshift. On the one hand, they
+could not make up their minds to give up the Messianic explanation,
+and, along with it, the authority of the Apostle Matthew. But, on the
+other hand, they were puzzled by the _sanctum artificium_ by which the
+Prophet, or rather the Holy Spirit speaking through him, represents
+Christ as being born even before His birth, places Him in the midst of
+the life of the people, and makes Him accompany the nation through all
+the stages of its existence. In truth, if the real, or even the nearest
+fulfilment is sought for in the time of Ahaz, there is no reason
+whatever for supposing a higher reference to Christ. The [Hebrew: elmh]
+is then one who was a virgin, who had nothing in common with the mother
+of Jesus, Mary, who remained a virgin even after her pregnancy. The
+name Immanuel then refers to the help which God is to afford in the
+present distress.
+
+[Pg 63]
+
+3. Many interpreters deny every reference to Christ. This
+interpretation remained for a long time the exclusive property of the
+Jews, until _J. E. Faber_ (in his remarks on _Harmar's_ observations on
+the East, i. S. 281), tried to transplant it into the Christian
+soil.[5] He was followed by the Roman Catholic, _Isenbiehl_ (_Neuer
+Versuch ueber die Weissagung vom Immanuel_, 1778) who, in consequence of
+it, was deposed from his theological professorship, and thrown into
+gaol. The principal tenets of his work he had borrowed from the
+lectures of _J. D. Michaelis_. In their views about the _Almah_, who is
+to bear Immanuel, these interpreters are very much at variance.
+
+(a) The more ancient Jews maintained that the _Almah_ was the wife of
+Ahaz, and Immanuel, his son Hezekiah. According to the _Dialog. c.
+Tryph._ 66, 68, 71, 77, this view prevailed among them as early as the
+time of _Justin_. But they were refuted by _Jerome_, who showed that
+Hezekiah must, at that time, have already been at least nine years old.
+_Kimchi_ and _Abarbanel_ then resorted to the hypothesis of a second
+wife of Ahaz.
+
+(b) According to the view of others, the _Almah_ is some virgin who
+cannot be definitely determined by us, who was present at the place
+where the king and Isaiah were speaking to one another, and to whom the
+Prophet points with his finger. This view was held by _Isenbiehl_,
+_Steudel_ (in a Programme, Tuebingen, 1815), and others.
+
+(c) According to the view of others, the _Almah_ is not a _real_ but
+only an _ideal_ virgin. Thus _J. D. Michaelis_: "At the time when one,
+who at this moment is still a virgin, can bear," &c. _Eichhorn_,
+_Paulus_, _Staehelin_, and others. The sign is thus made to consist in a
+mere poetical figure.
+
+(d) A composition of the two views last mentioned is the view of
+_Umbreit_. The virgin is, according to him, an actual virgin whom the
+Prophet perceived among those surrounding him; but the pregnancy and
+birth are imaginary [Pg 64] merely, and the virgin is to suggest to the
+Prophet the idea of pregnancy. But this explanation would saddle the
+Prophet with something indecent. _Farther_: It is not a birth possible
+which is spoken of, but an actual birth. From chap. viii. 8, it
+likewise appears that Immanuel is a real individual, and He one of
+eminent dignity; and this passage is thus at once in strict opposition
+to both of the explanations, viz. that of any ordinary virgin, and that
+of the ideal virgin. It destroys also
+
+(e) The explanation of _Meier_, who by the virgin understands the
+people of Judah, and conceives of the pregnancy and birth likewise in a
+poetical manner. The fact, the acknowledgment of which has led _Meier_
+to get up this hypothesis, altogether unfounded, and undeserving of any
+minute refutation, is this: "_The mother is, in the passage before us,
+called a virgin, and yet is designated as being with child._ The words,
+when understood physically and outwardly, contain a contradiction." But
+this fact is rather in favour of the Messianic explanation.
+
+(f) Others, farther, conjecture that the wife of the Prophet is meant
+by the _Almah_. This view was advanced as early as by _Abenezra_ and
+_Jarchi_. By the authority of _Gesenius_, this view became, for a time,
+the prevailing one. Against it, the following arguments are decisive;
+part of them being opposed to the other conjectures also. As [Hebrew:
+elmh] designates "virgin" only, and never a young woman, and, far less,
+an older woman, it is quite impossible that the wife of the Prophet,
+the mother of Shearjashub could be so designated, inasmuch as the
+latter was already old enough to be able to accompany his father.
+Gesenius could not avoid acknowledging the weight of this argument, and
+declared himself disposed to assume that the Prophet's former wife had
+died, and that he had thereupon betrothed himself to a virgin.
+_Olshausen_, _Maurer_, _Hendewerk_, and others, have followed him in
+this. But this is a story entirely without foundation. In chap. viii.
+13, the wife of the Prophet is called simply "the prophetess." Nor
+could one well see how the Prophet could expect to be understood, if,
+by the general expression: "the virgin" he wished to signify his
+presumptive betrothed. _There_ [Pg 65] _is an entire absence of every
+intimation whatsoever of a nearer relation of the Almah to the
+Prophet_; and such an intimation could not by any means be wanting if
+such a relation really existed. One would, in that case at least, be
+obliged to suppose, as _Plueschke_ does, that the Prophet took his
+betrothed with him, and pointed to her with his finger,--a supposition
+which too plainly exhibits the sign of embarrassment, just as is the
+case with the remark of _Hendewerk_: "Only that, in that case, we must
+also suppose that his second wife was sufficiently known at court even
+then, when she was his betrothed only, although her relation to Isaiah
+might be unknown; so that, for this very reason, we could not think of
+a frustration of the sign on the part of the king." _Hitzig_ remarks:
+"The supposition of a former wife of the Prophet is altogether
+destitute of any foundation." He then, however, falls back upon the
+hypothesis which _Gesenius_ himself admitted to be untenable, that
+[Hebrew: elmh], "virgin" might not only denote a young woman, but
+sometimes also an older woman. Not even the semblance of a proof can be
+advanced in support of this. It is just the juvenile age which forms
+the fundamental signification of the word. In the wife of the Prophet
+we can the less think of such a juvenile age, that he himself had
+already exercised his prophetic office for about twenty years. _Hitzig_
+has indeed altogether declined to lead any such proof. A son of the
+Prophet, as, in general, every subject except the Messiah, is excluded
+by the circumstance that in chap viii. 8, Canaan is called the land of
+Immanuel.--_Farther_,--In all these suppositions, [Hebrew: avt] is
+understood in an inadmissible signification. It can here denote a fact
+only, whereby those who were really susceptible were made decidedly
+certain of the impending deliverance. This appears clearly enough from
+the relation of this sign to that which Ahaz had before refused,
+according to which the difference must not be too great, and must not
+refer to the substance. To this may be added the solemn tone which
+induces us to expect something grand and important. A mere poetical
+image, such as would be before us according to the hypothesis of the
+ideal virgin, or of the real virgin and the ideal birth, does [Pg 66]
+surely not come up to the demand which in this context must be made in
+reference to this _sign_. And if the Prophet had announced so solemnly,
+and in words so sublime, the birth _of his own_ child, he would have
+made himself ridiculous. _Farther_,--How then did the Prophet know that
+after nine months a child would be born to him, or, if the pregnancy be
+considered as having already commenced, how did he know that just a son
+would be born to him? That is a question to which most of these
+Rationalistic interpreters take good care not to give any reply.
+_Plueschke_, indeed, is of opinion that, upon a bold conjecture, the
+Prophet had ventured this statement. But in that case it might easily
+have fared with him as in that well known story in _Worms_,
+(_Eisenmenger_, _entdecktes Judenthum_ ii. S. 664 ff.), and his whole
+authority would have been forfeited if his conjecture had proved false.
+And this argument holds true in reference to those also who do not
+share in the Rationalistic view, of Prophetism. Predictions of such a
+kind may belong to the territory of foretelling, but not to that of
+Prophecy.
+
+
+
+[Footnote 1: _Meyer_, _Blaetter fuer hoehere Wahrheit_, iii. S. 101.]
+
+[Footnote 2: _Caspari_ very justly remarks: "Nothing can be clearer
+than that 2 Chron. xxviii. 5 ff. comes in between 2 Kings xvi. 5 a.
+b.; that the author of the books of the Kings gives a report of the
+beginning and end; the author of the Chronicles, of the middle of the
+campaign." But we cannot agree with _Caspari_ in his transferring to
+Idumea the victory of Rezin. According to Is. vii. 2, Aram was encamped
+in Ephraim. According to 2 Kings xvi. 5, _both_ of the kings came up to
+Jerusalem and besieged her. The expedition against Elath, 2 Kings xvi.
+6, was secondary, and by the way only.]
+
+[Footnote 3: The words: "In threescore and five years more, Ephraim
+shall be broken and be no more a people," have, by rationalistic
+critics, without and against all external arguments, been declared to
+be _spurious_. The reasons which serve as fig leaves to cover their
+doctrinal tendency are the following: (1) "The time does not agree,
+inasmuch as the ten tribes sustained their first defeat very soon
+afterwards by Tiglath-pilezer; the second, nineteen to twenty-one years
+later, by Shalmanezer, who, in the sixth year of Hezekiah, carried the
+inhabitants of the kingdom of the ten tribes away into captivity." But
+the question here is _the complete destruction of the national
+existence of Israel_; and that took place only under King Manasseh,
+when, by Azarhaddon, new Gentile colonists were brought into the land,
+who expelled from it the old inhabitants who had again gathered
+themselves together; comp. 2 Kings xvii. 24 with Ezra iv. 2, 10. From
+that time, Israel amalgamated more and more with Judah, and never
+returned to a national independence. This happened exactly sixty-five
+years after the announcement by the Prophet. Chap. vi. 12 compared with
+ver. 13 shows how little the desolation of the country (ver. 16) is
+connected with the breaking up as a nation. It is, moreover, at least
+as much the interest of those who assert the spuriousness, as it is
+ours to remove the chronological difficulties; for how could it be
+imagined that the supposed author should have introduced a false
+chronological statement? His object surely could be none other than to
+procure authority for the Prophet, by putting into his mouth a prophecy
+so very evidently and manifestly fulfilled. (2) "The words contain an
+unsuitable consolation, as Ahaz could not be benefitted by so late a
+destruction of his enemy." But, immediately afterwards, he is even
+expressly assured that this enemy will not be able to do him any
+immediate harm. _Chrysostom_ remarks: "The king, hearing that they
+should be destroyed after sixty-five years, might say within himself:
+What about that? Although they be _then_ overthrown, of what use is it
+to us, if they now take us? In order that the king might not speak
+thus, the Prophet says: Be of good cheer even as to the present. At
+that time they shall be _utterly_ destroyed; but even now, they shall
+not have any more than their own land, for 'the head of Ephraim,'" &c.
+The preceding distinct announcement of the last end of his enemy,
+however, was exceedingly well fitted to break in Ahaz the opinion of
+his invincibility, and to strengthen his faith in the God of Israel,
+who, with a firm hand, directs the destinies of nations, and, no less,
+the faith in _His servant_ whom He raises to be privy to His
+secrets.--(3.) "The use of numbers so exact is against the analogy of
+all oracles." But immediately afterwards (ver. 15 comp. with chap.
+viii. 4), the time of the defeat is as exactly fixed, although not in
+ciphers. In chap. xx. Isaiah announces that after three years the
+Egyptians and Ethiopians shall sustain a defeat; in chap. xxiii. 15,
+that Tyre would flourish anew seventy years after its fall; in chap.
+xxxviii. 5, he announces to Hezekiah, sick unto death, that God would
+add fifteen years to his life. According to Jeremiah, the Babylonish
+captivity is to last seventy years; and the fulfilment has shown that
+this date is not to be understood as a round number. And farther, the
+year-weeks in Daniel.--But in opposition to this view, and positively
+in favour of the genuineness, are the following arguments: The words
+have not only, as is conceded by _Ewald_, "a true old-Hebrew
+colouring," but in their emphatic and solemn brevity ("he shall be
+broken from [being] a people") they do not at all bear the character of
+an interpolation. If we blot them out, then the Prophet says less than
+from present circumstances, from ver. 4, where he calls the kings "ends
+of smoking firebrands," in opposition to ver. 6, and from the analogy
+of ver. 9, where the threatening is much more severe, he was bound to
+say. His saying merely that they would not get any more, was not
+sufficient. He could make the right impression only when he reduced
+that declaration to its foundation--_i.e._, their own destruction and
+overthrow. Ver. 16, too, would go far beyond what would be announced
+here, if we remove this clause. He announces destruction to the kings
+themselves. Finally, the symmetrical parallelism would be destroyed by
+striking out these words. The words: "If ye believe not, ye shall not
+be established," would, in that case, be without the parallel members.
+They are connected with the clause under discussion so much the rather,
+that in them it is not specially Judah's deliverance from the Syrians
+and Ephraimites that is looked at, but its salvation in general.]
+
+[Footnote 4: By a minute and trifling exposition of what is to be
+understood as a whole, and comprehensively, many misunderstandings have
+been introduced into this passage. The defeat of Asshur should take
+place very soon, but the devastation of the country had been so
+complete that a longer time would be required before the fields would
+be again _completely_ cultivated.]
+
+[Footnote 5: _Gesenius_ mentions _Pellicanus_ as the first defender of
+the Non-Messianic interpretation. But this statement seems to have
+proceeded from a cursory view of an annotation by _Cramer_ on _Richard
+Simon's Kritische Schriften_ i. S. 441, where the words: "this
+historical interpretation _Pellicanus_ too has preferred," do not refer
+to Isaiah but to Daniel. Nor is there any more ground for the
+intimation that _Theodorus_ a Mopsuesta rejected the Messianic
+interpretation.]
+
+
+
+
+                    THE PROPHECY, CHAP. VIII. 23-IX. 6.
+                            (Chap. ix. 1-7.)
+                        UNTO US A CHILD IS BORN.
+
+
+In the view of the Assyrian catastrophe, the Prophet is anxious to
+bring it home to the consciences of the people that, by their own
+guilt, they have brought down upon themselves this calamity, and, at
+the same time, to prevent them from despairing. Hence it is that, soon
+after the prophecy in chap. vii., he reverts once more to the subject
+of it. The circumstances in chap. viii. 1-ix. 6 (7) are identical with
+those in chap. vii. Judah is hard pressed by Ephraim and Aram. Still,
+some time will elapse before the destruction of [Pg 67] their
+territories. The term in chap. vii. 16: "Before the boy shall know to
+refuse the evil and choose the good," and in chap. viii. 4: "Before the
+boy shall know to cry, My father and my mother," is quite the same.
+This is the less to be doubted when it is kept in mind that, in the
+former passage, evil and good must be taken in a physical sense. The
+sense for the difference of food is, in a child, developed at nearly
+the same time as the ability for speaking. If it had not been the
+intention of the Prophet to designate one and the same period, _he
+ought to have fixed more distinctly the limits between the two
+termini._ It might, indeed, from chap. viii. 3, appear as if at least
+the nine months must intervene between the two prophecies of the
+conception of the son of the Prophet, and his birth. As, however, it
+cannot be denied that there is a connection between the giving of the
+name, and the drawing up of the document in vers. 1 and 2, we should be
+obliged to suppose that, in reference to the first two futures with
+_Vav convers._ the same rule applies as in reference to [Hebrew: vicr],
+in Gen. ii. 19. The progress lies first in [Hebrew: vtld]; the event
+falling into that time is the birth.
+
+Chap. viii. 1-ix. 6 (7), forms the necessary _supplement_ to chap.
+vii., the germ of which is contained already in chap. vii. 21, 22. The
+Prophet saw, by the light of the Spirit of God, that the fear of Aram
+and Ephraim was unfounded; the enemy truly dangerous is Asshur, _i.e._,
+_the whole world's power first represented by Asshur._ For the King of
+Asshur is, so to say, an ideal person to the Prophet. The different
+phases of the world's powers are intimated as early as chap. viii. 9,
+where the Prophet addresses the "nations," and "all the far-off
+countries;" and, at a later period, he received disclosures regarding
+all the single phases of the world's power which began its course with
+Asshur. With this the Prophet had only threatened in chap. vii.; here,
+however, he is pre-eminently employed with it, _exhorting_,
+_comforting_, _promising_, so that thus the two sections form one whole
+in two divisions. _His main object is to induce his people, in the
+impending oppression by the world's power, to direct their eyes
+steadily to their heavenly Redeemer, who, in due time, will bring peace
+instead of strife, salvation and prosperity instead of misery, dominion
+instead of oppression._ As in chap. vii. 14, the [Pg 68] picture of
+Immanuel is placed before the eyes of the people desponding on account
+of Aram and Ephraim, so here the care, anxiety, and fear in the view of
+Asshur are overcome by pointing to the declaration: "Unto us a child is
+born, unto us a son is given." It is of great importance for the right
+understanding of the Messianic announcement in chap. viii. 23, ix. 6,
+that the historical circumstances of the whole section, and its
+tendency be clearly understood. As, in general, the Messianic
+announcement under the Old Testament bears a one-sided character, so,
+for the _present occasion_, those aspects only of the picture of the
+Saviour were required which were fitted effectually to meet the
+despondency of the people in the view, and under the pressure of the
+world's power.
+
+After these preliminary remarks, we must enter still more in detail
+upon the arrangement and construction of the section before us.
+
+The Prophet receives, first, the commission to write down, like a
+judicial document, the announcement of the speedy destruction of the
+present enemies, and to get it confirmed by trust-worthy witnesses,
+chap. viii. 1, 2. He then, farther, receives the commission to give, to
+a son that would be born to him about the same time, a name expressive
+of the speedy destruction of the enemies, vers. 3, 4. Thus far the
+announcement of the deliverance from Aram and Ephraim. There then
+follows, from vers. 5-8, an announcement of the misery which is to be
+inflicted by _Asshur_, of whom Ahaz and the unbelieving portion of the
+people expected nothing but deliverance. _Up to this, there is a
+recapitulation only, and a confirmation of chap. vii._ But this misery
+is not to last for ever, is not to end in destruction. In vers. 9, 10,
+the Prophet addresses exultingly the hostile nations, and announces to
+them, what had already been gently hinted at at the close of ver. 8,
+that their attempts to put an end to the covenant-people would be vain,
+and would lead to their own destruction. The splendour of Asshur must
+_fade_ before the bright image of Immanuel, which calls to the people:
+"Be ye of good cheer, I have overcome the world." _Calvin_ strikingly
+remarks: "The Prophet may be conceived of, as it were, standing on a
+watch tower, whence he beholds the defeat of the people, and the
+victorious Assyrians insolently exulting. [Pg 69] But by the name and
+view of Christ he recovers himself, forgets all the evils as if he had
+suffered nothing, and, freed from all misery, he rises against the
+enemies whom the Lord would immediately destroy." The Prophet then
+interrupts the announcement of deliverance, and exhibits the subjective
+conditions upon which the bestowal of deliverance, or rather the
+_partaking_ in it, depends, along with the announcement of the fearful
+misery which would befal them in case these conditions were not
+complied with. But, so he continues in vers. 11-16, he who is to
+partake of the deliverance which the Lord has destined for His people,
+must in firm faith expect it from Him, and thereby inwardly separate
+himself from the unbelieving mass, who, at every appearance of danger,
+tremble and give up all for lost. He who stands as ill as that mass in
+the trial inflicted by the Lord; he to whom the danger becomes an
+occasion for manifesting the unbelief of his heart;--he indeed will
+perish in it. At the close, the prophet is emphatically admonished to
+impress this great and important truth upon the minds of the
+susceptible ones. In ver. 17: "And I waited upon the Lord," &c., the
+Prophet reports what effect was produced upon him by this revelation
+from the Lord,--thereby teaching indirectly what effect it ought to
+produce upon all. In ver. 18, the Prophet directs the desponding people
+to the example of himself who, according to ver. 17, is joyful in his
+faith, and to the names of his sons which announced deliverance.
+Deliverance and comfort are to be sought from the God of Israel only.
+Vain, therefore,--this he brings out, vers. 19-22--are all other means
+by which people without faith seek to procure help to themselves. They
+should return to God's holy Law which, in Deut. xviii. 14, ff. commands
+to seek disclosures as regards the future, and comfort from His
+servants the Prophets only, and which itself abounds in comfort and
+promise. If such be not done, misery without any deliverance, despair
+without any comfort, are the unavoidable consequences. From ver. 23,
+the Prophet continues the interrupted announcement of deliverance. That
+which, in the preceding verses, he had threatened in the case of
+apostacy from God's Word, and of unbelief, viz., _darkness_, _i.e._,
+the absence of deliverance, will, as the Prophet, according to vers.
+21, 22, foresees, really befal them in future, as [Pg 70] the people
+will not fulfil the conditions held forth in vers. 16 and 20, as they
+will not speak: "To the Law and to the testimony," as they will not in
+faith lay hold of the promise, and trust in the Lord. The calamity
+having, in the preceding verses, been represented as _darkness_, the
+deliverance which, by the grace of the Lord, is to be bestowed upon the
+people (for the Lord indeed chastises His people on account of their
+unbelief, but does not give them up to death), is now represented as a
+great _light_ which dispels the darkness. It shines most clearly just
+where the darkness had been greatest--in that part of the country
+which, being outwardly and inwardly given up to heathenism, seemed
+scarcely still to belong to the land of the Lord, viz., the country
+lying around the lake of Gennesareth. The people are filled with joy on
+account of the deliverance granted to them by the Lord,--their
+deliverance from the yoke of their oppressors, from the bondage of the
+world which now comes to an end. As the bestower of such deliverance,
+the Prophet beholds a divine child who, having obtained dominion, will
+exercise it with the skill of the God-man; who will, with fatherly
+love, in all eternity care for His people and create peace to them; who
+will, at the same time, infinitely extend His dominion, the kingdom of
+David, not by means of the force of arms, but by means of right and
+righteousness, the exercise of which will attract the nations to Him;
+so that with the increase of dominion, the increase of peace goes hand
+in hand. The guarantee that these glorious results shall really take
+place is the zeal of the Lord, and it is this to which the Prophet
+points at the close.
+
+
+                           * * * * * * * * * *
+
+
+
+
+Chap. viii. 23 (ix. 1). "_For not is darkness to the land, to which is
+distress; in the former time he has brought disgrace upon the land of
+Zebulun and the hind of Naphtali, and in the after-time he brings it to
+honour, the region on the sea, the other side of the Jordan, Galilee of
+the Gentiles._"
+
+[Hebrew: ki] stands in its ordinary signification, "for." Allow not
+yourselves to be turned away by anything from trusting in the God of
+Israel; hold fast by His word alone, and by His servants,--such was the
+fundamental thought of the whole preceding section. It meets us last in
+ver. 20, in the exhortation: [Pg 71] "To the Law and to the testimony!"
+in so far as this is rich in consolation and promise. The Prophet,
+after having, in the preceding verses, described the misery which will
+befal those who do not follow this exhortation, supports and
+establishes it by referring to the _help of the Lord_ already alluded
+to in vers. 9 and 10, and to the _light of His grace_ which He will
+cause to shine into the darkness of the people,--a darkness produced by
+their unbelief and apostacy; and this light shall be brightest where
+the darkness was greatest. All the attempts at connecting this [Hebrew:
+ki] with the verse immediately preceding instead of referring it to the
+main contents of the preceding section, have proved futile. [Hebrew:
+ki] can neither mean "nevertheless," nor "yea;" and the strange
+assertion that it is almost without any meaning at all cannot derive
+any support from Isaiah xv. 1: "The _burden_ of Moab, _for_ in the
+night the city of Moab is laid waste;" for only in that case is
+[Hebrew: ki] without any meaning at all, if [Hebrew: mwa] be falsely
+interpreted.--Ver. 22, where the phrase [Hebrew: mevP Cvqh] "darkness
+of distress" is equivalent to "darkness which consists in distress"
+(compare also: "behold trouble and darkness" in the same verse), shows
+that [Hebrew: mveP] and [Hebrew: mvcq] are substantially of the same
+meaning.--Our verse forms an antithesis to ver. 22; the latter verse
+described the darkness brought on by the guilt of the people; the verse
+under consideration describes, in contrast to it, the _removal_ of it
+called forth by the grace of the Lord.--[Hebrew: la] may either be
+connected with the noun, or it may be explained: not is darkness. It
+cannot be objected to the latter view that, in that case, [Hebrew: aiN]
+should rather have stood; while the analogy of the phrase: "Not didst
+thou increase the joy," in chap. ix. 2 (3), seems to be in favour of
+it. Here we have the negative, the ceasing of darkness; in chap. ix. 1
+(2) the positive, the appearance of light. The suffix, in [Hebrew: lh]
+refers, just as the suffix, in [Hebrew: bh] in ver. 21, to the omitted
+[Hebrew: arC].--The [Hebrew: k] in [Hebrew: ket] is, by many
+interpreters, asserted to stand in the signification of [Hebrew: kawr]:
+"Just as the former time has brought disgrace," &c. But as it cannot be
+proved that [Hebrew: k] has ever the meaning, "just as;" and as, on the
+other hand, [Hebrew: ket] frequently occurs in the signification, "at
+the time" (compare my remarks on Numb. xxiii. 13 in my work on Balaam),
+we shall be obliged to take, here too, the [Hebrew: k] as a temporal
+particle, and to supply, as the subject, Jehovah, who [Pg 72] always
+stands before the Prophet's mind, and is often not mentioned when the
+matter itself excludes another subject. Moreover, it is especially in
+favour of this view that, in vers. 3 (4), the Lord himself is expressly
+addressed.--As regards [Hebrew: aHrvN], either [Hebrew: ket] may be
+supplied,--and this is simplest and most natural--or it may be taken as
+an Accusative, "for the whole after-time."--[Hebrew: hql] means
+properly to "make light," then "to make contemptible," "to cover with
+disgrace," and [Hebrew: hkbid] properly then, "to make heavy," "to
+honour,"--a signification which indeed is peculiar to _Piel_, but in
+which the _Hiphil_, too, occurs in Jer. xxx. 19; the two verbs thus
+form an antithesis. The [Hebrew: h] _locale_ in [Hebrew: arch] (the
+word does not occur in Isaiah with the [Hebrew: h] _paragog._) shews
+that a certain modification of the verbal notion must be assumed: "to
+bring disgrace and honour." [Hebrew: arch] thus would mean "towards
+the land." The scene of the disgrace and honour, which at first was
+designated in general only, is afterwards _extended_. First, the land
+of Zebulun and Naphtali only is mentioned, because it was upon it
+that the disgrace had pre-eminently fallen, and it was, therefore,
+pre-eminently to be brought to honour; then the whole territory along
+the sea on both sides of it.--[Hebrew: iM] can, in this context
+which serves for a more definite qualification, mean the sea of
+Gennesareth only ([Hebrew: iM knrt] Numb. xxxiv. 11, and other
+passages), just as, in Matt. iv. 13, the designation of Capernaum as
+[Greek: he parathalassia] receives its definite meaning from the
+context.--[Hebrew: drK] occurs elsewhere also in the signification of
+_versus_, _e.g._, Ezek. viii. 5, xl. 20, 46; it will be necessary to
+supply after it [Hebrew: arC], just as in the case of the [Hebrew: ebr
+hirdN] following. It is without any instance that [Hebrew: drK] "way"
+should stand for "region," "country." The region on the sea is then
+divided into its two parts [Hebrew: ebr hirdN], [Greek: peran tou
+Iordanou], the land on the east bank of Jordan, and Galilee. The latter
+answers to the land of Zebulun and Naphtali; for the territory of these
+two tribes occupied the centre and principal part of Galilee. In
+opposition to the established _usus loquendi_, many would understand
+[Hebrew: ebr hirdN] as meaning the land "on the side," _i.e._, this
+side "of the Jordan," proceeding upon the supposition that the local
+designations must, from beginning to end, be congruous. Opposed to it
+is also the circumstance that, in 2 Kings, xv. 29, the most eastward
+and most northward countries, Peraea and Galilee are connected. [Pg 73]
+In that passage the single places are mentioned which Tiglath-pilezer
+took; then, the whole districts, "Gilead and Galilee, the whole land of
+Naphtali." By the latter words, that part of Galilee is made especially
+prominent upon which the catastrophe fell most severely and completely.
+In the phrase, "Galilee of the Gentiles," Galilee is a geographical
+designation which was already current at the time of the Prophet. There
+is no reason for fixing the extent of ancient Galilee differently from
+that of the more modern Galilee,--for assigning to it a more limited
+extent. We are told in 1 Kings ix. 11, that the twenty cities which
+Solomon gave to Hiram lay in the land of _Galil_, but not that the
+country was limited to them. The qualification, "of the Gentiles," is
+nowhere else met with in the Old Testament; it is peculiar to the
+Prophet. It serves as a hint to point out in what the disgrace of
+Galilee and Peraea consisted. This _Theodoret_ also saw. He says: "He
+calls it 'Galilee of the Gentiles'because it was inhabited by other
+tribes along with the Jews; for this reason, he says also of the
+inhabitants of those countries, that they were walking in darkness, and
+speaks of the inhabitants of that land as living in the shadow and land
+of death, and promises the brightness of heavenly light." It is of no
+small importance to observe that Isaiah does not designate Galilee
+according to what it was at the time when this prophecy was uttered,
+_but according to what it was to become in future_. The distress by the
+Gentiles appears in chap. vii. and viii. everywhere as a _future one_.
+At the time when the Prophet prophesied, the Jewish territory still
+existed in its integrity. In vers. 4, and 5-7, he announces Asshur's
+inroad into the land of Israel as a _future one_; in the present
+moment, it was the kingdom of the ten tribes in connection with Aram
+which attacked and threatened Judea. The superior power of the world
+which, according to the clear foresight of the Prophet, was
+threatening, could not but be sensibly felt in the North and East. For
+these formed the border parts against the Asiatic world's power; it was
+from that quarter that its invasions commonly took place; and it was to
+be expected that there, in the first instance, the Gentiles would
+establish themselves, just as, in former times, they had maintained
+themselves longest there; comp. Judges i. 30-38; _Keil_ on 1 Kings ix.
+11. But very soon after this, [Pg 74] the name "Galilee of the
+Gentiles" ceased to be one merely prophetical; Tiglathpilezer carried
+the inhabitants of Galilee and Gilead into exile, 2 Kings xv. 29. _At a
+later period_, when the Greek empire "peopled Palestine, in the most
+attractive places, with new cities, restored many which, in consequence
+of the destructive wars, had fallen into decay, filled all of them,
+more or less, with Greek customs and institutions, and, along with the
+newly-opened extensive commerce and traffic, everywhere spread Greek
+manners also," this change was chiefly limited to Galilee and Peraea;
+Judea remained free from it; comp. _Ewald_, _Geschichte Israels_, iii.
+2 S. 264 ff. In 1 Maccab. v. Galaaditis and Galilee appear as those
+parts of the country where the existence of the Jews is almost
+hopelessly endangered by the Gentiles living in the midst of, and mixed
+up with them. What is implied in "Galilee of the Gentiles" may be
+learned from that chapter, where even the _expression_ reverts in ver.
+15. With external dependence upon the Gentiles, however, the spiritual
+dependence went hand in hand. These parts of the country could the less
+oppose any great resistance to the influences of heathendom, that they
+were separated, by a considerable distance, from the religious centre
+of the nation--the temple and _metropolis_, in which the higher
+Israelitish life was concentrated. A consequence of this degeneracy was
+the contempt in which the Galileans were held at the time of Christ,
+John i. 47, vii. 52; Matt. xxvi. 69.--But in what consisted the
+_honour_ or the _glorification_ which Galilee, along with Peraea, was
+to obtain in the after-time? Chap. ix. 5 (6), where the deliverance and
+salvation announced in the preceding verses are connected with the
+person of the _Redeemer_, show that we must not seek for it in any
+other than that of the Messianic time. Our Lord spent the greater part
+of His public life in the neighbourhood of the lake of Gennesareth; it
+was there that Capernaum--His ordinary residence--was situated, Matt.
+ix. 1. From Galilee were most of His disciples. In Galilee He performed
+many _miracles_; and it was there that the preaching of the Gospel
+found much entrance, so that even the name of the Galileans passed over
+in the first centuries to the Christians. _Theodoret_ strikingly
+remarks: "Galilee was the native country of the holy Apostles; there
+the [Pg 75] Lord performed most of His miracles; there He cleansed the
+leper; there He gave back to the centurion his servant sound; there He
+removed the fever from Peter's wife's mother; there He brought back to
+life the daughter of Jairus who was dead; there He multiplied the
+loaves; there He changed the water into wine." Very aptly has
+_Gesenius_ compared Micah v. 1 (2). Just as in that passage the birth
+of the Messiah is to be for the honour of the small, unimportant
+Bethlehem, so here Galilee, which hitherto was covered with disgrace,
+which was reproached by the Jews, that there no prophet had ever risen,
+is to be brought to honour, and to be glorified by the appearance of
+the Messiah. It was from the passage under review that the opinion of
+the Jews was derived, that the Messiah would appear in the land of
+Galilee. Comp. _Sohar_, p. 1. fol. 119 ed. Amstelod.; fol. 74 ed.
+Solisbae: [Hebrew: baret dglil itgli mlka mwita]. "King Messiah will
+reveal himself in the land of Galilee." But we must beware of putting
+prophecy and fulfilment into a merely accidental outward relation, of
+changing the former into a mere foretelling, and of supposing, in
+reference to the latter, that, unless the letter of the prophecy had
+existed, Jesus might as well have made Judea the exclusive scene of His
+ministry. Both prophecy and history are overruled by a higher idea, by
+the truth absolutely valid in reference to the Church of the Lord, that
+where the distress is greatest, help is nearest. If it was established
+that the misery of the covenant-people, both outward and spiritual, was
+especially concentrated in Galilee, then it is also sure that He who
+was sent to the lost sheep of Israel must devote His principal care
+just to that part of the country. The prophecy is not exhausted by the
+one fulfilment; and the fulfilment is a new prophecy. Wheresoever in
+the Church we perceive a new Galilee of the Gentiles, we may, upon the
+ground of this passage, confidently hope that the saving activity of
+the Lord will gloriously display itself.
+
+
+
+
+Chap. ix. 1 (2). "_The people that walk in darkness see a great light,
+they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them light
+ariseth._"
+
+"The people" are the inhabitants of the countries mentioned in the
+preceding verse; but they are not viewed in contrast to, and exclusive
+of the other members of the covenant-people,--for [Pg 76] according to
+chap. viii. 22, darkness is to cover the whole of it--but only as that
+portion which comes chiefly into consideration. _Light_ is, in the
+symbolical language of Scripture, salvation. That in which the
+_salvation_ here consists cannot be determined from the words
+themselves, but must follow from the context. It will not be possible
+to deny that, according to it, the darkness consists, in the first
+instance, in the oppression by the Gentiles, and, hence, salvation
+consists in the _deliverance_ from this oppression, and in being raised
+to the dominion of the world; and in ver. 2 (3) ff., we have, indeed,
+the farther displaying of the light, or deliverance. But it will be as
+little possible to deny that the sad companion of outward oppression by
+the Gentile world is the _spiritual_ misery of the inward dependence
+upon it. _Farther_,--It is as certain that the elevation of the
+covenant-people to the dominion of the world cannot take place all on a
+sudden, and without any farther ceremony, inasmuch as, according to a
+fundamental view of the Old Testament, all outward deliverance appears
+as depending upon conversion and regeneration. "Thou returnest," so we
+read in Deut. xxx. 2, 3, "to the Lord thy God, and the Lord thy God
+turneth to thy captivity." And in the same chapter, vers. 6, 7: "The
+Lord thy God circumciseth thy heart, and _then_ the Lord thy God
+putteth all these curses upon thine enemies." Before Gideon is called
+to be the deliverer of the people from Midian, the Prophet must first
+hold up their sin to the people, Judg. vi. 8 ff., and Gideon does not
+begin his work with a struggle against the outward enemies, but must,
+first of all, as Jerubbabel, declare war against sin. All the
+prosperous periods in the people's history are, at the same time,
+periods of spiritual revival. We need only think of David, Jehoshaphat,
+and Hezekiah. Outward deliverance always presents itself in history as
+an _addition_ only which is bestowed upon those seeking after the
+kingdom of God. Without the inward foundation, the bestowal of the
+outward blessing would be only a mockery, inasmuch as the holy God
+could not but immediately take away again what He had given. But the
+circumstance that it is the _outward_ salvation, the deliverance from
+the heathen servitude, the elevation of the people of God to the
+dominion of the world, as in Christ it so gloriously took [Pg 77]
+place, which are here, in the first instance, looked at, is easily
+accounted for from the historical cause of this prophetic discourse
+which, _in the first instance, is directed against the fears of the
+destruction of the kingdom of God by the world's power_. Ps. xxiii. 4;
+"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear
+no evil; for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me,"
+must so much the more he considered as the fundamental passage of the
+verse under consideration, that the Psalm, too, refers to the whole
+Christian Church. It was in the appearance of Christ, and the salvation
+brought through Him, in the midst of the deepest misery, that this
+Psalm found its most glorious confirmation.--[Hebrew: clmvt], "darkness
+of death," is the darkness which prevails in death or in Sheol. Such
+compositions commonly occur in proper names only, not in appellatives;
+and hence, by "the land of the darkness (shadow) of death," hell is to
+be understood. But darkness of hell is, by way of a shortened
+comparison, not unfrequently used for designating the deepest darkness.
+The point of comparison is here furnished by the first member of the
+verse. Parallel is Ps. lxxxviii. 4 ff., where Israel laments that the
+Lord had thrust it down into dark hell. The Preterite tense of the
+verbs in our verse is to be explained from the prophetical view which
+converts the Future into the Present. How little soever modern exegesis
+can realise this seeing by, and in faith, and how much soever it is
+everywhere disposed to introduce the _real_ Present instead of the
+_ideal_, yet even _Ewald_ is compelled to remark on the passage under
+consideration: "The Prophet, as if he were describing something which
+in his mind he had seen as certain long ago, here represents everything
+in the past, and scarcely makes an exception of this in the new start
+which he takes in the middle." At the time when the Prophet uttered
+this Prophecy, even the _darkness_ still belonged to the future. As yet
+the world's power had not gained the ascendancy over Israel; but here
+the light has already dispelled the darkness.
+
+It now merely remains for us to view more particularly the quotation of
+these two verses in Matt. iv. 12-17. [Greek: Akousas de]--thus the
+section begins--[Greek: hoti Ioannes paredothe, anechoresen eis ten
+Galilaian.] Since, in these words, we are told that Jesus, after having
+received the intelligence of the imprisonment of [Pg 78] John, withdrew
+into Galilee, we cannot for a moment think of His having sought in
+Galilee, safety from Herod; for Galilee just belonged to Herod, and
+Judea afforded security against him. The verb [Greek: anachorein]
+denotes, on the contrary, the withdrawing into the _angulus terrae_
+Galilee, as contrasted with the civil and ecclesiastical centre. The
+_time_ of the beginning of Christ's preaching (His ministry hitherto
+had been merely a kind of prelude) was determined by the imprisonment
+of John, as certainly as, according to the prophecy of the Old
+Testament, the territories of the activity of both were immediately
+bordering upon one another, and by that very circumstance _the place_,
+too, was indirectly determined; for it was fixed by the prophecy under
+consideration that Galilee was to be the scene of the chief ministry of
+Christ. If, then, the time for the beginning of the ministry had come,
+He must also depart into Galilee. The connection, therefore, is this:
+After he had received the intelligence of the imprisonment of John--in
+which the call to Him for the beginning of His ministry was implied--He
+departed into Galilee, and especially to Capernaum, vers. 12, 13; for
+it was this part of the country which, by the prophecy, was fixed as
+the main scene of His Messianic activity, vers. 14-16. It was there,
+therefore, that He continued the preaching of John, ver. 17.--[Greek:
+Kai katalipon ten Nazaret]--it is said in ver. 13--[Greek: elthon
+katokesen eis Kapernaoum ten parathalassian, en horiois Zaboulon kai
+Nephthaleim.] Christ had hitherto had His settled abode at Nazareth,
+and thence undertook His wanderings. The immediate reason why He did
+not remain there is not stated by Matthew; but we learn it from Luke
+and John. In accordance with his object, Matthew takes cognizance of
+this one circumstance only, that, according to the prophecy of the Old
+Testament, Capernaum was very specially fitted for being the residence
+of Christ. The town was situated on the western shore of the Lake of
+Gennesareth. Quite in opposition to his custom elsewhere, Matthew
+describes the situation of the town 80 minutely, because this knowledge
+served to afford a better insight into the fulfilment of the prophecy
+of the Old Testament. The designation [Greek: ten parathalassian]
+stands in reference to [Greek: hodon thalasses], in ver. 15. [Greek: En
+horiois], &c., may either mean: "In the borders of Zebulun and
+Naphtali," _i. e._ in that place where [Pg 79] the borders of both the
+countries meet,--or [Greek: ta horia] may, according to the analogy of
+the Hebrew [Hebrew: gbvliM], denote the borders in the sense of
+"territory," as in Matt. ii. 16. From a comparison of [Greek: ge
+Zaboulon kai Nephthaleim] of the prophecy in ver. 15, to which the
+words stand in direct reference, it follows that the latter view is the
+correct one. Whether Capernaum lay just on the borders between the two
+countries was of no consequence to the prophecy, and hence was of none
+to Matthew.--The phrase [Greek: hina plerothe] does not, according to
+the very sound remark of _De Wette_, point to the intention, but to the
+objective aim. The question, however, is to what the [Greek: hina
+plerothe] is to be referred,--whether merely to that which immediately
+precedes, viz., the change of residence from Nazareth to Capernaum, or,
+at the same time to [Greek: anechoresen eis ten Galilaian]. The latter
+is alone correct. The prophecy which the Evangelist has in view
+referred mainly to Galilee, or the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali in
+general; but, according to the express remark of the Evangelist,
+Nazareth itself was likewise situated in Galilee. The advantage which
+Capernaum had over it was this only, that in Capernaum the [Greek:
+hodon thalasses] of the prophecy was found again, and that, therefore,
+thence the [Greek: peran tou Iordanou] of the prophecy also could be
+better realized, inasmuch as across the lake there was an easy
+communication from that place with the country beyond Jordan. The
+connection is hence this: After the imprisonment of the Baptist, Jesus,
+in order to enter upon His ministry, went to Galilee, and especially to
+Capernaum, which was situated on the lake, in order that thus the
+prophecy of Isaiah as to the glorification of Galilee, and of the
+region on the lake, might be fulfilled.--Matthew has abridged the
+passage. From chap. viii. 23 (ix. 1) he has taken the designation of
+the part of the country, in order that the agreement of fulfilment and
+prophecy might become visible. The words from [Greek: ge--ton ethnon]
+may either be regarded as a fragment taken out of its connection,
+so that they are viewed as a quotation, and as forming a period by
+themselves (this, from a comparison of the original, seems most
+natural);--or we may also suppose, that the Evangelist, having
+broken-up the connection with the preceding, puts these words into a
+new connection, so that, along with the [Greek: ho laos], which has
+become an apposition, they form [Pg 80] the subject of the following
+sentence. At all events, [Greek: hodon] takes here the place of the
+adverb, although it may not be possible to adduce instances and proofs
+altogether analogous from the Greek _usus loquendi_.--The confidence
+with which Matthew explains chap. viii. 23, and ix. 1 of Christ can be
+accounted for only from the circumstance that he recognized Christ as
+He who in chap. ix. 5, 6, (6, 7) is described as the author of all the
+blessings designated in the preceding verses. It was therefore
+altogether erroneous in _Gesenius_ to assert that there was the less
+reason for holding the Messianic explanation of chap. ix. 5, 6, as
+there was no testimony of the New Testament in favour of it.--It is
+quite obvious that Matthew does not quote the Old Testament prophecy in
+reference to any single special event which happened at Capernaum; but
+that rather the whole following account of the glorious deeds of Christ
+in Galilee, as well as in Peraea, down to chap. xix. 1, serves to mark
+the fulfilment of this Old Testament prophecy, and is subservient to
+this quotation. _This passage of Matthew explains the reason, why it is
+that he, and Luke and Mark who closely follow him, report henceforth,
+until the last journey of Jesus to Jerusalem, exclusively facts which
+happened in Galilee, and in Peraea, which likewise was mentioned by
+Isaiah._ The circumstance that this fact, which is so obvious, was not
+perceived, has called forth a number of miserable conjectures, and has
+even led some interpreters to assail the credibility of the Gospel. To
+Matthew, who wished to show that Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah
+promised in the Old Testament, the interest must, in the view of the
+prophecy under consideration, be necessarily concentrated upon Galilee;
+and Mark and Luke followed him in this, perceiving that it was not
+becoming to them to open up a path altogether new. This was reserved to
+the second Apostle from among the Evangelists.
+
+Ver. 2 (3). "_Thou multipliest the nation to which thou didst not
+increase the joy; they joy before thee like the joy in harvest, and as
+they rejoice when they divide the spoil._"
+
+The Prophet beholds the joy of the Messianic time as present; he
+beholds the covenant-people numerous, free from all misery, and full of
+joy; full of delight he turns to the Lord, and praises Him for what He
+has done to His people.--One [Pg 81] of the privileges of the people of
+God is the increase which at all times takes place after they are
+sifted and thinned by judgments. Thus, _e.g._, it happened at the time
+after their return from the captivity, comp. Ps. cvii. 38, 39: "And He
+blesseth them, and they are multiplied greatly, and He suffereth not
+their cattle to decrease. They who were minished and brought low
+through affliction, oppression, and sorrow." But this increase took
+place most gloriously at the time of Christ, when a numerous multitude
+of adopted sons from among the Gentiles were received into the Church
+of God, and thus the promise to Abraham: "I will make of thee a great
+nation" ([Hebrew: gvi] as in the passage before us, and not [Hebrew:
+eM]), received its final fulfilment. From the arguments which we
+advanced in Vol. i. on Hosea ii. 1, it appears that the increase which
+the Church received by the reception of the Gentiles is, according
+to the biblical view, to be considered as an increase of the people
+of Israel. The fundamental thought of Ps. lxxxvii. is: Zion the
+birth-place of the nations; by the new birth the Gentiles are received
+in Israel. The manner in which the Gentiles show their anxiety to be
+received in Israel is described by Isaiah in chap. xliv. 5. The
+commentary on the words: "Thou multipliest the nation," is furnished to
+us by chap. liv. 1 ff., where, in immediate connection with the
+prophecy regarding the Servant of God who bears the sin of the world,
+it is said: "Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear, break forth into
+singing, and shout thou that didst not travail with child; for more are
+the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife,
+saith the Lord." Comp. also chap. lxvi. 7-9, and Ezek. xxxvii. 25, 26:
+"And my servant David shall be their prince for ever. And I make a
+covenant with them and multiply them." Several interpreters, _e. g._
+_Calvin_, _Vitringa_, suppose that the Prophet in this verse (and so
+likewise in the two following verses) speaks, in the first instance, of
+a nearer prosperity, of the rapid increase of the people after the
+Babylonish captivity. _Vitringa_ directs attention to the fact, that
+the Jewish people after the captivity did not only fill Judea, but
+spread also in Egypt, Syria, Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, Greece, and
+Italy. And surely we cannot deny that in this increase, no less than in
+the new flourishing of the people after the defeat of Sennacherib also,
+there is a _prelude_ to the real fulfilment; [Pg 82] and that so much
+the more that these precursory increases, happening, as they did,
+regularly after the decreases, were bestowed upon the covenant-people
+with a view to the future appearance of Christ. These increases enter
+into a still closer relation to the prophecy under consideration, if we
+keep in mind that in chap. vii. the Prophet anticipates in spirit the
+appearance of Christ, and that it is with this representation that, in
+the Section before us, chap. viii. 8, 10 are connected. In order to
+refute the explanation of _Umbriet_: "Thou hast multiplied the
+_heathen_, and thereby thou hast removed all joy; but now," &c., it
+will be quite sufficient to refer to the parallel passage, chap. xxvi.
+15: "Thou increasest the _people_, O Lord, thou art glorified, thou
+removest all the boundaries of the land," where, just as in the verse
+before us, by [Hebrew: hgvi] "the people," Israel is designated; and
+that is frequently the case where the notion of the multitude, the mass
+only is concerned, comp. Gen. xii. 2.--"_Thou didst not increase the
+joy_" stands for: to whom thou formerly didst not increase the joy, to
+whom thou gavest but little joy, upon whom thou inflictedst severe
+sufferings. The antithesis is quite the same as in chap. viii. 23 (ix.
+1), where the former distress is contrasted with the light which is now
+to shine upon them, the former disgrace with the later glory; and in
+the same manner in chap. ix. 1 (2), where the present _light_ is
+rendered brighter by being contrasted with the former _darkness_. The
+contrast of the present _increase_ with the former absence of joys
+shows that the joy is to be viewed as being connected with the
+increase, and that if formerly the joy was less, the reason of it was
+chiefly in the _decrease_. Ps. cvii. 38, 39, 41, shews how affliction
+and decrease, joy and increase, go hand in hand; farther, Jerem. xxx.
+19: "And out of them proceed thanksgivings, and the voice of the merry
+ones; and I multiply them, and they do not decrease; and I honour them,
+and they are not small." The decrease is a single symptom only of a
+depressed, joyless condition, which everywhere in the kingdom of God
+shall be brought to an end by Christ. Most of the ancient translators
+(LXX., Chald., Syr.) follow the marginal reading [Hebrew: lv], "_to
+him_" hast thou increased the joy. According to many modern
+interpreters, [Hebrew: la] is supposed to be a different mode of
+writing for [Hebrew: lv]. But no _proof_ that could stand the test can
+be brought forward for [Pg 83] such a mode of writing; nor is there any
+reason for supposing that [Hebrew: la] stands here in a different sense
+from what it does in chap. viii. 23, and it would indeed be strange
+that [Hebrew: lv] should have been placed before the verb. At most, it
+might be supposed that the Prophet intended an ambiguous and double
+sense: not/(to him) didst thou increase the joy. But altogether apart
+from such an ambiguous and double sense, behind the negative, at all
+events, the positive is concealed; thou multipliest the people, and
+increasest to them the joy, thou who formerly didst decrease their joy,
+&c.; and it is to this positive that the words refer which, in Luke ii.
+10, the angels address to the shepherds: [Greek: me phobeisthe, idou
+gar euangelizomai humin charan megalen hetis estai panti to lao hoti
+etechthe humin semeron soter, hos esti Christos Kurios]; comp. Matth.
+ii. 10.--In the following words, the Prophet expresses, in the first
+instance, the nature of the joy, then its greatness. The joy over the
+blessings received is a joy _before God_, under a sense of His
+immediate presence. The expression is borrowed from the sacrificial
+feasts in the courts before the sanctuary, at which the partakers
+rejoiced _before the Lord_, Deut. xii. 7, 12, 18, xiv. 26. In Immanuel,
+God with his blessings and gifts has truly entered into the midst of
+His people. With the joy at _the dividing of the spoil_, the joy is
+compared only to show its greatness, just as with the joy _in the
+harvest_; and it is in vain that Knobel tries here to bring in a
+dividing of spoil.
+
+Vers. 3, (4). "_For the yoke of his burden and the staff of his neck,
+the rod of his driver thou hast broken as in the day of Midian._"
+
+In this verse, the reason of the people's joy announced in the
+preceding verse is stated: it is the deliverance from the world's
+power, under the oppression of which they groaned, or, in point of
+fact, were to groan. He who imposes the _yoke_ and the _staff_, the
+_driver_, (an allusion to the Egyptian taskmasters, masters, comp.
+Exod. iii. 7; v. 10), is Asshur, and the _whole_ world's power hostile
+to the Kingdom of God, which is represented by him, and which by Christ
+was to receive, and has received, a mortal blow. A prelude to the
+fulfilment took place by the defeat of Sennacherib under Hezekiah,
+comp. chap. x. 5, 24, 27; xiv. 25. After him. Babel had to experience
+[Pg 84] the destructive power of the Lord, the single phases of which,
+pervading, as they do, all history, are here comprehended in one great
+act. Although the definitive fulfilment begins first with the
+appearance of Christ in the flesh, who spoke to His people: [Greek:
+tharseite, ego nenikeka ton kosmon], yet after what we remarked on ver.
+2, we are fully entitled to consider the former catastrophes also of
+the kingdoms of the world as preludes to the real fulfilment.--[Hebrew:
+wkM] "shoulder" does not suit as the _membrum cui verbera infliguntur_;
+it comes, as is commonly the case, into consideration as that member
+with which burdens are borne. The _staff_ or tyranny is a heavy
+_burden_, comp. chap. x. 27: "His burden shall be taken away from
+off thy shoulder." "_As in the day of Midian_" is equivalent to: as
+thou once didst break the yoke of Midian. This event was especially
+fitted to serve as a type of the glorious future victory over the
+world's power, partly because the oppression by Midian was very
+hard,--according to Judges vii. 12, Midian, Amalek, and the sons of
+the East broke in upon the land like grasshoppers for multitude, and
+their camels were without number, as the sand by the seaside for
+multitude--partly because the help of the Lord (_thou_ hast broken) was
+at that time specially visible. "I will be with thee," says the Lord to
+Gideon in Judges vi. 16, "and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one
+man;" and Judges vii. 2: "The people that are with thee are too many,
+as that I could give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt
+themselves against me, saying: Mine own hand hath saved me."
+
+Vers. 4, (5). "_For every war-shoe put on with noise, and the garment
+rolled in blood: it is for burning, food of fire._"
+
+We have here the reason why the tyranny is broken: _for_ the enemies of
+the Kingdom of God shall entirely and for ever be rendered incapable of
+carrying on warfare. If the noisy war-shoes, and their blood-stained
+garments are to be burned, they themselves must, of course, have been
+previously destroyed. But, if that be the case, then all war and
+tyranny are come to an end, "for the dead do not live, and the shades
+do not rise," chap. xxvi. 14. The parallel passages, Ps. xlvi. 10, and
+Ezek. xxxix. 9, 10, do not permit us to doubt that the burning of the
+war-shoes and of the bloody garments come into consideration here as a
+consequence of the destruction of [Pg 85] the conquerors. Nor can we,
+according to these passages, entertain, for a moment, the idea of
+_Meier_, that those bloody garments belong to _Israel_.
+
+Vers. 5 (6). "_For unto us a child is horn, unto us a son is given, and
+the government is upon his shoulders, and his name shall be called
+Wonder-Counsellor, God-Hero, Ever-Father, Prince of Peace._"
+
+The Prophet had hitherto spoken only of the salvation which is to
+spread from Galilee over the rest of the country; it is first here that
+its author, in all His sublime glory, comes before him; and, having
+come to him, the prophecy rises to exalted feelings of joy. In chap.
+vii. 14, the Prophet beholds the Saviour as being already born; hence
+the Preterites [Hebrew: ild] and [Hebrew: ntN]. If any one should
+imagine that from the use of these Preterites he were entitled to infer
+that the subject of the prophecy must, at that time, already have been
+born, he must also, on account of the Preterites in vers. 1 (2) suppose
+that the announced salvation had at that time been already bestowed
+upon Israel,--which no interpreter does. _Hitzig_ correctly remarks:
+"Because He is still _future_, the Prophet in His first appearance,
+beholds Him as a child, and as the son of another." _Whose_ son He is
+we are not told; but it is supposed to be already known. Ever since the
+revelation in 2 Sam. vii., the Messiah could be conceived of as the Son
+of David only; compare the words: "Upon the throne of David" in vers. 6
+(7), and chap. xi. 1, lv. 3. As the Son of God the Saviour appears as
+early as in Ps. ii.; and it is to that Psalm that the "God-Hero"
+alludes, and connects itself. Alluding to the passage before us, we
+read in John iii. 16: [Greek: houto gar egapesen ho theos ton kosmon]
+("The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this,") vers. 6 [7],
+[Greek: hoste ton huion autou ton monogene edoken].--When grown up, the
+Son has the government upon His shoulder. The Prophet contrasts Christ
+with the _world's power_, which threatened destruction to the people of
+God. This, then, refers to the _Kingly office_ of Christ, and the state
+of glory. Parallel is the declaration of Christ in Matt. xxviii. 18,
+[Greek: edothe moi pasa exousia]. The Lord has also, in John xviii. 37,
+confirmed the truth that He is _King_; and it is upon the ground of His
+own declaration that Pilate designates Him upon the cross as a King.
+Although His Kingdom is not of [Pg 86] this world, John xviii. 36, it
+is, just for that very reason, so much the more all-governing. The
+[Greek: enteuthen] in that passage is contrasted with the words "from
+heaven" in Dan. ii., by which, in that passage, its absolute
+superiority over all the kingdoms of the world, and its crushing power
+are declared to be indissolubly connected.--"_The shoulder_" comes,
+here also, as in vers. 3 (4), chap. x. 27, into consideration in so far
+as on it we _bear_; comp. Gen. xlix. 15; Ps. lxxxi. 7. The bearer of an
+office has it, as it were, on his shoulders.--The Jewish interpreters,
+despairing of being able, with any appearance of truth, to apply the
+following attributes to Hezekiah, insist that, with the exception of
+the last, they denote Him who calls, not Him who is called: the
+Wonderful, &c., called him Prince of peace. Altogether apart from the
+consideration that this is in opposition to the accents, the mentioning
+of so many names of Jehovah is here quite unsuitable; and, in all other
+passages, the noun put after [Hebrew: wmv qra] designates always him
+who is called. Modern Exegesis has tried everything with a view to
+deprive the names of their deep meaning, in order to adapt them to a
+Messiah in the ordinary Jewish sense, hence, to do that of which the
+Jews themselves had already despaired. But, in doing so, they have
+considered the names too much by themselves, overlooking the
+circumstance that the full and deeper meaning of the individual
+attributes, as it at first sight presents itself, must, in the
+connection in which they here occur, be so much the rather held fast.
+The names are completed in the number _four_,--the mark of that which
+is complete and finished. _They form two pairs, and every single name
+is again compounded of two names._ The first name is [Hebrew: pla
+iveC]. That these two words must be _connected_ with one another
+(_Theodor._--[Greek: thaumastos bouleuon]) appears from the analogy of
+the other names, especially of [Hebrew: al gbvr] with whom [Hebrew: pla
+iveC] forms one pair; and then from the circumstance that [Hebrew:
+iveC] alone would, in this connection, be too indefinite. The words do
+not stand in the relation of the _Status constructus_, but are
+connected in the same manner as [Hebrew: pra adM] in Gen. xvi. 12.
+[Hebrew: iveC] designates the attribute which is here concerned, while
+[Hebrew: pla] points out the supernatural, superhuman degree in which
+the King possesses this attribute, and the infinite riches of
+consolation and help which are to be found in such [Pg 87] a King. As a
+_Counsellor_, He is a _Wonder_, absolutely elevate d above everything
+which the earth possesses in excellency of counselling. As [Hebrew:
+pla] commonly denotes "wonder" in the strictest sense (comp. chap. xxv.
+1: "I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name, for thou hast done
+wonders," Ps. lxxvii. 15: "Thou art the God that doest wonders;" Exod.
+xv. 11); as it here stands in parallelism with [Hebrew: al] God; as the
+whole context demands that we should take the words in their full
+meaning;--we can consider it only as an arbitrary weakening of the
+sense, that several interpreters explain [Hebrew: pla iveC]
+"extraordinary Counsellor." Parallel is Judges xiii. 18 where the Angel
+of the Lord, after having announced the birth of Samson, says: "Why
+askest thou thus after my name?--it is wonderful," [Hebrew: plai],
+_i.e._, my whole nature is wonderful, of unfathomable depth, and
+cannot, therefore, be expressed by any human name. _Farther_--Revel.
+xix. 12 is to be compared, where Christ has a name written that no man
+knows but He himself, to intimate the immeasurable glory of His nature.
+That which is here, in the first instance, said of a single attribute
+of the King, applies, at the same time, to all others, holds true of
+His whole nature; the King is a Wonder as a Counsellor, because His
+whole person is wonderful. A proof, both of the connection of the two
+words, and against the weakening of the sense, is afforded by the
+parallel passage, chap. xxviii. 29, where it is said of the Most
+High God [Hebrew: hplia ech], "He shows himself wonderful in His
+counsel."--The second name is [Hebrew: al gbvr] "God-Hero." Besides the
+ability of giving good counsel, a good government requires also
+[Hebrew: gbvrh] strength, heroic power: comp. chap. xi. 2, according to
+which the spirit of counsel and strength rest upon the Messiah. What
+may not be expected from a King who not only, like a David in a higher
+degree, possesses the greatest _human measure_ of heroic strength, but
+who is also a _God-Hero_, and a _Hero-God_, so that with His appearance
+there _disappears_ completely the contrast of the invisible Head of the
+people of God, and of His visible substitute,--a contrast which so
+often manifested itself, to the great grief of the covenant-people? The
+God-Hero forms the contrast to a human hero whose heroic might is,
+after all, always _limited_, [Hebrew: al gbvr] can signify God-Hero
+only, a Hero who is infinitely exalted above all human heroes [Pg 88]
+by the circumstance that He is _God_. To the attempts at weakening the
+import of the name, chap. x. 21, where [Hebrew: al gbvr] is said of the
+Most High, appears a very inconvenient obstacle,--a parallel passage
+which does not occur by chance, but where [Hebrew: war iwvb] stands
+with an intentional reference to chap. vii.: "The remnant shall return,
+the remnant of Jacob, unto the Hero-God," who is furnished with
+invincible strength for His people; comp. Ps. xxiv. 8: "The Lord strong
+and a hero, the Lord a hero of war." The older Rationalistic exposition
+endeavoured to set aside the deity of the Messiah by the explanation:
+"strong hero." So also did _Gesenius_. This explanation, against which
+chap. x. 21 should have warned, has been for ever set aside by the
+remark of _Hitzig_: "Commonly, in opposition to all the _usus
+loquendi_, the word is translated by: _strong hero_. But [Hebrew: al]
+is always, even in passages such as Gen. xxxi. 29, "God," and in all
+those passages which are adduced to prove that it means "_princeps_,"
+"_potens_," the forms are to be derived not from [Hebrew: al], but from
+[Hebrew: ail], which properly means 'ram,'then 'leader,''prince.'" By
+this explanation, especially the passage Ezek. xxxii. 21, which had
+formerly been appealed to in support of the translation "strong hero,"
+is set aside; for the [Hebrew: ali gbvriM] of that passage are "rams of
+heroes." Rationalistic interpreters now differ in their attempts at
+getting rid of the troublesome fact. _Hitzig_ says, "Strong God"--he
+erroneously views [Hebrew: gbvr], which always means "hero," as an
+adjective--"the future deliverer is called by the oriental not strictly
+separating the Divine and human, and He is called so by way of
+exaggeration, in so far as He possesses divine qualities." A like
+opinion is expressed by _Knobel_: "Strong God the Messiah is called,
+because in the wars with the Gentiles He will prove himself as a hero
+equipped with divine strength." The expression proves a divine nature
+as little as when in Ps. lxxxii. 1-6, comp. John x. 34, 35, kings are,
+in general, called [Hebrew: alhiM], "gods, _Like_ God, to be compared
+to Him, a worthy representative of Him, and hence, likewise, called
+God." It is true that there is one [Hebrew: al gbvr] only, and that,
+according to chap. x. 21, the Messiah cannot be [Hebrew: al gbvr]
+beside the Most High God, excepting _by partaking in his nature_. Such
+a participation in the nature, not His being merely filled with the
+power of [Pg 89] God, is absolutely required to explain the expression.
+It is true that in the Law of Moses all those who have to command or to
+judge, all those to whom, for some reason or other, respect or
+reverence is due, are consecrated as the representatives of God on
+earth; _e.g._, a court of justice is of God, and he who appears before
+it appears before God. But the name _Elohim_ is there given _in general
+only to the judicial court_, which represents God--to the _office_, not
+to the single individuals who are invested with it. In Ps. lxxxii. 1,
+the name _Elohim_ in the expression: "He judgeth among the gods" is
+given to the single, judging individual; comp. also ver. 6; but this
+passage forms an isolated exception. To explain, from it, the passage
+before us is inadmissible, even from chap. x. 21, where [Hebrew: al
+gbvr] stands in its fullest sense. It must not be overlooked that that
+passage in Ps. lxxxii. belongs to higher poetry; that the author
+himself there mitigates in ver. 6, in the parallel member, the strength
+of the expression: "I have said ye are _Elohim_, and sons of the Most
+High ye all;" and, finally, that there _Elohim_ is used as the most
+vague and general name of God, while here _El_, a personal name, is
+used. _Hendewerk_, _Ewald_, and others, finally, explain "_God's
+hero_," _i.e._, "a divine hero, who, like an invincible God, fights and
+conquers." But in opposition to this view, it has been remarked by
+_Meier_ that then necessarily the words ought to run, [Hebrew: gbvr
+al]. It is farther obvious that by this explanation the [Hebrew: gbvr
+al] here is, in a manner not to be admitted, disconnected and severed
+from those passages where it occurs as an attribute of the Most High
+God; comp. besides chap. x. 21; Deut. x. 17; Jer. xxxii. 18.
+
+The third name is _Father of eternity_. That admits of a double
+explanation. Several interpreters refer to the Arabic _usus loquendi_,
+according to which he is called the father of a thing who possesses it;
+_e.g._, Father of mercy, _i.e._, the merciful one. This _usus
+loquendi_, according to the supposition formerly very current, occurs
+in Hebrew very frequently, especially in proper names, _e.g._, [Hebrew:
+Tvb abi]. "Father of goodness," _i.e._, the good one. According to this
+view. Father of eternity would be equivalent to Eternal one. According
+to the opinion of others. Father of eternity is _he who will ever be a
+Father_, _an affectionate provider_, comp. chap. xxii. 21, where
+Eliakim [Pg 90] is called "_Father_ to the inhabitants of Jerusalem;"
+Job xxix. 16; Ps. lxviii. 6. _Luther_, too, thus explains: "Who at all
+times feeds His Kingdom and Church, in whom there is a fatherly love
+without end." The _latter_ view is to be preferred unconditionally.
+Against the former view is the circumstance that all the other names
+stand in direct reference to the salvation of the covenant-people,
+while, in the mere eternity, this reference would not distinctly enough
+appear. And it has farther been rightly remarked by _Ewald_, that that
+_usus loquendi_ in Arabic always belongs to the artificial, often to
+jocular discourse. Whether it occur in Hebrew at all is still a matter
+of controversy; _Ewald_, Sec. 27, denies that it occurs in proper names
+also. On the other hand, the paternal love, the rich kindness and
+mercy, exceedingly well suit the first two names which indicate
+unfathomable _wisdom_, and divine _heroic strength_. The rationalistic
+interpreters labour very hard to _weaken_ the idea of _eternity_. But
+the "Provider for life" agrees very ill with the _Wonder-Counsellor_,
+and the _God-hero_. The absolute eternity of the Messiah's dominion is,
+on the foundation of 2 Sam. vii., most emphatically declared in other
+passages also (comp. vol. i., p. 132, 133), and meets us here again
+immediately in the following verse. The name Ever-Father, too, leads us
+to _divine Majesty_, comp. chap. xlv. 17: "Israel is saved by the Lord
+with an _everlasting_ salvation; ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded
+in all _eternity_" chap. lvii. 15, where God is called [Hebrew:
+wkN ed] "the ever dwelling;" farther, Ps. lxviii. 6: "A _Father_ of
+the fatherless, and a judge of the widows is God in His holy
+habitation," where the providence of God for the _personae miserabiles_
+is praised with a special reference to that which He does for His poor
+people.--_Hitzig's_ explanation: "Father of prey," does not suit the
+prophetic style, and has, in general, no analogy from Hebrew to adduce
+in its favour. The circumstance that, in the verse immediately
+following, the eternity of the government is mentioned, shows that
+[Hebrew: ed] must be taken in its ordinary signification "eternity."
+
+The fourth name, _Prince of peace_, stands purposely at the end, and is
+to be considered as strongly emphatic. War, hostile oppression, the
+distress of the servitude which threatens the people of God,--these are
+the things which, in the first instance, [Pg 91] have directed the
+Prophet's eye to the Messiah. The name points back to Solomon who
+typified Christ's dominion of peace, and who himself, in the Song of
+Solomon, transfers his name to Christ (comp. my Comment. S. 1 ff.);
+then to the Shiloh, Gen. xlix. 10 (comp. vol. i, 84, 85). We should
+misunderstand the name were we to infer from it that, in the Messianic
+time, all war should cease. Were such to be the case, why is it that,
+immediately before, the Redeemer is designated as _God-Hero_? Peace is
+the aim; it is offered to all the nations in Christ; but those who
+reject it, who rise up against His Kingdom, He throws down, as the
+God-Hero, with a powerful hand, and _obtains by force_ peace for His
+people. But war, as far as it takes place, is carried on in a form
+different from that which existed under the Old dispensation. According
+to Micah v. 9 (10), ff., the Lord makes His people outwardly
+defenceless, before they become in Christ world-conquering; comp. vol.
+i., p. 515. According to chap. xi. 4, Christ smiteth the earth with the
+rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He slayeth the
+wicked.
+
+Ver. 6 (7.) "_To the increase of the government and to the peace, there
+is no end, upon the throne of David and over his kingdom, so that he
+establisheth it, and supporteth it by justice and righteousness, from
+henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of Hosts shall perform
+this._"
+
+There is no reason for connecting this verse with the preceding one;
+in which case the sense would be: "For the increase of government and
+for peace without end." _For_ chap. ii. 7; Nah. ii. 10; Job. xvi.
+3--in which [Hebrew: l] with [Hebrew: qC] occurs in the very same
+sense--clearly show that the [Hebrew: l] in [Hebrew: lwlvM] and
+[Hebrew: lmrbh] may very well be understood as a mere sign of the
+Dative. And the objection that the following [Hebrew: lhkiN], &c.
+would, in that case, be unsuitable, is removed if it be explained: so
+that He establisheth, &c., or: by His establishing, &c.; comp. _Ewald_,
+_Lehrbuch der Hebr. Sprache_ Sec. 280 d. The words designate the basis on
+which the increase of government and the peace rest. The Kingdom of God
+will, through the Redeemer, acquire an ever increasing _extent_, and,
+along with it, perfect _peace_ shall be enjoyed by the world. For it is
+not by rude force that this kingdom is to be founded and established,
+as is the case with worldly kingdoms, in which increase of [Pg 92]
+government and peace, far from being always connected, are, on the
+contrary, irreconcilable opponents, but by _justice_ and
+_righteousness_. Parallel is Ps. lxvii. In vers. 11-15 of that Psalm,
+the Psalmist just points to that "by which all nations and kings are
+induced to do homage to that king; it is just that which, in the whole
+Psalm, appears as the root of everything else, viz., the absolute
+justice of the king." _Decrease_ of government and _war_ without end
+were, meanwhile, in prospect, and they were so, because those who were
+sitting on the throne of David did not support his kingdom by justice
+and righteousness. But the Psalmist intimates to the trembling minds
+that such is not the end of the ways of God with His people; that at
+last the idea of the Kingdom of God will be realized. From the
+fundamental passage, Ps. lxxii. 8-11, and parallel passages, such as
+chap. ii. 2, 4; Mic. v. 3 (4); Zech. ix. 10, it is obvious that, as
+regards the endless increase of the government, the Prophet thinks of
+all the nations of the earth. On the _peace_ without end, comp. Ps.
+lxxii. 7; chap. ii. 4; Mic. v. 4 (5), and the words: "He speaketh peace
+unto the heathen," Zech. ix. 10. The [Hebrew: l] designates the
+substratum on which the increase of dominion and the peace manifest
+themselves; the dominion of the Davidic family and its kingdom gain
+infinitely in extent, and in the same degree peace also increases. In
+these words the Prophet gives an intimation that the Messiah will
+proceed from David's family, comp. chap. xi. 1 where he designates Him
+as the twig of Jesse.--[Hebrew: hkiN] "to confirm," "to establish,"
+used of throne and kingdom, 1 Sam. xiii. 13, comp. 14; 1 Kings ii. 12,
+comp. ver. 24, and farther, chap. xvi. 5.--The words: "from henceforth
+even for ever" do not, as _Umbreit_ supposes, refer to every thing in
+this verse, but to the words immediately preceding. That the words must
+be understood in their full sense, we have already proved in our
+remarks on the fundamental passage, 2 Sam. vii. 13: "And I will
+establish the throne of His kingdom for ever;" see Vol. i. p. 131.
+_Michaelis_ says: "So that that promise to David shall never fail." The
+[Hebrew: eth] does not refer to the _actual_, but to the _ideal_
+present, to the first appearance of the Redeemer, to the words: "Unto
+us a child is born, unto us a Son is given, and the government is upon
+His shoulder."--This great change is brought about [Pg 93] by the
+_zeal_ of the Lord who raises this glorious King to His people; comp.
+John iii. 16. The zeal in itself is only _energy_; the sphere of its
+exercise is, in every instance, determined by the context. In Exod. xv.
+5; Deut. iv. 24; Nah. i. 2, the zeal is the energy of wrath. In the
+passage before us, as in the Song of Solomon viii. 6, and in chap.
+xxxvii. 32: "For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and escaped
+ones out of Mount Zion; the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do this,"
+the zeal of God means the energetic character of His love to Zion.
+
+We must, in conclusion, still make a few remarks, on the interpretation
+of vers. 5 and 6. The older interpreters were unanimous in referring
+these verses to the Messiah. Even by the Jews, this explanation was
+abandoned at a subsequent period only. To the Messiah this passage is
+referred by the Chaldean Paraphrast, by the Commentary on Genesis known
+by the name _Breshith Rabbah_ in the exposition of Genesis xli. 44 (see
+_Raim. Martini Pugio fidei_, Vol. iii. sec. 3, chap. xiv. Sec. 6), by
+Rabbi _Jose Galilaeus_ in the book _Ekha Rabbati_, a Commentary on
+Lamentations (see _Raim. Matt._ iii. 3 chap. 4, Sec. 13). _Ben Sira_ (fol.
+40 ed., Amstel. 1679), mentions among the eight names of the Messiah,
+the following from the passage before us: Wonderful, Counsellor, El
+Gibbor, Prince of Peace. But the late Jewish interpreters found it
+objectionable that the Messiah, in opposition to their doctrinal views,
+was here described as God; for doctrinal reasons, therefore, they gave
+up the received interpretation, and sought to adapt the passage to
+Hezekiah. Among these, however, _Rabbi Lipmann_ allows the Messianic
+explanation to a certain degree to remain. Acknowledging that the
+prophecy could not refer exclusively to Hezekiah, he extends it to all
+the successors from the House of David, including the Messiah, by whom
+it is to attain its most perfect fulfilment. Among Christian
+interpreters, _Grotius_ was the first to abandon the Messianic
+explanation. Even _Clericus_ acknowledges that the predicates are
+applicable to Hezekiah "_sensu admodum diluto_" only. At the time when
+Rationalism had the ascendancy, it became pretty current to explain
+them of Hezekiah. _Gesenius_ modified this view by supposing that the
+Prophet had connected his Messianic wishes and expectations with
+Hezekiah, and [Pg 94] expected their realization by him. At present
+this view is nearly abandoned; after _Gesenius_, _Hendewerk_ is the
+only one who still endeavours to defend it.
+
+Against the application to Hezekiah even this single argument is
+decisive, that a glory is here spoken of, which is to be bestowed
+especially upon Galilee which belonged to the kingdom of the ten
+tribes. _Farther_--Although the prophecy be considered as a human
+foreboding only, how could the Prophet, to whom, everywhere else such a
+sharp eye is ascribed, that, from it, they endeavour to explain his
+fulfilled prophecies,--how could the Prophet have expected that
+Hezekiah, who was at that time a boy of about nine years of age, and
+who appeared under such unfavourable circumstances, should realize the
+hopes which he here utters in reference to the world's power, should
+conquer that power definitively and for ever, should infinitely extend
+his kingdom, and establish an everlasting dominion? How could he have
+ascribed divine attributes to Hezekiah who, in his human weakness,
+stood before him? _Finally_--The undeniable agreement of the prophecy
+before us with other Messianic passages, especially with Ps. lxxii. and
+Is. xi., where even _Gesenius_ did not venture to maintain the
+reference to Hezekiah, is decidedly in opposition to the reference to
+Hezekiah.
+
+
+
+
+                           THE TWIG OF JESSE.
+                           (Chap. xi., xii.)
+
+
+These chapters constitute part of a larger whole which begins with
+chap. x. 5. With regard to the time of the composition of this
+discourse, it appears, from chap. x. 9-11, that Samaria was already
+conquered. The prophecy, therefore, cannot be prior to the sixth year
+of Hezekiah. On the other hand, the defeat of the Assyrian host, which,
+under Sennacherib, invaded Judah, is announced as being still future.
+The prophecy, accordingly, falls into the period between the 6th and
+the 14th year of Hezekiah's reign. From the circumstance that in it [Pg
+95] the king of Asshur is represented as being about to march against
+Jerusalem, it is commonly inferred that it was uttered shortly before
+the destruction of the Assyrian host, and hence, belongs to the
+fourteenth year of Hezekiah. But this ground is not very safe. It would
+certainly be overlooking the liveliness with which the prophets beheld
+and represented future things as present; it would be confounding the
+_ideal_ Present with the _actual_, if we were to infer from vers. 28-32
+that the Assyrian army must already have reached the single stations
+mentioned there. The utmost that we are entitled to infer from this
+liveliness of description is, that the Assyrian army was already on its
+march; but not even that can be inferred with certainty. In favour of
+the immediate nearness of the danger, however, is the circumstance
+that, in the prophecy, the threatening is kept so much in the
+background; that, from the outset, it is comforting and encouraging,
+and begins at once with the announcement of Asshur's destruction, and
+Judah's deliverance. This seems to suggest that the place which,
+everywhere else, is occupied by the threatening, was here taken by the
+events themselves; so that of the two enemies of salvation, proud
+security and despair, the latter only was here to be met. The prophecy
+before us opens the whole series of the prophecies out of the 14th year
+of Hezekiah, the most remarkable year of the Prophet's life, rich in
+the revelations of divine glory, in which his prophecy flowed in full
+streams, and spread on all sides.
+
+The prophecy divides itself into two parts. The first, chap. x. 5-34,
+contains the threatening against Asshur, who was just preparing to
+inflict the deadly blow upon the people of God. The fact that in chap.
+xi. we have not an absolutely new beginning before us, sufficiently
+appears from the general analogy, according to which, as a rule, the
+Messianic prophecy does not _begin_ the prophetical discourse; but
+still more clearly from the circumstance that chap. xi. begins with
+"and;" to which argument may still be added the fact that the figure in
+the first verse of this chapter evidently refers to the figure in the
+last verse of the preceding chapter. Asshur had there been represented
+as a stately forest which was to be cut down by the hand of the Lord;
+while here the house of David appears as a stem cut down, from the
+roots of which a small twig shall [Pg 96] come forth, which, although
+unassuming at first, is to grow up into a fruit-bearing tree. The
+purpose of the whole discourse was to strengthen and comfort believers
+on the occasion of Asshur's inroad into the country; to bring it home
+to the convictions of those who were despairing of the Kingdom of God,
+that He who is in the midst of them is greater than the world with all
+its apparent power; and thereby to awaken and arouse them to resign
+themselves entirely into the hands of their God. It is for this purpose
+that the Prophet first describes the catastrophe of Asshur; that, then,
+in chap. xi., he points to the highest glorification which in future is
+destined for the Church of God by the appearance of Christ, in order
+that she may the more clearly perceive that every fear regarding her
+existence is folly.
+
+The connection of the two passages appears so much the more plainly
+when we consider, that that which, in chap. x., was said of Asshur, and
+especially the close in vers. 33 and 34: "Behold Jehovah of hosts cuts
+down the branches with power, and those of a high stature shall be hewn
+down, and the high ones shall be made low. And He cuts down the
+thickets of the forest with the iron, and Lebanon shall fall by the
+glorious one," _refers to him as the representative of the whole
+world's power_; that the defeat of Sennacherib before Jerusalem is to
+be considered as the nearest fulfilment only, but not as the _full_ and
+_real_ fulfilment.
+
+From the family of David sunk into total obscurity--such is the
+substance--there shall, at some future period, rise a Ruler who, at
+first low and without appearance, shall attain to great glory and
+bestow rich blessings,--a Ruler furnished with the fulness of the
+Spirit of God and of His gifts, filled with the fear of God, looking
+sharply and deeply, and not blinded by any appearance, just and an
+helper of the oppressed, an almighty avenger of wickedness, ver. 1-5.
+By him all the consequences of the fall, even down to the irrational
+creation, in the world of men and of nature, shall be removed, ver.
+6-9. Around Him the Gentiles, formerly addicted to idols, shall gather,
+ver. 10. In ver. 11-16 the Prophet describes what he is to do for
+Israel, to whom the discourse was in the first instance addressed, and
+upon whom it was to impress the word: "Fear not." Under Him they obtain
+deliverance [Pg 97] from the condition of being scattered and exiled
+from the face of the Lord, the removal of pernicious dissensions,
+conquering power in relation to the world which assails them, and the
+removal of all obstacles to salvation by the powerful arm of the Lord.
+
+The reference of the prophecy to the Messiah is, among all the
+explanations, the most ancient. We find it in the Targum of Jonathan,
+who thus renders the first verse: [Hebrew: vipq mlka mbnvhi diwi vmwiHa
+mbni bnvhi itrbi]. St. Paul quotes this prophecy in Rom. xv. 12, and
+proves from it the calling of the Gentiles. In 2 Thes. ii. 8 he quotes
+the words of ver. 4, and assigns to Christ what is said in it. In Rev.
+v. 5, xxii. 16, Christ, with reference to ver. 1 and 10, is called the
+root of David. The Messianic explanation was defended by most of the
+older Jewish interpreters, especially by _Jarchi_, _Abarbanel_, and
+_Kimchi_.[1] It is professed even by most of the rationalistic
+interpreters, by the modern ones especially, without any exception
+(_Eichhorn_, _De Wette_, _Gesenius_, _Hitzig_, _Maurer_, _Ewald_),
+although, it is true, they distinguish between Jesus Christ and the
+Messiah of the Old Testament,--as, _e.g._, _Gesenius_ has said:
+"Features such as those in ver. 4 and 5 exclude any other than the
+political Messiah, and King of the Israelitish state," and _Hitzig_: "A
+political Messiah whose attributes, especially those assigned to him
+ver. 3 and 4, are not applicable to Jesus."
+
+But the non-Messianic interpretation, too, has found its defenders.
+According to a statement of Theodoret, the passage was referred by the
+Jews to Zerubbabel.[2] Interpreters more numerous and distinguished
+have referred it to Hezekiah. This interpretation is mentioned as early
+as by _Ephraem Syrus_; among the Rabbis it was held by _Moses
+Hakkohen_, and _Abenezra_; among Christian interpreters, _Grotius_ was
+the first who professed it, but in such a manner that he assumed a
+higher reference to Christ. ("The Prophet returns to praise Hezekiah in
+words under which the higher praises of Christ are concealed.") He was
+followed by _Dathe_. The exclusive reference to Hezekiah was maintained
+by _Hermann v. d._ [Pg 98] _Hardt_, in a treatise published in 1695,
+which, however, was confiscated; then, by a number of interpreters at
+the commencement of the age of Rationalism, at the head of whom was
+_Bahrdt_. Among the expositors of the last decade, this interpretation
+is held by _Hendewerk_ alone.
+
+The reasons for the Messianic interpretation, and against making
+Hezekiah the subject of the prophecy, are, among others, the
+following:--
+
+1. _The comparison of the parallel passages._ The Messiah is here
+represented under the figure of a shoot or sprout. This has become so
+common, as a designation of the Messiah, that the name "Sprout" has
+almost become a proper name of the Messiah; compare the remarks on
+chap. iv. 2. A striking resemblance to ver. 1 is presented by chap.
+lviii. 2, where the Messiah, to express His lowliness at the beginning
+of His course, is, in the same manner as here, compared to a feeble and
+tender twig. Ps. lxxii. and the prophecies in chap. ii., iv., vii.,
+ix., and Mic. v., present so many agreements and coincidences with the
+prophecy under consideration, that they must necessarily be referred to
+one and the same subject. The reception of the Gentile nations into the
+Kingdom of God, the holiness of its members, the cessation of all
+hostilities, are features which constantly recur in the Messianic
+prophecies.
+
+2. There are features interwoven with the prophecy which lead to a more
+than human dignity of its subject. Even this circumstance is of
+importance here, that the _whole earth_ appears as the sphere of His
+dominion. Still more distinctly is the human sphere overstepped by the
+announcement that, under His government, _sin_, yea, even all
+destruction in the outward nature is to cease, and the earth is to
+return to the happy condition in which it was before the fall.
+According to ver. 4, He slays the wicked in the whole earth by His mere
+word,--a thing which elsewhere is said of _God_ only; and according to
+ver. 10, the heathen shall render Him religious reverence.
+
+3. A _future_ scion of David is here promised. For [Hebrew: vica] in
+ver. 1 must be taken as a _praeteritum propheticum_, as is evident from
+its being connected with the preceding chapter, which has to do with
+future things, and in which the preterites have a prophetic meaning; as
+also by the analogy of the following preterites from which this can by
+no means be separated. But [Pg 99] at the time when this prophecy was
+composed, Hezekiah had long ago entered upon the government.
+
+4. The circumstances under which the Prophet makes the King appear are
+altogether different from those at the time of Hezekiah. According to
+ver. 1 and 10, the royal house of David would have entirely declined,
+and sunk into the obscurity of private life, at the time when the
+Promised One would appear. The Messiah is there represented as a tender
+twig which springs forth from the roots of a tree cut down. In the
+circumstance, too, that the stem is not called after David, but after
+Jesse, it is intimated that the royal family is then to have sunk back
+into the obscurity of private life. This does not apply to Hezekiah,
+under whom the Davidic dynasty maintained its dignity, but to Christ
+only. _Farther_: In ver. 11 there is an announcement of the return of
+not only the members of the kingdom of the ten tribes, but also of the
+members of the kingdom of Judah from all the countries in which they
+were dispersed. This must refer to a far later time than that of
+Hezekiah; for at his time no carrying away of the inhabitants of Judah
+had taken place. This argument is conclusive also against the false
+modified Messianic explanation as it has been advanced by _Ewald_,
+according to which the Prophet is supposed to have expected that the
+Messiah would appear immediately after the judgment upon the Assyrians,
+and after the conversion and reform of those in the Church who had been
+spared in the judgment. The facts mentioned show that between the
+appearance of the Messiah, and the Present and immediate Future, there
+lay to the Prophet still a wide interval in which an entire change of
+the present state of things was to take place. Ver. 11 is here of
+special importance. For this verse opens up to us the prospect of a
+whole series of catastrophes to be inflicted upon Israel by the world's
+powers, all of which are already to have taken place at the time of the
+King's appearance, and which lay beyond the historical horizon at the
+time of the Prophet.
+
+A certain amount of truth, indeed, lies at the foundation of the
+explanation which refers the prophecy to Hezekiah. The fundamental
+thought of the prophecy before us: "The exaltation of the world's
+power, is a prophecy of its abasement; the abasement of the Davidic
+Kingdom is a prophecy of its exaltation," [Pg 100] was, in a prelude,
+to be realized even at that time. But the Prophet does not limit
+himself to these feeble beginnings. He points to the infinitely greater
+realization of this idea in the distant future, where the abasement
+should be much deeper, but the exaltation also infinitely higher. To
+him who had first, by a living faith, laid hold of Christ's appearance,
+it must be easy, even in the present difficulty, to hope for the lower
+salvation.
+
+The distinction between the "political Messiah" of the prophecy before
+us, and "Jesus of Nazareth"--a distinction got up by Rationalism--rests
+chiefly upon the fact that Rationalism knows Christ as the _Son of Man_
+only, and is entirely ignorant of His true eternal Kingdom. Hence a
+prophecy which, except the intimation, in ver. 1, of His lowliness at
+first, refers altogether to the glorified Christ, could not but appear
+as inapplicable. But it is just by ver. 4, to which they chiefly
+appeal, that a "political Messiah" is excluded; for to such an one the
+words: "He smiteth the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the
+breath of His lips He slayeth the wicked" do not in the least apply.
+And so likewise vers. 6-9 altogether go beyond the sphere of a
+political Messiah, All that at first sight seems to lead to such an one
+belongs to the imagery which was, and could not fail to be, taken from
+the predecessors and types on the throne of David, since Christ was to
+be represented as He in whom the Davidic Kingdom attains to its full
+truth and glory.
+
+In the whole section, the Redeemer appears as a _King_. This is
+altogether a matter of course, for He forms the antithesis to the king
+of Asshur. It is quite in vain that _Umbreit_ has endeavoured to bring
+political elements into the description. Thereby the sense is
+essentially altered. We must keep closely in view the Prophet's
+starting-point. Before those who were filled with cares and fears, lest
+the Davidic Kingdom should be overturned by the Assyrian kingdom, he
+holds up the bright image of the Kingdom of David, in its last
+completion. When they had received that into their hearts, the king of
+Asshur could not fail to appear to them in a light altogether
+different, as a miserable wretch. The giant at once dwindled down into
+a contemptible dwarf, and with tears still [Pg 101] in their eyes they
+could not avoid laughing at themselves for having stood so much in awe
+of him.
+
+As is commonly the case in the Messianic prophecies, so here, too, no
+attention is paid to the development of Christ's Kingdom in time.
+Everything, therefore, is fulfilled only as to its beginning; and the
+complete fulfilment still stands out for that future in which, after
+the fulness of the Gentiles has been brought in, and apostate Israel
+has been converted, the consequences of the fall shall, in the outward
+nature also, be removed.
+
+Ver. 1. "_And there cometh forth a twig from the stump of Jesse, and a
+branch from his roots shall bear fruit._"
+
+The circumstance that the words in the first verse are completed in the
+number seven, divided into three and four, intimates that the Prophet
+here enters upon the territory of the revelation of a mystery of the
+Kingdom of God. Totally different--so the Prophet begins--from the fate
+of Asshur, just now proclaimed, shall that of the royal house of David
+be. Asshur shall be humbled at a time when he is most elevated. Lebanon
+falls through the mighty One: but the house of David shall be exalted
+at a time when he is most humbled. Who then would tremble and be
+afraid, although it go downward? _Luther_ says: "This is a short
+summary of the whole of theology and of the works of God, that Christ
+did not come till the trunk had died, and was altogether in a hopeless
+condition; that hence, when all hope is gone, we are to believe that it
+is the time of salvation, and that God is then nearest when He seems to
+be farthest off!" The same contrast appears in Ezek. xvii. 24. The Lord
+brings down the high tree of the world's power, and exalts the low tree
+of the Davidic house. The word [Hebrew: gze] does not mean "stem" in
+general, as several rationalistic interpreters, and _Meier_ last, have
+asserted, but rather stump, _truncus_, [Greek: kormos], as _Aquila_,
+_Symmachus_, _Theodotion_, translate. This is proved from the following
+reasons: (1) the derivation from [Hebrew: gze], in Arabic _secuit_,
+equivalent to [Hebrew: gde], "to cut off," chap. ix. 9; x. 33. The
+[Hebrew: gdeiM] in latter passage clearly refers to the [Hebrew: gze]
+here. The proud trees of Asshur shall be _cut down_; from the cut down
+trunk of David there shall grow up a _new_ tree overshadowing the
+earth, and offering glorious fruits to them that dwell on it.--(2) The
+_usus loquendi_. The signification, "stump," is, by [Pg 102] the
+context, required in the two passages in which the word [Hebrew: gze]
+still occurs. In Job xiv. 8, it is obvious. The whole passage there
+from vers. 7-9 illustrates the figurative representation in the verse
+under review. "For there is hope of a tree; if it be _cut down_ it will
+sprout again, and its tender branch does not cease. Though the root
+thereof wax old in the earth, and the _stump_ thereof die in the dust,
+through the scent of waters it buds, and brings forth boughs, like one
+newly planted." We have here the figure of our verse carried out. That
+which water is to the natural tree decaying, the Spirit and grace of
+God are to the dying tree, cut down to the very roots, of the Davidic
+family. In the second passage. Is. xl. 23, 24, it is only by a false
+interpretation that [Hebrew: gze] has been understood of the stem in
+general. "He bringeth princes to nothing, He destroyeth the kings of
+the earth. They are not planted; they are not sown; their _stump_ does
+not take root in the earth." The Prophet, having previously proved
+God's elevation over the creature, from the creation and preservation
+of the world, now proves it from the nothingness of all that which on
+earth has the greatest appearance of independent power. It costs Him no
+effort to destroy all earthly greatness which places itself in
+opposition to Him. He blows on them, and they have disappeared without
+leaving any trace. If God's will be not with it, princes will not
+attain to any firm footing and prosperity (they are not planted and
+sown); they are like a cut-down stem which has no more power to take
+root in the earth. A tree not planted dries up; corn not sown does not
+produce fruit; a cut down tree does not take root.--(3.) The
+connection. In the second member of the verse we read: "A branch from
+his roots shall bear fruit." Unless we mean to adopt the altogether
+unsuitable expedient of explaining it of a wild twig which shoots
+forth from the roots of a still standing tree, we cannot but think of
+a stem cut down to the very root. Against the opinion of _Hendewerk_
+who remarks: "An indirect shoot from the root which comes forth from
+the root through the stem;" and against _Meier's_ opinion: "The root
+corresponds with the stem, and both together form the living tree,"
+it is decisive, that in ver. 10, the Messiah is simply, and without
+any mention being made of the stem, designated as [Hebrew: wrw]
+"a shoot from the root." Farther, chap. liii. 2, where the Messiah
+is represented [Pg 103] as a shoot from the root out of a dry
+ground.--(4.) It is only when [Hebrew: gze] has the meaning, "stump,"
+that it can be accounted for why the [Hebrew: gze] of Jesse, and not of
+David, is spoken of--(5.) The supposition that the Messiah shall be
+born at the time of the deepest humiliation of the Davidic family,
+after the entire loss of the royal dignity, pervades all the other
+prophetical writings. That Micah views the Davidic family as entirely
+sunk at the time of Christ's appearance, we showed in vol. I. p. 508-9.
+Compare farther the remarks on Amos ix. 11, and those on Matth. ii. 23
+immediately following.--_Hitzig_ is obliged to confess that [Hebrew:
+gze] can designate the cut-off stem only; but maintains that Jesse, as
+an individual long ago dead, is designated as a cut-off tree. But
+against this opinion is the relation which, as we proved, exists
+between this verse and the last verses of the preceding chapter; the
+undeniable correspondence of [Hebrew: gze] with [Hebrew: gdeiM] in
+chap. x. 33. In that case the antithesis also, so evidently intended by
+the Prophet, would be altogether lost. It is not by any means a thing
+so uncommon, that a man who is already dead should have a glorious
+descendant. To this it may further be added that, according to this
+supposition, the circumstance is not all accounted for, that Jesse is
+mentioned, and not David, the royal ancestor, as is done everywhere
+else. _Finally_--In this very forced explanation, the parallel passages
+are altogether left out of view, in which likewise the doctrine is
+contained that, at the time of Christ's appearance, the Davidic family
+should have altogether sunk. The reason of all these futile attempts at
+explaining away the sense so evident and obvious, is none other than
+the fear of acknowledging in the prophecy an element which goes beyond
+the territory of patriotic fancy and human knowledge. But this dark
+fear should here so much the more be set aside, that, according to
+other passages also, the Prophet undeniably had the knowledge and
+conviction that Israel's course would be more and more downward before
+it attained, in Christ, to the full height of its destiny. We need
+remind only of the prophecies in chap. v. and vi.; and it is so much
+the more natural here to compare the latter of them, that, in it, in
+ver. 13, Israel, at the time of the appearing of the Messianic Kingdom,
+is represented as a felled tree,--a fact which has for its ground the
+sinking of the [Pg 104] Davidic race which is here announced. We
+farther direct attention to the circumstance that in our prophecy
+itself, Israel's being carried away into all the countries of the earth
+is foreseen as future,--a circumstance which is so much the more
+analogous, that there also, as here, the foreknowledge clothes itself
+in the form of the _supposition_ and not of express announcement. With
+regard to the latter point, it may still be remarked that Amos also, in
+chap. ix. 11, by speaking of the raising up of the tabernacle of David
+which is fallen, anticipates its future lowliness.--The question still
+arises:--Why is it that the Messiah is here designated as a rod of
+Jesse, while elsewhere, His origin is commonly traced back to David?
+_Umbreit_ is of opinion that the mention of Jesse may be explained from
+the Prophet's desire to trace the pedigree as far back as possible; in
+its apparent extinction, the family of the Messiah was to be pointed
+out as a _very old_ one. But if this had been his intention, he would
+have gone back beyond Jesse to the older ancestors whom the Book of
+Ruth mentions; and if he had been so anxious to honour the family of
+the Messiah, it would, at all events, have been far more suitable to
+mention David than Jesse, who was only one degree removed from him. The
+sound view has been long ago given by Calvin, who says: "The Prophet
+does not mention David; but rather Jesse. For so much was the dignity
+of that family diminished, that it seemed to be a rustic, ignoble
+family rather than a royal one." It was appropriate that that family,
+upon whom was a second time to be fulfilled the declaration in Ps.
+cxiii. 7, 8: "He raiseth up the poor out of the dust; He lifteth up
+the needy out of the dunghill, that He may set him with princes,
+with the princes of His people,"--in which, the second time, the
+transition should take place from the low condition to the royal
+dignity, should not be mentioned according to its royal, but according
+to its rustic character. This explanation of the fact is confirmed by
+the circumstance that it agrees exceedingly well with the right
+interpretation of [Hebrew: gze]: Jesse is mentioned and not David,
+because the Davidic dignity had become a [Hebrew: gze]. The mention of
+Jesse's name thus explained, agrees, then, with the birth of Christ at
+Bethlehem, announced by Isaiah's cotemporary, Micah. Christ was to be
+born at Bethlehem, because that residence was peculiar to the [Pg 105]
+family of David during its lowliness; comp. vol. I., p. 508-9.--The
+second hemistich of the verse may either be explained: "a twig from his
+roots shall bear fruit," or, as agrees better with the accents: "a twig
+shall from his roots bear fruit." The sense, at all events, is: A shoot
+proceeding from his roots (_i.e._, the cut-off stem of Jesse) shall
+grow up into a stately fruitful tree; or: As a tree cut down throws out
+from its roots a young shoot which, at first inconsiderable, grows up
+into a stately fruit-bearing tree, so from the family buried in
+contempt and lowliness, a _King_ shall arise who, at first humble and
+unheeded,[3] shall afterwards attain to great glory. Parallel is Ezek.
+xvii. 22-24. The Messiah is there compared to a tender twig which is
+planted by the Lord on a high hill, and sends forth branches and bears
+fruit, so that all the birds dwell in the shadow of its branches.--It
+has now become current to explain: "A branch breaks forth or sprouts;"
+but that explanation is against the _usus loquendi_. [Hebrew: prh] is
+never equivalent to [Hebrew: prH] "to break forth;" it has only the
+signification "to bear," "to bear fruit," "to be fruitful." _Gesenius_
+who, in the later editions of his translation, here explains [Hebrew:
+prh] by, "to break forth," knows, in the _Thesaurus_, of no other
+signification. In the passage of Ezekiel referred to, which may be
+considered as a commentary on the verse before us, [Hebrew: ewh pri]
+corresponds to the [Hebrew: iprh] here. The change of the tense, too,
+suggests that [Hebrew: iprh] does not contain a mere repetition, but a
+progress. This progress is necessary for the sense of the whole verse.
+For it cannot be the point in question that, in general, a shoot comes
+forth; but the point is that this shoot shall attain to importance and
+glory. [Hebrew: iprh] comprehends and expresses in one word that which,
+in the subsequent verses of the section, is carried out in detail.
+First, there is the bestowal of the Spirit of the Lord whereby He is
+enabled to bear fruit; then, the fruit-bearing itself.
+
+We here subjoin the discussion of the New Testament passage which
+refers to this verse.
+
+
+
+[Footnote 1: Their testimony is collected by _Seb. Edzardi_ in the
+treatise: _Cap. xi. Esaiae Christo vindicatum adversus Grotium et
+sectatores ejus, imprimos Herm. v. d. Hardt._ Hamburg 1696.]
+
+[Footnote 2: "The madness of the Jews is indeed to be lamented who
+refer this prophecy to Zerubbabel."]
+
+[Footnote 3: Although _Umbreit_ denies it, yet this is implied in the
+designation of the Messiah as a shoot from the roots. Moreover, the
+lowliness of the Messiah himself at His appearance is a necessary
+consequence of the lowliness of His family; and it is a bad middle
+course to acknowledge the latter and deny the former. To this may,
+moreover, be added the parallel passage Is. liii. 2.]
+
+
+
+[Pg 106]
+
+
+
+
+                           ON MATTHEW II. 23.
+
+
+[Greek: Kai elthon katokesen eis polin legomenen Nazaret. hopos
+plerothe to rhethen dia ton propheton, hoti Nazoraios klethesetai.]
+
+We here premise an investigation as regards the name of the town of
+Nazareth. Since that name occurs in the New Testament only, different
+views might arise as to its orthography and etymology. One view is
+this: The name was properly and originally [Hebrew: ncr]. Being the
+name of a town, it received, in Aramean, in addition, the feminine
+termination [Hebrew: a]. And, finally, on account of the original
+appellative signification of the word, a [Hebrew: t], the designation
+of the _status emphaticus_ of feminine nouns in [Hebrew: a], was
+sometimes added. We have an analogous case in the name _Dalmanutha_,
+the same place which, with the Talmudist, is called [Hebrew: clmvN].
+Compare _Lightfoot decas chorog. Marc. praem., opp._ II., p. 411 sqq.
+So it is likewise probably that [Greek: gabbatha], [Hebrew: gbta] is
+formed from the masculine [Hebrew: gb], _dorsum_. Our view is that the
+original name was _Nezer_, that this form of the name was in use along
+with that which received a [Hebrew: t] added, and that this [Hebrew: t]
+served for the designation of the _status emphaticus_ only; or also, if
+we wish to take our stand upon the Hebrew form, was a mere hardening of
+the [Hebrew: h] Femin. (either of which suppositions is equally
+suitable for our purpose); and this our view we prove by the following
+arguments: 1. The testimonies of the Jews. _David de Pomis_ (in _De
+Dieu_, _critic. sacr._ on M. II. 23) says: [Hebrew: ncri mi wnvld beir
+ncr hglil rHvq mirvwliM drK wlwt imiM] "A Nazarene is he who is born in
+the town of _Nezer_, in Galilee, three days'journey from Jerusalem."
+In the Talmud, in _Breshith Rabba_, and in _Jalkut Shimeoni_ on Daniel,
+the contemptuous name of _Ben Nezer_, _i.e._, the Nazarene, is given to
+Christ; compare the passages in _Buxtorf_, _lex. c._ 1383; in
+_Lightfoot_, _disquis. chorog. Johan. praem. opp._ II., 578 sqq.;
+_Eisenmenger_, I., p. 3139. It is true, _Gieseler_ (on Matth. ii. 23,
+and in the _Studien u. Kritiken_, 1831, III. S. 591) has tried to give
+a different interpretation to this appellation. He is of opinion that
+this appellation has reference to Is. xi. 1; that it had come to the
+Jews from the Christians, who called [Pg 107] their Messiah [Hebrew: bN
+ncr], because He was He who had been promised by Isaiah. But this
+supposition is correct thus far only, that, no doubt, this appellation
+was chosen by the Jews with a reference to the circumstance that the
+Christians maintained that Jesus was the [Hebrew: ncr] announced by
+Isaiah, just as, for the very same reason, they also assign to Him the
+names [Hebrew: ncr napvP] "adulterous branch," and [Hebrew: ncr nteb]
+"abominable branch" (from Is. xiv. 19); comp. _Eisenmenger_ I. S. 137,
+138. But _Gieseler_ is wrong in deriving, from this reference to Is.
+xi. 1, the origin of the appellation, be it properly or mainly only.
+Against that even the very appellation is decisive, for in that case it
+ought to have been _Nezer_ only, and not _Ben-Nezer_. _Gieseler_, it is
+true, asserts that he in whom a certain prophecy was fulfilled is
+called the "Son of the prophecy," and in confirmation of this _usus
+loquendi_ he refers to the circumstance that the pseudo-Messiah under
+Hadrian assumed, with a reference to the [Hebrew: kvkb] in Numb. xxiv.
+17, the name [Hebrew: bN kvkb] or [Hebrew: bN kvkba], in so far as the
+star there promised had appeared in him. But this confirmation is only
+apparent; it can as little be proved from it, that Christ could be
+called _Ben-Nezer_ because He was He in whom the prophecy of the
+_Nezer_ was fulfilled, as it can be proved from the appellation _Ben
+Nezer_ that that pseudo-Messiah could be called _Bar Cochba_, only
+because it was believed that in him the prophecy of the star was
+fulfilled. _Reland_ has already proved (Geogr. II. p. 727) that
+_Barcochba_ probably had that name because he was a native of Cocab, a
+town or district in the country beyond Jordan. And the reason why he
+laid such special stress upon that descent was, that he sought a deeper
+meaning in this agreement of the name of his birth-place with the
+designation of the subject of the prophecy in Numb. xxiv. Moreover the
+supposition that, by the Jews, he in whom some prophecy was fulfilled,
+was called the son of that prophecy; that, _e.g._, the Messiah, the
+Servant of God, the Prince of Peace were called the Son of the Messiah,
+&c., is  not only destitute of all foundation, but is, even in itself,
+most improbable. To this must still be added the consideration that
+this interpretation of _Ben-Nezer_ is opposed by the constant
+interpretation of the Jews. _Jarchi_, in a gloss on that passage of the
+Talmud referred to, explains _Ben Nezer_ by: "He who has come from the
+town of Nazareth." _Abarbanel_ [Pg 108] in his book _Majenehajeshua_,
+after having quoted from _Jalkut Shimeoni_ the passage in question,
+observes: "Remark well how they have explained the little horn in
+Daniel vii. 8, of the _Ben Nezer_ who is Jesus the _Nazarene_." From
+the Lexicon _Aruch_ which forms a weighty authority, Buxtorf quotes:
+"[Hebrew: ncr ncri hmqll] Nezer, (or Ben Nezer), is the accursed
+_Nazarene_." _Finally_--It could not well be supposed that the Jews, in
+a contest where they heap the most obnoxious blasphemies on Christ,
+should have given Him an honourable epithet which they had simply
+received from the Christians.
+
+2. The result which we have obtained is confirmed by the statements of
+Christian writers. Even at the time of _Eusebius_ (Hist. Eccles. i. 7),
+and of _Jerome_, the place was called _Nazara_. The latter says:
+"_Nazareth_: there exists up to this day in Galilee a village opposite
+Legio, fifteen miles to the east of it, near Mount Tabor, called
+_Nazara_" (comp. _Reland_ i. S. 497). In _Epistol._ xvii. ad
+_Marcellum_ he expressly identifies the name with _Nezer_, by saying:
+"Let us go to Nazareth, and according to a right interpretation of that
+name, we shall see there the flower of Galilee."
+
+3. To this may be added, that the _Gentilitia_ formed from Nazareth can
+be explained only when the [Hebrew: t] is not considered as belonging
+to the original form of the name. For, in that case, it must
+necessarily be found again in the _Gentilitia_, just as, _e.g._, from
+[Hebrew: entt] we could not by any means form [Hebrew: enti], but only
+[Hebrew: entti]. In the New Testament the two forms [Greek: Nazoraios]
+and [Greek: Nazarenos] only occur, never the form [Greek: Nazaretaios].
+_Gieseler_ has felt the difficulty which these names present to the
+common hypothesis, but has endeavoured (l. c. p. 592) to remove them by
+the conjecture that this form, so very peculiar, had been coined by a
+consideration of [Hebrew: ncr] which the first Christians were
+accustomed to bring into connection with [Hebrew: ncrt]. But this
+conjecture would, at most, be admissible, only if, with the Jews too,
+the form [Hebrew: ncri] were not found throughout without a [Hebrew:
+t], and if the Arabic form also were not entirely analogous.[1]
+
+[Pg 109]
+
+The question now is:--In what sense was [Hebrew: ncr] assigned as a
+_nomen proprium_ to a place in Galilee? Certainly, we must at once
+reject the supposition of _Jerome_ that Nazareth was thus called, as
+being "the flower of Galilee," partly because [Hebrew: ncr] never
+occurs in this signification; partly because it is not conceivable that
+the place received a name which is due to it [Greek: kat'anti phrasin]
+only. It is much more probable that the place received the name on
+account of its smallness: a weak twig in contrast to a stately tree.
+In this signification [Hebrew: ncr] occurs in Is. xi. 1, xiv. 19, and
+in the Talmudical _usus loquendi_ where [Hebrew: ncrim] signifies
+"_virgulta salicum decorticata, vimina ex quibus corbes fiunt._" There
+was so much the greater reason for giving the place this name that
+people had the symbol before their eyes in its environs; for the
+chalk-hills around Nazareth are over-grown with low bushes (comp.
+Burkhardt II. s. 583). That which these bushes were when compared with
+the stately trees which adorned other parts of the country, Nazareth
+was when compared with other cities.
+
+This _nomen_ given to the place on account of its small beginnings,
+resembling, in this respect, the name of Zoar, _i.e._, a small town,
+was, at the same time, an _omen_ of its future condition. The weak twig
+never grew up into a tree. Nowhere in the Old Testament is Nazareth
+mentioned, probably because it was built only after the return from the
+captivity. Neither is it mentioned in _Josephus_. It was not, like most
+of the other towns in Palestine, ennobled by any recollection from the
+olden times. Yea, as it would appear, a special contempt was resting
+upon it, besides the general contempt in which all Galilee was held;
+just as every land has some place to which a disgrace attaches, which
+has often been called forth by causes altogether trifling. This appears
+not only from the question of Nathanael, in John i. 47: "Can there any
+good thing come out of Nazareth?" but also from the fact, that from the
+most ancient times the Jews thought to inflict upon Christ the greatest
+disgrace, by calling Him the Nazarene, whilst, in later times, the
+disgrace which rested on all Galilee [Pg 110] was removed by the
+circumstance that the most celebrated Jewish academy, that of Tiberias,
+belonged to it.
+
+Let us now examine in how far Christ's abode at Nazareth served the
+purpose of fulfilling the Old Testament prophecy. It is, throughout,
+the doctrine of the prophets, that the Messiah, descending from the
+family of David, sunk into utter lowliness, would at first appear
+without any outward rank and dignity. The fundamental type for all
+other passages here concerned is contained in that passage of Is. xi.
+1, now under consideration: "And there cometh forth a twig from the
+stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit," which is
+strikingly illustrated in the following words of _Quenstedt_, in his
+_Dissertatio de Germine Jehovae_, in the _Thesaurus theol. philol._ I.
+p. 1015: "The stem of Jesse which, from low beginnings, was, in David,
+raised to the glory of royal majesty, shall then not only be deprived
+of all royal dignity, and all outward splendour which it received in
+David, but shall again have been reduced to the private condition in
+which it was before David; so that it shall present the appearance of a
+stem deprived of all boughs and foliage, and having nothing left but
+the roots; nevertheless out of that stem thus reduced and cut off, and,
+as it appeared, almost dry, shall come forth a royal rod, and out of
+its roots shall grow the twig upon whom shall rest the Spirit of the
+Lord," &c. Quite in harmony with this, it is said in chap. liii. 2: "He
+grew up before the Lord as a tender twig, and as a root out of a dry
+ground." To [Hebrew: ncr], in chap. xi., corresponds [Hebrew: ivnq] in
+chap. liii.; to [Hebrew: HTr] the [Hebrew: wrw]; to the cut-off stem
+the dry land, with this difference, however, that by the latter
+designation, the low condition of the Servant of God, generally, is
+indicated; but His descent from the family of David sunk in lowliness,
+is not specially pointed at thereby, although it is necessarily implied
+in it. The same thought is further carried out in Ezek. xvii. 22-24. As
+the descendant of the family of David sank in lowliness, the Messiah
+appears in that passage as a small tender twig which is taken by the
+Lord from a high cedar, and, being planted upon a high mountain, growls
+up into a lofty tree, under which all the fowls dwell. In Jeremiah and
+Zechariah, the Messiah, with reference to the image of a cut-off tree
+used by Isaiah, is called the Sprout of David, or simply the Sprout;
+[Pg 111] compare remarks on Zech. iii. 8, vi. 12. All that is here
+required is certainly only to place beside one another, on the one
+hand, prophecy, and, on the other, history, in order clearly and
+evidently to point out the fulfilment of the former in the latter. It
+was not at Jerusalem, where there was the seat of His royal ancestor,
+where there were the thrones of His house (comp. Ps. cxxii.), that the
+Messiah took up his residence; but it was in the most despised place of
+the most despised province that, by divine Providence, He received His
+residence, after the predictions of the prophets had been fulfilled by
+His having been born at Bethlehem. The name of that place by which His
+lowliness was designated was the same as that by which Isaiah had
+designated the lowliness of the Messiah at His appearing.
+
+We have hitherto considered prophecy and fulfilment independently of
+the quotation by St. Matthew. Let us now add a few remarks upon the
+latter.
+
+1. It seems not to have been without reason that the wider formula of
+quotation: [Greek: to rhethen dia ton propheton] is here chosen,
+although _Jerome_ infers too much from it when he remarks: "If he had
+wished to refer to a distinct quotation from Scripture, he would never
+have said: 'As was spoken by the prophets,'but simply, 'as was said by
+the prophet.'By using prophets in the plural, he shows that it is the
+sense, and not the words which he has taken from Scripture." No doubt
+St. Matthew has one passage chiefly in view--that in Is. xi. 1, which,
+besides the general announcement of the Messiah's lowliness, contains,
+in addition, a special designation of it which is found again in the
+_nomen_ and _omen_ of his native place. This appears especially from
+the circumstance that, if it were otherwise, the quotation: in [Greek:
+hoti Nazoraios klethestai], would be inexplicable, since it is very
+forced to suppose that "Nazarene" here designates generally one low and
+despised.[2] But he chose the general formula of [Pg 112] quotation
+(comp. _Gersdorf_, _Beitraege zur Sprachcharacteristik_ 1. S. 136), in
+order thereby to intimate that in Christ's residence at Nazareth those
+prophecies, too, were at the same time fulfilled, which, in the
+essential point--in the announcement of Christ's lowliness--agree with
+that of Isaiah. But it is just this additional reference which shows
+that, to Matthew, this was indeed the essential point, and that the
+agreement of the name of the town with the name which Christ has in
+Isaiah, appears to him only as a remarkable outward representation of
+the close connection of prophecy and fulfilment; just as, indeed, every
+thing in the life of Christ appears to be brought about by the special
+direction of Divine providence.
+
+2. The phrase [Greek: hoti klethesetai] likewise is explained from the
+circumstance that Matthew does not restrict himself to the passage Is.
+xi. 1, but takes in, at the same time, all those other passages which
+have a similar meaning. From among them, it was from Zech. vi. 12:
+"Behold a man whose name is the Sprout," that the phrase [Greek: hoti
+klethesetai] flowed. There is hence no necessity for explaining this
+circumstance solely from the custom of the later Jews,[3] of claiming
+as the names of the Messiah all those expressions by which, in the Old
+Testament, His nature is designated, inasmuch as, in doing so, they
+followed the custom of the prophets themselves, who frequently bring
+forward as the name of the Messiah that which is merely one of His
+attributes. This hypothesis is inadmissible, because otherwise it would
+be difficult to point out any case in which the Evangelists had not
+admixed something of their own with a quotation which they announced as
+a literal one.
+
+[Pg 113]
+
+Ver. 2. "_And the Spirit of the Lord resteth upon Him, the Spirit of
+wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit
+of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord._"
+
+The Spirit of the Lord is the general, the principle; and the
+subsequent terms are the single forms in which he manifests himself,
+and works. But, on the other hand, in a formal point of view, the
+Spirit of the Lord is just co-ordinate with the Spirit of wisdom, &c.
+Some, indeed, explain: the Spirit of God, who is the Spirit of, &c.;
+but that this is inadmissible appears with sufficient evidence from
+the circumstance that, by such a view, the sacred number, seven,
+is destroyed, which, with evident intention, is completed in the
+enumeration; compare the _seven_ spirits of God in Rev. i. 4. To have
+the Spirit is the necessary condition of every important and effective
+ministry in the Kingdom of God, from which salvation is to come forth;
+comp. Num. xxvii. 18. It is especially the blessed administration of
+the regal office which depends upon the possession of the Spirit; comp.
+1 Sam. xvi. 13 ff. where it is said of David: "And Samuel took the horn
+of oil and anointed him: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon him
+from that day forward;" comp. 1 Sam. x. 6, 10. The circumstance that
+the Spirit of the Lord resteth upon the Messiah does not form a
+contradiction to His _divine nature_, which is intimated by his being
+born of the Virgin, chap. vii. 14, by the name [Hebrew: al gbvr] in
+chap. ix. 5, and elsewhere (comp. Vol. I., p. 490, 491), and is
+witnessed even in this prophecy itself; but, on the contrary, the
+pouring out of the Spirit fully and not by measure (John iii. 39) which
+is here spoken of, _implies_ the divine nature. In order to receive the
+Spirit of God in such a measure that He could baptize with the Holy
+Spirit (John i. 33), that out of His fulness all received (John i. 16),
+that, in consequence of His fulness of the Spirit overflowing from Him
+to the Church, the earth could be filled with the knowledge of the Lord
+as the waters covering the sea (ver. 9), He could not but be highly
+exalted above human nature. It was just because they remained limited
+to the insufficient substratum of human nature, that even the best
+kings, that even David, the man after God's own heart, received the
+Spirit in a scanty measure only, and were constantly in danger of [Pg
+114] losing again that which they possessed, as is shown by David's
+pitiful prayer: "Take not thy Holy Spirit from me" (Ps. li. 13). It was
+just for this reason, therefore, that the theocracy possessed in the
+kings a very sufficient organ of its realization, and that the stream
+of the divine blessings could not flow freely. In Matt. iii. 16:
+[Greek: kai eide to pneuma tou theou katabainon hosei peristeran kai
+erchomenon ep'auton], it is not the passage before us only which lies
+at the foundation, but also, and indeed pre-eminently, the parallel
+passage, chap. xlii. 1: "Behold my Servant whom I uphold, mine Elect in
+whom my soul delighteth; I put my Spirit upon Him," as is apparent from
+the circumstance that it is to this passage that the voice from heaven
+refers in Matt. iii. 17: [Greek: houtos estin ho huios mou ho agapetos
+en ho eudokesa]. But a reference to the passage before us we meet most
+decidedly in John i. 32, 33: [Greek: Tetheamai to pneuma katabainon
+hosei peristeran ex ouranou, kai emeinen ep'auton. Kago ouk edein
+auton. all'ho pempsas me baptizein en hudati, ekeinos moi eipen. eph'hon
+an ides to pneuma katabainon kai menon ep'auton, houtos estin ho
+baptizon en pneumati hagio]. The word [Hebrew: nvH], which in Numb. xi.
+25 also is used of the Spirit, combines in itself both the [Greek:
+katabainein] and the [Greek: menein]; it is _requiescere_. As the
+fulfilment of this prophecy, however, we must not look to that event
+only where it received a symbolical representation, but also to Acts
+ii. 3: [Greek: kai ophthesan autois diamerizomenai glossai hosei puros,
+ekathise te eph'hena hekaston auton]; comp. 1 Pet. iv. 14: [Greek:
+hote to tes doxes kai to tou theou pneuma eph'humas anapauetai] (this
+most exactly answers [Hebrew: nvH]). For it is not merely for himself
+that Christ here receives the Spirit; but He receives Him as the
+transforming principle for the human race; He is bestowed upon. Him as
+the Head of the Church.--In the enumeration of the forms in which the
+Spirit manifests himself, it was not the intention of the Prophet to
+set forth _all_ the perfections of the Messiah; he rather, by way of
+example, mentions some only after having comprehended all of them in
+the general: The Spirit of the Lord. Thus, _e.g._, _justice_, which is
+mentioned immediately afterwards in ver. 5, is omitted here.--The first
+pair are wisdom and understanding. _Wisdom_ is that excellency of
+knowledge which rests on moral perfection. It is opposed to [Hebrew:
+nblh], foolishness in a moral sense, which may easily be combined with
+the greatest ingenuity and cleverness. The excellence of knowledge
+resting [Pg 115] on a moral basis manifests itself in the first
+instance, and preeminently, in the [Hebrew: binh], understanding, the
+sharp and penetrating eye which beholds things as they are, and
+penetrates from the surface to their hidden essence, undisturbed by the
+dense fogs of false notions and illusions which, in the case of the
+fool, are formed by his lusts and passions. Neither of these attributes
+can, in its absolute perfection, be the possession of any mortal,
+because even in those who, morally, are most advanced, there ever
+remains sin, and, therefore, a darkening of the knowledge.--The second
+pair, counsel and might, are, just as in the passage before us,
+ascribed to the Messiah in chap. ix. 5 (6), by His receiving the names
+"Wonder-Counsellor," "God-Hero." From chap. xxxvi. 5 it is seen that,
+for the difficult circumstances of the struggle, _counsel_ is of no
+less consequence than _might_. The last pair, knowledge and fear of the
+Lord, form the fundamental effect of the Spirit of the Lord; all the
+great qualities of the soul, all the gifts which are beneficial for the
+Kingdom of God, rest on the intimacy of the connection with God which
+manifests itself in living knowledge and fear of the Lord; the latter
+not being the servile but the filial fear, not opposed to love, but its
+constant companion. The Prophet has put this pair at the close, only
+because he intends to connect with it that which immediately follows.
+We have already remarked that the Spirit of the Lord, &c., is bestowed
+upon the Messiah not for himself alone, but as the renovating principle
+of the Church.--Old Testament analogies and types are not wanting in
+this matter. Moses puts of his spirit upon the seventy Elders, and the
+spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha, and likewise on the whole crowd of
+disciples who gathered around him (2 Kings ii. 9).
+
+Ver. 3. "_And He hath His delight in the fear of the Lord, and not
+after the sight of His eyes doth He judge, nor after the hearing of His
+ears doth He decide._"
+
+We now learn how the glorious gifts of the Anointed, described in ver.
+2, are displayed in His government. All attempts to bring the second
+and third clauses under the same point of view as the first, and to
+derive them from the same source are in vain. That He has delight in
+the fear of the Lord, is the consequence of the Spirit of knowledge and
+of the fear of the Lord resting upon Him,--He loves what is congenial
+[Pg 116] to His own nature. That He does not judge after the sight of
+His eyes, &c., is the consequence of His having the Spirit of wisdom
+and understanding. It is thereby that He is freed from the narrow
+superficiality which is natural to man, and raised to the sphere of
+that divine clearness of vision which penetrates to the depths,
+[Hebrew: hriH] with the accusative is "to smell something;" with
+[Hebrew: b], to "smell at something," "to smell with delight." The fear
+of the Lord appears as something of a sweet scent to the Messiah. The
+other explanations of the first clause abandon the sure, ascertained
+_usus loquendi_ (comp. Exod. xxx. 38; Levit. xxvi. 31; Am. v. 21), and,
+therefore, do not deserve any mention. On the second and third clauses
+1 Sam. xvi. 7, is to be compared: "And the Lord said unto Samuel: Look
+not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature, because I have
+refused him; for not that which man looks at (do I look at); for man
+looketh on the eyes (and, in general, on the outward appearance), and I
+look on the heart." It is especially John who repeatedly mentions that
+Christ really possessed the gift here assigned to Him, of judging, not
+from the first appearance, and according to untrustworthy information,
+but of penetrating into the innermost ground of the facts and persons,
+comp. ii. 24, 25: [Greek: autos de Iesous, ouk episteuen heauton
+autois, dia to auton ginoskein pantas, kai hoti ou chreian eichen hina
+tis marturese peri tou anthropou. autos gar eginoske ti en hen
+anthropo.] Farther--chap. xxi. 17 where Peter says to Christ: [Greek:
+Kurie su panta oidas. su ginoskeis hoti philo se.] Farther, i. 48, 49;
+iv. 18, 19; vi. 64. In Revel. ii. 23, Christ says: "And all Churches
+shall know that I am He which searcheth the reins and hearts."
+
+Ver. 4. "_And He judgeth in righteousness the lowly, and doeth justice
+in equity to the meek of the earth, and smiteth the earth with the rod
+of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He slayeth the wicked._"
+
+The King shall be adorned with perfect justice, and, in the exercise of
+it, be supported by His omnipotence,--differently from what was the
+case with David, who, for want of power, was obliged to allow heinous
+crimes to pass unpunished (2 Sam. iii. 39). Just as by the excellency
+of His _will_ He is infinitely exalted above all former rulers, so is
+He also by the excellency of _might_. Where, as in His case, the
+highest [Pg 117] might stands in the service of the best will, the
+noblest results must come forth. The first two clauses refer to Ps.
+lxxii., which was written by Solomon, and where, in ver. 2, it is said
+of Christ: "He shall judge thy people in righteousness, and thy lowly
+ones in judgment," and in ver. 4: "He shall judge the lowly of thy
+people, He shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in
+pieces the oppressors;" compare farther Prov. xxix. 14: "A king that in
+truth judgeth the lowly, his throne shall be established for ever." The
+earth forms the contrast to the limited territory which was hitherto
+assigned to the theocratic kings.--In the second part of the verse
+[Hebrew: arC] does not by any means stand in contrast to [Hebrew: dliM]
+and [Hebrew: enviM], and, in parallelism to [Hebrew: rwe], designate
+the wicked ones; but [Hebrew: arC] "earth" stands in antithesis to the
+narrow territory in which earthly kings are permitted to dispense law
+and justice. It is a matter of course, and is, moreover, expressly
+stated in the second clause, that the earth comes into consideration
+with a view to those only who are objects of His judging activity. From
+that which follows, where changes are spoken of which shall take place
+on the whole earth, it follows that [Hebrew: arC] must be taken in the
+signification of "earth." and not of "land." Hand in hand with the
+infinite extent of the King's exercise of justice goes also the manner
+of it. "The whole earth," and the "breath of the mouth," correspond
+with one another.--In the words "with the rod of His mouth," a tacit
+antithesis lies at the foundation. As kings strike with the sceptre, so
+He smiteth with His mouth.--[Hebrew: wbT], the ensign of royal dignity,
+is the symbol of the whole earthly power, which, being external and
+exercised by external means, must needs be limited, and insufficient
+for the perfect exercise of justice. The exercise of justice on the
+part of earthly kings reaches so far only as their hand armed with the
+smiting sceptre. But that great King is, in the exercise of justice,
+supported by His _Omnipotence_. He punishes and destroys by His mere
+word. Several interpreters understand this as a mere designation of His
+severity in punishing,--"the rod of His mouth" to be equivalent to
+"severity of punishment;"--but that such is not the meaning appears
+from the following clause, where likewise special weight is attached to
+the circumstance that the Messiah inflicts punishment by His mere word;
+"the breath of His lips" is equivalent [Pg 118] to "mere words," "mere
+command;" compare "breath of His mouth," in Ps. xxxiii. 6. _Hitzig's_
+explanation, "the angry breath of His lips," does not interpret, but
+interpolate. In the future Son of David every word is, at the same
+time, a deed; He speaks and it is done. The same which is here said of
+the Messiah is, in other passages, attributed to _God_: compare Job xv.
+30, where it is said of the wicked: "By the breath of His mouth he
+shall go away;" Hos. vi. 5: "I have slain them by the word of my
+mouth." In general, according to the precedent in Gen. i., doing by the
+mere word is, in Scripture, the characteristic designation of Divine
+Omnipotence. Parallel is chap. xlix. 2, where Christ says: "And He hath
+made my mouth like a sharp sword," equivalent to: He has endowed me
+with His Omnipotence, so that my word also exercises destructive
+effect, just as His. In Rev. i. 16, it is said of Christ: "And out of
+His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword,"--to designate the destructive
+power of His word borne by Omnipotence, the omnipotent punitive power
+of Christ against enemies, both internal and external. An instance of
+the manner in which Christ smites by the word of His mouth is offered
+by Acts v. 3 (where, according to the analogy of the word spoken in the
+name of God by Elijah, 2 Kings i. 10, 12, and by Elisha, 2 Kings ii.
+24, v. 27, the Apostles are to be considered only as His instruments):
+[Greek: akouon de Ananias tous logous toutous peson exepsuxe], comp.
+ver. 10; xiii. 11. The Chaldee translates: "And by the word of His lips
+wicked Armillus shall die." He refers [Hebrew: rwe] not to the ideal
+person of the wicked, but to an individual, _Armillus_, ([Greek:
+eremolaos], corresponding to the name of Balaam, compounded of [Hebrew:
+ble] "devouring," "destruction," and [Hebrew: eM] "people") the
+formidable, last enemy of the Jews who shall carry on severe wars with
+them, slay the Messiah ben Joseph, but at length be slain by the
+Messiah ben David with a mere word, compare _Buxtorf_, _Lex. Chald._
+cap. 221-224: _Eisenmenger_, _entdecktes Judenthum_ ii. S. 705 ff. In 2
+Thess. ii. 8, in the description of Antichrist's destruction by Christ:
+[Greek: hon ho Kurios Iesous analosei to pneumati tou stomatos autou],
+there is an intentional and significant allusion to the passage before
+us, Antichrist there being, like [Hebrew: rwe] here, an ideal person;
+for the arguments in proof, see my Comment, on Revelation, vol. ii.
+
+Ver. 5. "_And righteousness is the girdle of His loins, and
+faithfulness the girdle of His reins._"
+
+[Pg 119]
+
+Righteousness and faithfulness are in a similar manner connected in 1
+Sam. xxvi. 13 (? Prov. xii. 17). Faithfulness is trustworthiness. The
+point of comparison with the girdle is the closeness of the union;
+comp. Ps. cix. 19; Jer. xiii. 1, 2, 11.
+
+In ver. 6, the Prophet passes from the _person_ of the glorious King to
+a description of His Kingdom. With regard to ver. 6-8, the question
+arises, whether the description is to be understood figuratively or
+literally; whether the Prophet intends to describe the cessation
+of all hostility among men, or whether he expected that, in the
+Messianic time, even among the irrational creation, all hostility and
+destruction, every thing pernicious was to cease. Most of the ancient
+interpreters are attached to the former view. Thus _Theodoret_ says:
+"In a figurative manner, under the image of domesticated and wild
+animals, the Prophet taught the change of the habits of men." He refers
+every thing to the union, within the Christian Church, of those who, in
+their natural condition, lived far separated from one another, and in
+hostility the one to the other. _Jerome_ considers the opposite view as
+even a species of heresy. He says: "The Jews and the Judaizers among
+ourselves maintain that all this shall be fulfilled according to the
+letter; that in the light of Christ who, they believe, shall come at
+the end of the days, all beasts shall be reduced to tameness, so that
+the wolf, giving up its former ferocity, shall dwell with the lamb,
+&c." Upon the whole, he states the sense in the same manner as
+_Theodoret_, from whom he sometimes differs in the allegorical
+explanation of the details only. In a similar manner _Luther_ also
+explains it, who, _e.g._, on ver. 6, "the wolf shall dwell with the
+lambs, etc." remarks: "But these are allegories by which the Prophet
+intimates that the tyrants, the self-righteous and powerful ones in the
+world, shall be converted, and be received into the Church." _Calvin_
+says: "By these images, the Prophet indicates that, among the people of
+Christ there will be no disposition for injuring one another, nor any
+ferocity or inhumanity." The circumstance that the use of animal
+symbolism is widely spread throughout Scripture is in favour of this
+interpretation. One may, _e.g._ compare Ps. xxii., where the enemies of
+the righteous are represented under the image of dogs, lions, bulls,
+and unicorns; [Pg 120] Jer. v. 6, where, by lion, wolf, and leopard,
+the kingdoms of the world which are destructive to the people of God
+are designated; the four beasts in Dan. vii.; but especially Is. xxxv.
+9: "There (on the way of salvation which the Lord shall, in the future,
+open up for His people) shall not be a lion, nor shall any ravenous
+beast go up thereon,"--where the ravenous beasts are the
+representatives of the world's power, hostile to the Kingdom of God.
+Nevertheless, the literal interpretation, defended by several Jewish
+expositors, maintains an undeniable preference. In favour of it are the
+following arguments: 1. The circumstance that it is impossible to carry
+through, in the details, the figurative interpretation; and it is by
+this that our passage is distinguished from all the other passages in
+which the wild, cruel, and destructive tendencies in the human sphere
+appear under the images of their representatives in the animal world.
+The supposition that "we have here before us only a poetical
+enlargement of the thought that all evil shall cease" (_Hendewerk_,
+_Knobel_), removes the boundaries which separate prophecy from poetry.
+2. The parallelism with the condition of the creation before the fall,
+as it is described to us by Holy Scripture. It is certainly not without
+reason that, in the account of the creation, so much emphasis is laid
+on the circumstance that all which was created was _good_. This implies
+a condition of the irrational creation different from what it is now;
+for in its present state it gives us a faithful copy of the first fall,
+inasmuch as every heinous vice has its symbols and representatives in
+the animal kingdom. According to Gen. ii. 19, 20, the animals recognize
+in Adam their lord and king, peaceably gather around him, and receive
+their names from him. According to Gen. i. 30, grass only was assigned
+to animals for their food; the whole animal world bore the image of the
+innocence and peace of the first man, and was not yet pervaded by the
+law of mutual destruction. Where there was not a Cain, neither was
+there a lion. The serpent has not yet its disgusting and horrible
+figure, and fearlessly men have intercourse with it; comp. Vol. i. p.
+15, 16. But the influence of sin pervaded and penetrated the whole
+nature, and covered it with a curse (comp. Gen. iii. 17-19); so that it
+not only bears evidence to the existence of God, but also to the
+existence of sin. [Pg 121] Now, as it is by sin that outward discord,
+and contention, and destruction _arose_ in the irrational creature, so
+we may also expect that, when the cause has been removed, the effect
+too will disappear; that, with the cessation of the discord and enmity
+among men, which, according to ver. 9, the Prophet expected of the
+Messianic time, discord and enmity in the animal world will cease also.
+In the individual features, the Prophet seems even distinctly to refer
+to the history of the creation; compare ver. 7: "The lion shall eat
+straw like the ox," with Gen. i. 30; ver. 8: "the sucking child shall
+play on the hole of the asp," with Gen. iii. 15. 3. The comparison of
+other passages of Scripture, according to which likewise the reflection
+of the evil in the irrational creation shall cease, after the evil has
+been removed from the rational creation; compare chap. lxv. 25, lxvi,
+22; Matt. xix. 28, where the Lord speaks of the [Greek: palingenesia],
+the return of the whole earthly creation to its original condition;
+but especially Rom. viii. 19 ff.--that classical passage of the
+New Testament which is really parallel to the passage before us. 4.
+A subordinate argument is still offered by the parallel descriptions
+of heathen writers. From the passages collected by _Clericus_, _Lowth_,
+and _Gesenius_, we quote a few only. In the description of the
+golden age, _Virgil_ says, _Ecl._ iv. 21 sqq.; v. 60: _Occidet et
+serpens et fallax herba veneni occidet._--_Nec magnos metuent armenta
+leones._--_Nec lupus insidias pecori._ _Horat. Epod._ xiv. 53: _Nec
+vespertinus circumgemit ursus ovile nec intumescit alta viperis
+humus._--_Theocrit. Idyll._ xxiv. 84. Utterances such as these show how
+unnatural the present condition of the earth is. They are, however, not
+so much to be regarded as the remains of some outward tradition
+(against such a supposition it is decisive that they occur chiefly with
+_poets_), but rather as utterances of an indestructible longing in man,
+which, being so deeply rooted in human nature, contains in itself the
+guarantee of being gratified at some future period. But, with all this,
+we must do justice to the objection drawn from the evident parallelism
+of passages such as chap. xxxv. 9, and to another objection advanced by
+_Vitringa_, that it is strange that there is so much spoken of animals,
+and so little of men. This we shall do by remarking that, in the
+description of the glorious effects which the government of Christ
+shall produce on the earth, the Prophet at once proceeds to the utmost
+limit of [Pg 122] them; and that the removal of hostility and
+destruction from the irrational creation implies that all that will be
+removed which, in the rational creation, proceeds from the principle of
+hatred, inasmuch as it is certain that the former is only a reflection
+of the latter, and that the Prophet speaks with a distinct reference to
+this supposition which he afterwards, in ver. 9, distinctly expresses.
+Hence, to a certain degree, a double sense takes place; and, in the
+main, _J. H. Michaelis_ has hit the right by comparing, first, Gen. i.
+and Rom. viii., and then continuing: "Parabolically, however, by the
+wild beasts, wild and cruel nations are understood, which are to be
+converted to Christ; or violent men who, by the Spirit of Christ, are
+rendered meek and gentle, just as Paul, from a wolf, was changed into a
+lamb." We are the less permitted to lose sight of the reference to the
+lions and bears on the spiritual territory, that ver. 6 is, in the
+first instance, connected with vers. 4 and 5, in which the all-powerful
+sway of Christ's justice on earth is described, of which the
+consequences must, in the first instance, appear in the _human
+territory_; and, farther, that the point from which the prophecy
+started, is the raging of the wolf and bear of the world's power
+against the poor defenceless flock of the Lord.
+
+Ver. 6. "_And the wolf dwelleth with the lamb, and the leopard shall
+lie down with the kid, the calf, and, the lion and the fatling
+together, and a little child leads them._"
+
+Ver. 7. "_The cow and bear go to the pasture; their young ones lie down
+together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox._" (The going to
+pasture of the bear corresponds with the lion's eating straw [comp.
+Gen. i. 30], and we are not allowed to supply the "together" in the
+first clause.)
+
+Ver. 8. "_And the sucking child playeth on the hole of the asp, and the
+weaned child putteth his hand into the den of the basilisk._"
+
+The change in the irrational creation described in the preceding verses
+is a consequence of the removal of sin in the rational creation; this
+removal the Prophet now proceeds to describe.
+
+Ver. 9. "_They shall not do evil, and shall not sin in all my holy
+mountain, for the earth is full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the
+waters covering the sea._"
+
+[Pg 123]
+
+The subject are the dwellers in the Holy Mountain. The Holy Mountain
+can, according to the _usus loquendi_, be Mount Zion only, and not, as
+was last maintained by _Hofmann_, the whole land of Canaan, which is
+never designated in that manner; comp. chap. xxvii. 13, and my
+Commentary on Ps. lxxviii. 54. The second part of the verse, connected
+with the first by means of _for_, agrees with the first only in the
+event that Mount Zion is viewed as the spiritual dwelling place of the
+inhabitants of the earth, just as, under the Old Testament
+dispensation, it was the _ideal_ dwelling place of all the Israelites,
+even of those who outwardly had not their residence at Jerusalem; on
+the spiritual dwelling of the servants of the Lord with Him in the
+temple, compare remarks on Ps. xxvii. 4, xxxvi. 9, lxv. 5, lxxxiv. 3,
+and other passages. In chap. ii. 2-4, lxvi. 23, the Holy Mountain, too,
+appears as the centre of the whole earth in the Messianic time. From
+chap. xix. 20, 21, where, in the midst of converted Egypt, an altar is
+built, and sacrifices are offered up, it appears that it is this in an
+_ideal_ sense only, that under its image the _Church_ is meant. The
+designation, "my Holy Mountain," intimates that the state of things
+hitherto, when unholiness prevailed in the Kingdom of the Holy God, is
+an unnatural one; that at some future period the _idea_ necessarily
+must manifest its power and right in opposition to the _reality_.--In
+the second clause, the ground and fountain of this sinlessness is
+stated. In Zion, in the Church of God, there will then be no more any
+sins; for the earth is then full of the knowledge of the Lord, by which
+the sins are done away with. The general outpouring of the Holy Ghost
+forms one of the characteristics of the Messianic time; and the
+_consequence_ of this outpouring is, according to ver. 2, the knowledge
+of the Lord,--so that the clause may be thus paraphrased: For, in
+consequence of the Spirit poured out, in the first instance, upon Him,
+the earth is full of the knowledge of the Lord; comp. chap. xxxii. 15:
+"Until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high;" liv. 13; Joel iii.
+1; ii. 28; Jer. xxxi. 34, That [Hebrew: harC] is here not the "land,"
+or "country," but the "_earth_" is sufficiently evident from the
+antithesis of the _sea_: as the _sea_ is full of water, so the _earth_
+is full of the knowledge of the Lord. To this [Pg 124] reason it may
+still be added that in vers. 6-8 changes are spoken of, which concern
+the whole territory of the earthly creation, the [Greek: palingenesia]
+of the whole earth. As the relation of these changes to that which is
+stated here is that of cause and effect, here, too, the whole earth can
+only be thought of _Finally_,--The following verse too supposes the
+spreading of salvation over the whole earth. The entire relation of the
+first section to the second and third makes it obvious that by [Hebrew:
+harC] the whole earth is to be understood. The passage under
+consideration is alluded to in Hab. ii. 14: "For the earth shall be
+filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters
+covering the sea." In that passage, the enforced knowledge of the
+Divine glory which manifests itself in punitive justice, forms the
+subject of discourse; but that enforced knowledge forms the necessary
+condition of the knowledge which is voluntary and saving.
+
+_Ver. 10. "And it shall come to pass in that day, the root of Jesse
+which standeth for an ensign to the people, it shall the Gentiles seek,
+and His rest is glory._"
+
+The words, "and it shall come to pass," introduce a new section; so
+that the interval in the Hebrew manuscripts is here quite in its place.
+With ver. 11 again, a new section begins. In ver. 1-9 we have the
+appearance of the Messiah in relation to the whole earth; then, in the
+second section, the way in which he becomes a centre to the whole
+_Gentile world_; and in ver. 11 ff., what He grants to the _old
+covenant-people_, for whom the Prophet was, in the first instance,
+prophesying, and whose future he therefore describes more in detail.
+Why His relation to the Gentile world is _first spoken of_ appears from
+ver. 12; the Gentiles gathered to the Lord are the medium of His
+salvation to the old covenant-people.--The _root_ designates here (and
+likewise in chap. liii. 2), and in the passages founded upon this,
+viz., in Rev. v. 5, xxii. 16, the _product_ of the root, that whereby
+the root manifests itself, the shoot from the root; just as "seed" so
+very often occurs for "product of the seed." This appears from a
+comparison with ver. 1, where, more fully, the Messiah is called a
+twig from Jesse's roots. _Bengel_ has already directed attention to
+the antithesis of the root and ensign, in his Commentary on Rom. xv.
+12: "A sweet antithesis: the root is undermost, [Pg 125] the ensign
+rises uppermost; so that even the nations farthest off may behold
+it."--[Hebrew: drw] with [Hebrew: l], [Hebrew: al], and [Hebrew: at],
+has the signification "to apply to the true God, or some imaginary god,
+in order to seek protection, help, counsel, advice, disclosures
+regarding the future;" comp. Is. viii. 19; Deut. xii. 4, 5, and other
+passages in _Gesenius'Thesaurus_. The Gentiles feel that they cannot
+do without the Redeemer; they see, at the same time, His riches and
+their poverty; and this knowledge urges them on to _seek_ Him, that
+from him they may obtain _light_ (chap. xlii. 6), that He may
+communicate to them His _law_ (chap. xlii. 4), that he may teach them
+of His ways, and that they may walk in His paths (chap. ii. 3), &c. St.
+Paul, in Rom. xv. 12, following the LXX., has [Greek: ep'auto ethne
+elpiousi], which, as regards the sense, fully agrees with the original.
+The beginning of the seeking took place when the representatives of the
+Gentile world, the Maji from the East, came to Jerusalem, saying:
+"Where is He that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star
+in the East and are come to worship Him," Matt. ii. 2. The historical
+foundation and the type are the homage which, from the Gentile world,
+was offered to Solomon, 1 Kings x.--[Hebrew: mnvHh] "resting place,"
+"dwelling place," "habitation;" comp. Ps. cxxxii. 13, 14: "For the Lord
+hath chosen Zion; He hath desired it for His _habitation_. This is my
+_rest_ ([Hebrew: mnvHti]) for ever; here will I _dwell_, for I have
+desired it." The glory of the King passes over to His residence to
+which the Gentile world are flowing together, in order to do homage to
+Him; Comp. Ps. lxxii. 10: "The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall
+bring presents; the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts." The
+comparison of this passage alone is sufficient to refute the absurd
+interpretation, according to which [Hebrew: emiM] and [Hebrew: gviM]
+are referred to the Israelitish tribes,--an interpretation which has
+been tried with as little success in the fundamental passage (Gen.
+xlix. 10), according to which the [Hebrew: emiM] are to adhere to
+Shiloh; compare Vol. i. p. 62.
+
+Ver. 11: "_And it shall come to pass in that day, the Lord shall
+continue a second time with His hand to ransom the remnant of His
+people which has remained from Asshur and from Egypt, from Patros and
+from Cush, from Elam and from Shinar, from Hamath and from the islands
+of the sea._"
+
+[Pg 126]
+
+From the Gentiles, the Prophet now turns to Israel. The reception of
+the Gentiles into the Messianic Kingdom is not by any means to take
+place at the expense of the old covenant-people; even they shall be
+brought back again, and shall be received into the Kingdom of God.
+[Hebrew: ivsiP] must be connected with [Hebrew: lqnvt], comp. 2 Sam.
+xxiv. 1: "And the Lord continued to kill," [Hebrew: lhrg]. It is
+unnecessary and arbitrary to supply [Hebrew: lwlH]. [Hebrew: idv] is
+Accusative, "as to His hand," equivalent to "with His hand;" comp. Ps.
+iii. 5, xvii. 10, 11, 13, 14. Just the hand of God, which here comes
+into consideration as the instrument of _doing_, is repeatedly
+mentioned in the account of the deliverance from Egypt; comp. Exod.
+iii. 20, vii. 4, xiii. 9. The expression: "_He shall continue_," in
+general, points out the idea that it is not a new beginning which is
+here concerned, but the continuation of former acting, by which
+believing was rendered so much the more easy. The expression, "a
+_second time_," points more distinctly to the type of the _deliverance
+from Egypt_ with which the redemption to be effected by Christ is
+frequently paralleled; comp. vers. 15, 16; Vol. i. p. 218, 219. "_From
+Asshur_," &c., must not be connected with [Hebrew: lqnvt], but with
+[Hebrew: iwar], comp. v. 16, those who have remained from Asshur, &c.,
+_i.e._, those whom Asshur and the other places of punishment, with
+their hostile influences, have left, who have been preserved in them.
+The fact that destructive influences may proceed from those nations
+also which do not properly belong to the number of the kingdoms of the
+world, is plainly shown by the history of the Jews after Christ. It
+would be against the accents, both here and in ver. 6, to connect it
+with [Hebrew: lqnvt]; the words "which shall remain" would, in that
+case, appear to be redundant; and, farther, it is opposed by Exod. x.
+3: "And eats the residue of that which is escaped, which remaineth unto
+you from the hail," equivalent to; which the hail has left to you.
+Similar to this is 2 Chron. xxx. 6, where Hezekiah exhorts the children
+of Israel: "Turn again unto the Lord.... in order that He may again
+return to the remnant which has been left to you from the hand of the
+kings of Asshur." A question here arises, viz., whether the dispersion
+of Israel which is here described, had already taken place at the time
+of the Prophet, or whether the Prophet, transferring himself in the
+Spirit into [Pg 127] the distant future, describes the dispersion which
+took place at a later period, after the carrying away of the ten tribes
+into the Assyrian exile had preceded, viz., that which took place when
+Judah was carried away into the Babylonish exile, and especially after
+the destruction of Jerusalem. The latter view is the correct one. The
+whole tenor of the Prophet's words shows that he supposes a
+_comprehensive_ dispersion of the people. It is true that, at the time
+when the prophecy was written, the ten tribes had already been carried
+away into captivity; but the kingdom of Judah, the subjects of which,
+according to ver. 12, likewise appear as being in the dispersion, had
+not yet suffered any important desolation. The few inhabitants of Judah
+who, according to Joel iv. 6, (iii. 6), and Amos i. 6, 9, had been sold
+as slaves by the Philistines and Ph[oe]nicians, and others, who, it may
+be, in hard times had spontaneously fled from their native country,
+cannot here come into consideration. Just as here, so by Hosea too, the
+future carrying away of the inhabitants of Judah is anticipated; comp.
+vol. i., p. 219, 220. The fundamental passage is in Deut. xxx. 3, 4,
+where the gathering of Israel is promised "from all the nations whither
+the Lord thy God has scattered thee. If any of thine be driven out into
+the utmost parts of heaven, from thence will the Lord thy God gather
+thee, and from thence will He fetch thee." This passage shows with what
+clearness the future scattering lay before the eyes of the holy men,
+even at the first beginnings of the people of God. In vers. 11 and 12
+we have the summary of the whole of the second part of Isaiah, in which
+the announcement of Israel's being gathered and brought back is
+constantly repeated; and it is quite incomprehensible how some grant
+the genuineness of the prophecy before us, and yet bring forward,
+against this second part of Isaiah, the argument that the Prophet could
+not _suppose_ the scattering, that it must really have taken place,
+since he simply announces their being brought back.--As regards the
+redemption from the scattering, all that which in history is realised
+in a series of events, is here united in one view. There is no reason
+for excluding the deliverance under Zerubbabel; for it, too, was
+already granted for the sake of Christ, whose incarnation the Prophet
+anticipates in faith; comp. remarks on chaps. vii., ix. This
+redemption, [Pg 128] however, in which those who have been brought back
+remain servants in the land of the Lord, can be considered as only a
+prelude to the true one; comp. vol. i., p. 220 f. 448. The true
+fulfilment began with the appearance of Christ, and is still going on
+towards its completion, which can take place even without Israel's
+returning to Canaan, comp. vol. i., p. 222. Asshur opens the list, and
+occupies the principal place, because it was through him who, under the
+very eyes of the Prophet, had carried away the ten tribes, that the
+dispersion began. But the Prophet does not limit himself to that which
+was obvious,--did not expect, from the Messiah, only the healing of
+already existing hurts.--With Asshur, _Egypt_ is connected in one pair.
+Egypt is the _African_ world's power struggling for dominion with the
+_Asiatic_. Its land serves not only as a refuge to those oppressed by
+the Asiatic world's power (comp. Jer. xlii. ff.), but, in that struggle
+with the Asiatic power, itself invades and oppresses the land; comp.
+chap. vii. 18; 2 Kings xxiii. 29 ff.: "In his days Pharaoh Necho, king
+of Egypt, went up against the king of Assyria." In a similar
+connection, Asshur and Egypt, the kingdoms on the Euphrates and the
+Nile, appear in chap. xxvii. 13: "And it shall come to pass in that
+day, that a great trumpet is blown, and they come, the perishing ones
+in the land of Asshur, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and
+worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem;" Micah vii. 12; Jer.
+ii. 18; Lam. v. 6. As annexed to Egypt, the _second_ pair presents
+itself, representing the uttermost _South_; compare the expression,
+"from the four comers of the earth," in ver. 12. Pathros, in Jer. xliv.
+1, 15, also appears as a dependency of Egypt; and Cush, Ethiopia, was,
+at the Prophet's time, the ally of Egypt, chap. xxxvii. 9, xviii., xx.
+3-6. _Gesenius_ remarks on chap. xx. 4: "Egypt and Ethiopia are, in the
+oracles of this time, always connected, just as the close political
+alliance of these two countries requires."--From the uttermost South,
+the Prophet turns to the uttermost East. "Elam is," as _Gesenius_ in
+his Commentary on chap. xxi. 2 remarks, "in the pre-exilic writers,
+used for Persia in general, for which afterwards [Hebrew: prs] becomes
+the ordinary name;" and according to Dan. viii. 2, the Persian
+Metropolis Shushan is situated in Elam. It appears in chap. xxii. 6 as
+the representative of the world's power [Pg 129] which in future will
+oppress Judah, and we hence expect that it will appear in an Elamitic
+phase also.--Shinar, the ancient name for Babylon, is that world's
+power which, according to chaps. xiii., xiv., xxxix., and other
+passages, is to follow after the Assyrian, and is to carry away Judah
+into exile. Elam and Madai appear in chap. xxi. 2 as the destroyers of
+the Babylonian world's power; hence the Elamitic phase of it can follow
+after the Babylonish only. The geographical arrangement only can be the
+reason why it is here placed first.--The last of the four pairs of
+countries is formed by Hamath, representing Syria, (comp. 1 Maccab.
+xii. 25, according to which passage Jonathan the Maccabee marches into
+the land of Hamath against the army of Demetrius,) and the islands of
+the sea, the islands and the countries on the shores of the
+Mediterranean in the uttermost West. As early as in the prophecy of
+Balaam, in Numb. xxiv. 24: "And ships come from the side of Chittim and
+afflict Asshur, and afflict Eber, and he also perisheth," we find the
+announcement that, at some future time, the Asiatic kingdoms shall be
+conquered by a power which comes from the West in ships, by European
+nations--an announcement which was realised in history by the dominion
+of the Greeks and Romans in Asia.
+
+Ver. 12: "_And He setteth up an ensign to the Gentiles and assembleth
+the exiled of Israel, and gathereth together the dispersed of Judah
+from the four corners of the earth._"
+
+The setting up of the ensign for the Gentiles, around which they are to
+assemble for the purpose of restoring Israel, took place, in a prelude,
+under Cyrus; comp. chap. xiv. 2, xlix. 22: "Thus saith the Lord God:
+Behold I lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to
+the nations, and they bring thy sons on their bosom, and thy daughters
+are carried upon their shoulders;" where the sons and daughters
+correspond to the exiled men of Israel, and to the dispersed women of
+Judah, equivalent to all the exiled and dispersed men and women. As
+early as in the Song of Solomon, we are taught that in the Messianic
+time the Gentile nations will take an active part in the restoration of
+Israel. According to the first part of that Song, the appearance of the
+heavenly Solomon is connected with the reception of the Gentiles into
+His Kingdom, and that, through the instrumentality of the [Pg 130] old
+covenant people, as is intimated by the name of the daughters of
+Jerusalem; comp. my Comment. on Song of Solomon, iii. 9-11. In the
+second part of that Song we have a description of the reunion of
+apostate Israel with Christ,--which reunion takes place by the
+co-operation of the daughters of Jerusalem, the same whom they formerly
+brought to salvation. According to Is. lxvi. 20, the Gentiles,
+converted to the Lord in the time of salvation, bring the children of
+Israel for an offering unto the Lord,--A significant allusion to the
+passage before us is found in John xi. 52: [Greek: kai ouch huper tou
+ethnous monon, all'hina kai ta tekna tou Theou ta dieskorpismena
+sunagage eis hen.] It is the same mercy seeking that which is lost that
+manifests itself in the gathering of apostate Israel, and in the
+gathering of the Gentiles. What is said of the one furnishes, at the
+same time, the guarantee for the other.
+
+Ver. 13. "_And the envy of Ephraim departeth, and the adversaries of
+Judah are cut off; Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not
+vex Ephraim._"
+
+According to the explanatory fourth clause, the "adversaries of Judah"
+in the second clause, can only be those among Judah who vex Ephraim. At
+the very beginning of the separation of the two kingdoms, their future
+reunion had been announced by a prophet; and this must now take place
+as certainly as Jehovah is God, who had promised to David and his house
+the eternal dominion over all Israel. The separation had taken place
+because the house of David had become unfaithful to its vocation. In
+the Messiah, the promise, to the Davidic race is to be completely
+realized; _and this realization has_, for its necessary consequence,
+the _removal for ever_ of the separation; comp. Ezek. xxxvii. 22. It
+was a _prelude_ to the fulfilment, that a portion of the subjects of
+the kingdom of the ten tribes united with Judah in all those times
+when, in the blessing accompanying the enterprises of a pious son of
+David, the promise granted to David was, in some measure realized,--as
+was the case under Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, and Josiah. Even before
+Christ appeared in the flesh, the announcement here made was all but
+realized. The exile put an end to the kingdom of the ten tribes, and
+hence also to the unnatural separation which had been designated as the
+severest calamity of the past, chap. vii. 17. The other tribes [Pg 131]
+joined Judah and the restored sanctuary; comp. Acts xxvi. 7; Luke ii.
+36. The name of "_Jews_" passed over to the whole nation; the jealousy
+disappeared. This blessing was conferred upon the people for Christ's
+sake, and with a view to His future appearance. In Christ, the bond of
+union and communion is so firmly formed that no new discord can
+alienate the hearts from one another.
+
+Ver. 14. "_And they fly upon the shoulder of the Philistines toward the
+West, spoil together the children of the East; Edom and Moab shall be
+their assault, the children of Ammon their obedience._"
+
+As Israel is united internally, so it shall be externally powerful.
+According to the Song of Solomon vi. 10, the congregation of Israel
+when, by her renewed connection with the Lord and His heavenly Solomon,
+she has regained her former strength, is "terrible as an army with
+banners."--The nations mentioned are those of the Davidic reign. Even
+before the time of the Prophet, they had been anew conquered by
+Jehoshaphat, in whom the spirit of David had been revived anew; comp. 2
+Chron. xx.; Ps. lxxxiii. A prelude to the fulfilment of the prophecy
+before us took place at the time of the Maccabees, comp. Vol. i. p.
+467, 468. But as regards the fulfilment, we are not entitled to limit
+ourselves to the names here mentioned. These names are the accidental
+element in the prophecy; the thought is this: As soon as Israel
+realizes its destiny, it partakes of God's inviolability, of God's
+victorious power. The Prophet's sole purpose is to point out the
+victorious power, to give prominence to the thought that outward
+prosperity is the necessary consequence of inward holiness.--In the
+first clause, the image is taken from birds of prey; comp. Hab. i. 8:
+"They fly as an eagle hastening to eat," which passage refers to the
+enemies of Israel at the time of wrath. In the time of _grace_, the
+relation will be just the reverse.--[Hebrew: mwlH id] occurs, in a
+series of passages in Deuteronomy, of that which is taken in hand,
+undertaken. Edom and Moab are no longer an object of _Noli me tangere_
+for them.
+
+Ver. 15. "_And the Lord destroys the tongue of the Sea of Egypt, and
+waves His hand over the River with the violence of His wind, and
+smiteth it into seven streams, that one may go through in shoes._"
+
+[Pg 132]
+
+Ver. 16. "_And there shall be a highway for the remnant of His people
+which was left from Asshur; like as it was to Israel in the day that he
+came up out of the land of Egypt._"
+
+The miraculous power of the Lord shall remove all obstacles to
+deliverance. These obstacles are represented by the Euphrates and the
+Red Sea (the tongue of the Sea of Egypt, equivalent to the point of
+it), with a reference to the fact that, among the countries, in ver.
+11, from which Israel is to be delivered, there had been mentioned,
+_Egypt_, between which and the Holy Land was the Red Sea, and Asshur,
+situated on the other side of Euphrates. To Euphrates, upon which there
+will be repeated that which, in ancient times, was done in the case of
+Jordan, the Prophet assigns, in ver. 15, the last place, on account of
+ver. 16. The highway in that verse is prepared by the turning off of
+Euphrates, so that we might put: "And thus," at the beginning of the
+verse. As regards the destroying, [Hebrew: hHrvM], it is the forced
+devoting to God of that which would not spontaneously serve Him;
+compare remarks on Mal. iii. 24. Objects of such devoting can properly
+be _persons_ only, because they only are capable of spontaneous
+sanctification to God, as well as of wilful desecration. The fact that
+it is here transferred to the sea may be accounted for by its being
+personified. The destruction which is inflicted upon the sea is, in it,
+inflicted upon the enemies of God thereby represented, inasmuch as
+it opposes the people of God, and thus, as it were, strives against
+God.--_With the violence or terror of His wind_, _i.e._, with His
+violent, terrible wind. There is in this an allusion to Exod. xiv. 21,
+according to which the Lord dried up the Red Sea by a violent wind.
+Against _Drechsler_, who thinks of "God's breathing of anger," first,
+this reference to Exod. xiv. 21, and farther, the circumstance that the
+[Hebrew: rvH] appears as something which the Lord has in His hand, are
+decisive.--In ver. 16 we need not, after "from Asshur," supply the
+other nations mentioned in ver. 11, which would be unexampled; but
+Asshur appears as the representative of all the enemies of God.
+Similarly in Micah also, Asshur is, with evident intention, used
+typically; comp. Vol. i. p. 515, 516.
+
+
+
+[Footnote 1: Notwithstanding the arguments which we stated in favour of
+our proposition, that the original form of the name is [Hebrew: ncr].
+_Ebrard_ without even attempting to refute them, assumes, in favour of
+a far-fetched conjecture, that the name of the place was written
+[Hebrew: nzrt] (_Kritik. d. Ev. Geschichte_ S. 843, 1st Ed.), and has
+introduced this opinion even into the text of the new edition of
+_Olshausen's_ Commentary, edited by him. The circumstance that
+elsewhere _commonly_ the Hebrew [Hebrew: z] is, in Greek, rendered by
+[Greek: z], [Hebrew: c] by [Greek: s] is, in this case, where the
+special arguments in favour of [Hebrew: ncr] are so strong, of no
+consequence.]
+
+[Footnote 2: _Hofmann_ (_Weissagung und Erfuellung._, II. S. 64) was the
+last who assumed that the Evangelist had generally in view those
+passages in which the lowliness, contempt, and rejection of Christ are
+spoken of, and that, in the Old Testament passages in question, the
+[Greek: Nazoraios] was not contained according to the letter, but
+according to the spirit only. But this is opposed not only by the whole
+manner of quotation which is given as a literal one, but also by a
+whole series of analogies: Christ's birthplace in Bethlehem, His stay
+in Jerusalem, His ministry in Galilee, and especially in Capernaum, His
+entrance into Jerusalem,--all these are by Matthew traced back to
+prophetical declarations which have a special reference to these
+localities. Against the exposition given by us, _Hofmann_ advances the
+assertion that neither [Hebrew: ncr] nor [Hebrew: HTr] have ever
+attached to them the idea of lowliness, of unassuming appearance. But
+even if a twig were not of itself something lowly and unassuming in
+appearance, yet, in the passage before us, that idea is, at all events,
+implied in the connection with the _stump_ and _roots_, as well as by
+the contrast to [Hebrew: iprh]]
+
+[Footnote 3: The following passage, which we take from _Raim. Martini
+Pug. Fid._ III. 3, 19 p. 685, will fully illustrate that custom: R.
+_Abba_ said: His name is [Hebrew: ihvh] Lord, according to the word in
+Jerem. xxiii. 6; R. _Josua ben Levy_ said: "His name is Sprout,
+according to what is said in Zech. vi. 12. Others say that His name
+will be Comforter, Son of the strength of God, as is declared in Lam.
+i. 16. Those from the School of R. _Siloh_ said: His name will be
+_Shiloh_, as is written in Gen. xlix. 10: 'Until Shiloh come.'Those
+from the School of R. _Chanina_ said: His name will be the Gracious
+one, as Jerem. said in chap. xvi. 13. Those from the School of R.
+_Jannai_ said: Jinnon shall be His name, according to Ps. lxxii. 17,
+&c."]
+
+
+[Pg 133]
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAP. XII.
+
+
+This chapter contains Israel's hymn of thanks after having obtained
+redemption and deliverance, and is connected with chap. ix. 2 (3),
+where the Prophet had, in general, mentioned the joy of the elect in
+the Messianic time. Here he embodies it in words. The hymn, which forms
+a kind of close, and, to a certain degree, belongs to the whole cycle
+of the preceding Messianic prophecies, is based upon the hymn of
+thanksgiving by Israel after having passed through the Red Sea,--that
+historical fact which contained so strong a guarantee for the future
+redemption, and is in harmony with chap. xi. 15, 16, where the Prophet
+had announced a renewal of those wonderful leadings of the Lord. The
+hymn falls into three stanzas, each consisting of two verses. In ver. 1
+and 2, and in ver. 4 and 5, the redeemed ones are introduced speaking;
+ver. 3 and 5, which likewise form a couple, contain an epilogue of the
+Prophet on the double _jubilus_ of the congregation.
+
+Ver. 1. "_And in that day thou sayest: I will praise thee, Lord, for
+thou wast angry with me, and now thine anger is turned away, and thou
+comfortest me._ Ver. 2. _Behold, God is my salvation; I trust, and am
+not afraid; for my strength and song is the Lord, and He became my
+Saviour._"
+
+The words "my strength and my song," are from Exod. xv. 2. The two
+members of the verse enter into the right relation to one another, and
+the [Hebrew: ki] becomes intelligible, only if we keep in mind that the
+words at the beginning, "The Lord is my salvation," are an expression
+of the conviction of the speaker; hence are equivalent to: we
+acknowledge Him as our God; so that the first part expresses the
+subjective disposition of the Church; the second, the objective
+circumstance of the case--that on which that disposition is founded,
+and from which it grew up.
+
+Ver. 3. "_And ye draw water in joy out of the wells of salvation._"
+
+During the journey through the wilderness, the bestowal of salvation
+had been represented under the form of granting [Pg 134] water. It is
+to it that we have here an allusion. The spiritual water denotes
+salvation.
+
+Ver. 4. "_And in that day ye say: Praise the Lord, proclaim His name,
+declare His doings among the nations, make mention that His name is
+exalted._ Ver. 5. _Praise the Lord, for He hath done great things; this
+is known in all the earth._"
+
+Ver. 6. "_Cry out and shout thou inhabitant of Zion; for great is the
+Holy One of Israel in thy midst._"
+
+
+                           * * * * * * * * * *
+
+
+There now follows a cycle of ten prophecies, which, in the
+inscriptions, have the name [Hebrew: mwa] "burden," and in which the
+Prophet exhibits the disclosures into the destinies of the nations
+which he had received on the occasion of the threatening Assyrian
+invasion under Sennacherib. For, from the prophecy against Asshur in
+chap. xiv. 24, 25, which is contained in the very first burden, it
+clearly appears that the cycle which, by the equality of the
+inscriptions, is connected into one well arranged and congenial whole,
+belongs to this period. This prophecy against Asshur forms one whole
+with that against Babel, and by it the latter was suggested and called
+forth. In that prophecy, the defeat of Asshur, which took place in the
+14th year of Hezekiah, is announced as future. It is true that the
+second burden, directed against the Philistines, in chap. xiv. 28-32,
+seems to suggest another time. Of this burden it is said, in ver. 28,
+that it was given in the year that king Ahaz died; not in the year in
+which his death was impending, but in that in which he died, comp.
+chap. vi. 1. The distressed circumstances of the new king raised the
+hopes of the Philistines, who, under Ahaz, had rebelled against the
+Jewish dominion. But the Prophet beholds in the Spirit that, just under
+this king, the heavenly King of Zion would destroy these hopes, and
+would thrust down Philistia from its imaginary height. But from the
+time of the original composition of the prophecy, that of its
+_repetition_ must be distinguished. That took place, as is just shewn
+by the prophecy's being received in the cycle of the _burdens_, at the
+time when the invasion of Sennacherib was immediately impending. The
+Assyrians were the power from the _North_, [Pg 135] by whom the
+threatened destruction would break in upon the Philistines; and the
+truth of the word should be verified upon them, that prosperity is only
+the forerunner of the fall. In the view of the fulfilment, Isaiah
+repeated the prophecy.
+
+From the series of these _burdens_, we shall very briefly comment upon
+those which are of importance for our purpose. First,
+
+
+
+
+                       CHAPTERS XIII. l.-XIV. 27.
+
+
+This prophecy does not contain any characteristically expressed
+Messianic element; but it is of no small consequence for bringing out
+the whole picture of the future, as it was before the mind of the
+Prophet. It is in it that Babel meets us distinctly and definitely as
+the threatening world's power of the future, by which Judah is to be
+carried away into captivity.
+
+The genuineness is incontrovertibly testified by the close; and it is
+only by a naturalistic tendency that it can be denied. With the
+announcement of the deliverance from Babel is first, in chap. xiv. 24,
+25, connected an announcement of deliverance from Asshur; and then
+follows in ver. 26 and 27, the close of the whole prophecy from chap.
+xiii. 1, onward. Vers. 26 and 27, which speak of the whole earth and of
+all the nations, refer to chap. xiii., where the Prophet had spoken of
+an universal judgment, comp. ver. 5, 9, 10, &c.; while, in the verses
+immediately preceding, one single people, the Assyrians only, were
+spoken of It is thereby rendered impossible to separate chap. xiv. 24,
+27 from the whole.
+
+Behind the world's power of the present--the Assyrian--the Prophet
+beholds a new one springing up--the Babylonish. Those who have asserted
+that the prophecy against Babel is altogether without foundation as
+soon as Isaiah is supposed to have composed it, are utterly mistaken.
+Although the prophecy was by no means destined for the contemporaries
+only, as prophecy is generally destined for all times of the Church,
+yet, even for the Prophet's contemporaries, every letter was of
+consequence. If Israel's principal enemies belonged to the future, how
+very little was to be feared from the present ones; and especially if
+Israel should and must rise from even the [Pg 136] deepest abasement,
+how should God not then deliver them from the lower distress and need?
+But just because weak faith does not like to draw such _inferences_,
+the Prophet at the close expressly adverts to the present affliction,
+and gives to the weak faith a distinct and sure word of God, by which
+it may support itself, and take encouragement in that affliction.
+
+The points of connection must not be overlooked which the prophecy
+in chap. xi. offers for the prophecy before us. We already met there
+the total decay of the royal house of David, the carrying away of
+Judah into exile, and their dispersion into all lands. It is on this
+foundation that the prophecy before us takes its stand: it points
+to the power by which these conditions are to be brought about.
+Farther--There, as well as here, the conditions of the future are not
+expressly _announced_ as such, but _supposed_: the Prophet takes his
+stand in the future. There, as well as here, the Prophet draws
+consolation in the sufferings of the present from a salvation to be
+bestowed in a far distant future only.
+
+From the very outset, the Prophet announces an impending carrying away
+of the people, and, at the same time, that, even in this distress, the
+Lord would have compassion upon His people, comp. _e.g._ chaps. v., vi.
+From the very outset, the Prophet clearly saw that it was not by the
+Assyrians that this carrying away would be effected. This much we
+consider to be fully proved by history. The progress which the prophecy
+before us offers, when compared with those former ones, consists in
+this circumstance only, that the Prophet here expressly mentions the
+names of the future destroyers. And in reference to this circumstance
+we may remark, that, according to the testimony of history, as early as
+at that time, the plan of the foundation of an independent power was
+strongly entertained and fostered at Babylon, as is clearly enough
+evidenced by the embassy of the viceroy of Babylon to Hezekiah.
+
+In chap. xxiii. 13--the prophecy against Tyre, which is acknowledged to
+be genuine by the greater number of rationalistic interpreters--the
+Prophet shows the clearest insight into the future universal dominion
+of Chaldea, which forms the point of issue for the prophecy before us.
+With perfect clearness this insight meets us in chap. xxxix. also, on
+which even _Gesenius_ cannot avoid remarking: "The prophetic eye of [Pg
+137] Isaiah foresaw, even at that time, that, in a political point of
+view, Babylon would, in a short time, altogether enter into the track
+of Assyria."
+
+
+
+
+                         CHAPTERS XVII., XVIII.
+
+
+These two chapters form one whole, as, generally, the series of the
+ten _burdens_ is nowhere interrupted by inserted, heterogeneous,
+independent portions. Chapter xx. forms an appendix only to chapter
+xix. In the same manner, the prophecy against Sebna in chap. xxii.
+16-25, stands in an internal connection with vers. 1-15; in that which
+befel him, the destinies of the people were to be typified. That these
+two chapters belong to one another is clearly proved by the parallelism
+of chap. xvii. 10, 11, and chap. xviii. 4-6.
+
+The inscription runs: "Burden of Damascus." It is at the commencement
+of the prophecy that the Syrians of Damascus are spoken of; the
+threatening soon after turns against Judah and Israel. This is easily
+accounted for by the consideration that the prophecy refers to a
+relation where Judah and Israel appear in the retinue of Damascus. It
+was from Damascus that, in the Syrico-Damascenic war, the whole
+complication proceeded. Aram induced Israel to join him in the war
+against Judah, and misled Judah to seek help from Asshur. In a general
+religious point of view, also, all Israel, the kingdom of the ten
+tribes, as well as Judah, were at that time, as it were, incorporated
+into Damascus; comp. ver. 10, according to which Israel's guilt
+consisted in having planted strange vines in his vineyard, with 2 Kings
+xvi. 10, according to which Ahaz got an altar made at Jerusalem after
+the pattern of that which he had seen at Damascus. The circumstance
+that Israel had become like Damascus, was the reason why it was given
+up to the Gentiles for punishment.
+
+From the comparison of chap. x. 28-34, it appears that chap. xvii.
+12-14 belongs to the time of Hezekiah, when Israel was threatened by
+the invasion of Sennacherib. In chap. xvii. 1-11, in which, at first,
+the overthrow of Damascus and the kingdom of the ten tribes appears as
+still future, the Prophet [Pg 138] thus transfers himself back to the
+stand-point of an earlier time. To this result we are also led by the
+chronological arrangement of the whole collection. The Prophet,
+stepping back in spirit to the beginning of the complication, surveys
+the whole of the calamity and salvation which arise to Israel from the
+relation to Asshur and the whole world's power represented by Asshur--a
+relation into which it had been led by Damascus--and takes a view of
+the punishment which it receives by its sins, by its having become
+worldly, and of the Divine mercy which sends deliverance and salvation.
+
+The threatening goes as far as chap. xvii 11. The rod of chastisement
+is, in the first instance, in the hand of Asshur; but he, as has been
+already mentioned, represents the world's power in general. With this,
+the promise connects itself. The oppressors of the people of God are
+annihilated, chap. xvii. 12-14. All the nations of the earth,
+especially Ethiopia, which was, no less than Israel, threatened by
+Asshur (comp. chap. xxxvii. 9), and to which Egypt at that time
+occupied the position of a subordinate ally, perceive with astonishment
+the catastrophe by which God brings about the destruction of His
+enemies, chap. xviii. 1-3. Or, to state it more exactly: Messengers
+who, from the scene of the great deeds of the Lord, hasten in ships,
+first, over the Mediterranean, then, in boats up the Nile, bring the
+intelligence of the catastrophe which has taken place to Cush, the land
+of the rustling of the wings--thus named from the rustling of the wings
+of the royal eagle of the world's power, which, being in birth equal to
+Asshur, has there its seat, vers. 1 and 2; comp. chap. viii. 8. All the
+inhabitants of the earth shall look with astonishment at the
+catastrophe which is taking place, ver. 3, where the Prophet who, in
+vers. 1 and 2, had described the catastrophe as having already taken
+place, steps back to the stand-point of reality. In vers. 4-6, we have
+the graphic description of the catastrophe. At the close, we have, in
+ver. 7, the words which impart to the prophecy importance for our
+purpose.
+
+"_In that time shall be brought, as a present unto the Lord of hosts,
+the people far stretched and shorn, and from the people terrible since
+it_ (has been) _and onward, and from the people of law-law and
+trampling down, whose land streams divide, to the place of the name of
+the Lord of hosts, the Mount Zion._"
+
+[Pg 139]
+
+The expression, "shall be brought as a present," (the word [Hebrew: wi]
+occurs, besides in this passage, only in Ps. lxviii. 30; lxxvi. 12)
+points back to the fundamental passage in Ps. lxviii. 30, where David
+says, "Because of thy temple over Jerusalem shall kings bring presents
+unto thee." As outwardly, so spiritually too, the sanctuary lies _over_
+Jerusalem. The sanctuary of God over Jerusalem is the emblem of His
+protecting power, of His saving mercy watching over Jerusalem; so that,
+"because of thy temple over Jerusalem they bring," &c., is equivalent
+to: On account of thy glorious manifestation as the God of Jerusalem.
+Cush is in that Psalm, immediately afterwards, expressly mentioned by
+the side of Egypt, which, at the Prophet's time, was closely connected
+with it. "Princes shall come out of Egypt, Cush makes her hands to
+hasten towards God."--According to _Gesenius_, and other interpreters,
+the [Hebrew: mN] from the second clause is to be supplied before
+[Hebrew: eM mmwK]. But this is both hard and unnecessary. It is quite
+in order that, first, the offering of persons, and, afterwards, the
+offering of their gifts should be mentioned. Parallel is chap. xlv. 14:
+"The labour of Egypt and the merchandize of Ethiopia, and the Sabeans,
+men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine;"
+the difference is only this, that there first the goods are mentioned,
+and then the men. In chap. lxvi. 20, we likewise meet men who are
+brought for an offering. The designations of the people who here appear
+as the type of the whole Gentile world to be converted at some future
+period, and who have been chosen for this honour in consequence of the
+historical circumstances which existed at the time of the Prophet, are
+taken from ver. 2. _Gesenius_ is wrong in remarking in reference to
+them: "All these epithets have for their purpose to designate that
+distant people as a powerful and terrible one." As _Gesenius_ himself
+was obliged to remark in reference to the last words, "Whose land
+streams divide:" "This is a designation of a striking peculiarity of
+the country, not of the people,"--the purpose of the epithets can
+generally be this only, to characterise the people according to their
+different prominent peculiarities.--[Hebrew: mmwK] properly "_drawn
+out_," "_stretched_," Prov. xiii. 12, corresponds to the [Hebrew: anwi
+mdh] "men of extension or stature," in chap. xlv. 14. High stature
+appears, in classical writers also, as a characteristic sign of the [Pg
+140] Ethiopians.--On [Hebrew: mvrT] "_closely shorn_," comp. chap. l.
+6, where [Hebrew: mrT] is used of the plucking out of the hair of the
+beard.--"To the people fearful since it and onward," equivalent to:
+which all along, and throughout its whole existence, has been terrible;
+compare [Hebrew: mimi hia] Nah. ii. 9, and the expression: "from this
+day and forward," 1 Sam. xviii. 9. For everywhere one people only is
+spoken of, comp. ver. 1, according to which Egypt cannot be thought
+of--[Hebrew: qv qv] "law-law" is explained from chap. xxviii. 10, 13,
+where it stands beside [Hebrew: cv cv], and designates the mass of
+rules, ordinances, and statutes. This is characteristic of the
+Egyptians, and likewise of the Ethiopians, who bear so close an
+intellectual resemblance to them. With regard to the connection of the
+verse with what precedes, _Gesenius_ remarks: "The consequence of such
+great deeds of Jehovah will be, that the distant, powerful people of
+the Ethiopians shall present pious offerings to Jehovah,"--more
+correctly, "present themselves and their possessions to Jehovah."--A
+prelude to the fulfilment Isaiah beheld with his own eyes. It is said
+in 2 Chron. xxxii. 33: "And many (in consequence of the manifestation
+of the glory of God in the defeat of Asshur before Jerusalem) brought
+gifts unto the Lord to Jerusalem." Yet, we must not limit ourselves to
+that. The real fulfilment can be sought for only at a later time, as
+certainly as that which the Prophet announces about the destruction of
+the world's power exceeds, by far, that isolated defeat of Asshur,
+which can be regarded as a prelude only to the real fulfilment; and
+as certainly as he announces the destruction of Asshur generally,
+and, under his image, of the world's power. "He who delights in
+having pointed out the fulfilment of such prophecies in the later
+history"--_Gesenius_ remarks--"may find it in Acts viii. 26 ff., and
+still more, in the circumstance that Abyssinia is, up to this day, the
+only larger Christian State of the East."--In consequence of the
+glorious manifestation of the Lord in His kingdom, and of the
+conquering power which, in Christ, He displayed in His relation to the
+world's power, there once existed in Ethiopia a flourishing Christian
+Church; and on the ground of this passage before us, we look at its
+ruins which have been left up to this day, with the hope that the Lord
+will, at some future time, rebuild it.
+
+[Pg 141]
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XIX.
+
+
+The burden of Egypt begins with the words: "Behold the Lord rideth upon
+a swift cloud, and cometh into Egypt, and the idols of Egypt are moved
+at His presence, and the heart of Egypt melteth in the midst of it."
+The clouds with which, or accompanied by which, the Lord comes, are, in
+the Old and New Testament writings, symbolical indications and
+representations of judgment; comp. my remarks on Rev. i. 7; and besides
+the passages quoted there, compare in addition Jer. iv. 13; Rev. xiv.
+14. But what judgment is here spoken of? According to _Gesenius_ and
+other interpreters, the calamity is the victory of Psammeticus over the
+twelve princes, with which physical calamities are to be joined. But
+against this view, ver. 11 alone is conclusive, inasmuch as, according
+to this verse, Pharaoh, at the time when this calamity breaks in upon
+Egypt, is the ruler of the whole land: "How say ye unto Pharaoh: I am
+the Son of the wise a (spiritual) son of the kings of ancient times,"
+who are celebrated for their wisdom. In ver. 2, according to which, in
+Egypt, kingdom fights against kingdom, we cannot, therefore, think of
+independent kingdom s; but following the way of the LXX., [Greek: nomos
+epi nomon], of provinces only. Further,--According to _Gesenius_, the
+fierce lord and cruel king in ver. 4 is assumed to be Psammeticus. But
+against this the plural alone is decisive. Ezek. xxx. 12--according to
+which outward enemies, the [Hebrew: zriM], are the cause of the drying
+up of the Nile, of the ceasing of wealth and prosperity--militates
+against the assumption of a calamity independent of the political one.
+The circumstance, that the prophecy under consideration belongs to the
+series of the _burdens_, and was written in the view of Asshur's
+advance, leaves us no room to doubt that the Lord is coming to judgment
+in the oppression by the Asiatic world's power. To this may be added
+the analogy of the prophecies of Jeremiah and Ezekiel against Egypt,
+which are evidently to be considered as a resumption of the prophecy
+under consideration, and as an announcement that its realization is
+constantly going on. They do not know any other calamity than being
+given up to the Asiatic world's power. Compare _e.g._ Jer. xlvi. 25,
+26: "And behold, I visit Pharaoh and Egypt, and their gods and their
+kings, Pharaoh [Pg 142] and them that trust in him. And I deliver them
+into the hand of those that seek their soul, and into the hand of
+Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon." After what we have remarked, the
+discord among the Egyptians in ver. 2, can be considered as the
+consequence and concomitant of the real and main calamity only: Where
+God is not in the midst, there, commonly, internal discord is wont to
+follow upon severe outward affliction, inasmuch as one always imputes
+to the other the cause of matters going on so badly. And what is said
+of the drying up of the Nile, we shall thus likewise be obliged to
+consider as a consequence of the hostile oppression. Waters are, in
+Scripture, the ordinary image of prosperity; compare remarks on Rev.
+xvii. 1, 8, 40; xvi. 4. Here the Nile specially is chosen as the symbol
+of prosperity, inasmuch as upon it the woe and weal of Egypt chiefly
+depended. In consequence of the hostile invasion which consumes all the
+strength of the land, the Nile of its prosperity dries up; "its very
+foundations are destroyed, all who carry on craft are afflicted."
+
+The scope of the prophecy is this: The Lord comes to judgment upon
+Egypt (through Asshur and those who follow in his tracks), ver. 1.
+Instead of uniting all the strength against the common enemy, there
+arises, by the curse of God, discord and dissolution, ver. 2. Egypt
+falls into a helpless state of distress, ver. 3. "And I give over Egypt
+into the hand of hard rule, and a fierce king (_Jonathan_: _potens_,
+sc. Nebuchadnezzar) shall rule over them, saith the Lord, Jehovah of
+hosts," ver. 4. The fierce king is the king of Asshur, the Asiatic
+kingdom; compare the mention of Asshur in ver. 23-25; LXX. [Greek:
+basileis skleroi]. For, the fact that the unity is merely an _ideal_
+one, is most distinctly and intentionally pointed at by the [Hebrew:
+adniM] preceding. The prosperity of the land is destroyed, ver. 5-10.
+The much boasted Egyptian wisdom can as little avert the ruin of the
+country as it did formerly, in ancient times; its bearers stand
+confounded and ashamed; nothing will thrive and prosper, vers. 11-15.
+But the misery produces salutary fruits; it brings about the conversion
+of Egypt to the God of Israel, and, with this conversion, a full
+participation in all the privileges and blessings of the Kingdom of God
+shall be connected, ver. 16, and especially vers. 18-25. This close of
+the prophecy, which for our purpose is of special consequence, we must
+still submit to a closer examination.
+
+[Pg 143]
+
+Ver. 18. "_In that day shall be five cities in the land of Egypt which
+speak the language of Canaan and swear to the Lord of hosts; city of
+destruction the one shall be called._"
+
+_Five_, as usual, here comes into consideration as the half of _ten_,
+which number represents the whole; "_five_ cities," therefore, is
+equivalent to: a goodly number of cities. On the words: "Who speak the
+language of Canaan," _Gesenius_ remarks: "With the spreading of a
+certain religion resting on certain documents of revelation, as _e.g._
+the Jewish religion, the knowledge of their language, too, must be
+connected." We must not, of course, limit the thought to this, that
+Hebrew was learned wherever the religion of Jehovah spread. When
+viewed more deeply, the language of Canaan is spoken by all those
+who are converted to the true God. Upon the Greek language, _e.g._
+the character of the language of Canaan has been impressed in the
+New Testament. That language which, from primeval times, has been
+developed in the service of the Spirit, imparts its character to the
+languages of the world, and changes their character in their deepest
+foundation.--"To swear to the Lord" is to do Him homage; Michaelis:
+_Juramento se Domino obstringent_; comp. chap. xlv. 23: "Unto me every
+knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear." In the words: "City of
+destruction," [Hebrew: hrs], one shall be called, there is contained an
+allusion to [Hebrew: qir hrs], "_city of the Sun_" (Heliopolis) which
+was peculiar to one of the chief seats of Egyptian idolatry. It is the
+celebrated _On_ or _Bethshemish_ of which Jeremiah prophesies in chap.
+xliii. 13: "And he (Nebuchadnezzar) breaketh the pillars in Beth-
+shemish, that is in the land of Egypt, and the houses of the gods of
+Egypt he burneth with fire." This allusion was perceived as early as by
+_Jonathan_, who thus paraphrases: "_Urbs domus solis quae destruetur._"
+By this allusion it is intimated that salvation cannot be bestowed upon
+the Gentile world in the state in which it is; that punitive justice
+must prepare the way for salvation: that everywhere the destructive
+activity of God must precede that which builds up; that the way to the
+Kingdom of God passes through the fire of tribulation which must
+consume every thing that is opposed to God; compare that which Micah,
+even in reference to the covenant-people, says regarding the necessity
+of taking, before giving can have place, vol. i., p. 517.
+
+[Pg 144]
+
+Ver. 19. "_In that day shall there be an altar to the Lord in the midst
+of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to the Lord._"
+
+That the altar is to be considered as a "monument" only is a
+supposition altogether far-fetched, and which can the less find any
+support in the isolated case, Josh. xxii., that that account clearly
+enough intimates how decidedly the existence of an altar furnishes a
+foundation for the supposition that sacrifices are to be offered up
+there, a supposition intimated by the very name in Hebrew. If it was
+meant to serve some other purpose, it would have been necessary
+expressly to state it, or, at least, some other place of sacrifice
+ought to have been assigned for the sacrifices mentioned in ver. 21.
+But as it stands, there cannot be any doubt that the altar here and the
+sacrifices there belong to one another. This passage under
+consideration is of no little consequence, inasmuch as it shows that,
+in other passages where a going up of the Gentiles to Jerusalem in the
+Messianic time is spoken of, as, _e.g._, chap. lxvi. 23, we must
+distinguish between the thought and the embodiment. The _pillar_ at the
+border bears an inscription by which the land is designated as the
+property of the Lord, just as it was the custom of the old eastern
+conquerors, and especially of the Egyptians, to erect such pillars in
+the conquered territories.
+
+Ver. 20. "_And it is for a sign and for a witness to the Lord of hosts
+in the land of Egypt: When they cry unto the Lord because of the
+oppressors, He shall send them a Saviour and a Deliverer; and he shall
+deliver them._"
+
+Altar and pillar, as a sign and witness of the confession to the Lord,
+are, at the same time, a guarantee of the deliverance to be granted by
+Him. According to _Gesenius_, the Prophet speaks "without a definite
+historical reference, of a saving or protecting angel." But we cannot
+think of an angel on account of the plain reference to the common
+formula in the Book of Judges, by which it is intimated that, as far as
+redemption is concerned, Egypt has been made a partaker of the
+privileges of the covenant-people. It is just this reference which has
+given rise to the general expression; but it is Christ who is meant;
+for the prophets, and especially Isaiah, are not cognizant of any other
+Saviour for the Gentile world [Pg 145] than of Him; and it is He who is
+suggested by the Messianic character of the whole description.
+
+Ver. 21. "_And the Lord is known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians
+know the Lord in that day, and offer sacrifice and oblation, and vow
+vows unto the Lord, and perform them._"
+
+Ver. 22. "_And the Lord smiteth the Egyptians so that He healeth them,
+and they are converted to the Lord, and He shall be entreated by them,
+and shall heal them._"
+
+We have here simply a recapitulation. The prophet describes anew the
+transition from the state of wrath to that of grace--not, as
+_Drechsler_ thinks, what they experience in the latter. Upon Egypt is
+fulfilled what, in Deut. xxxii. 39, has been said in reference to
+Israel.
+
+Ver. 23. "_In that day there shall be a highway out of Egypt to Asshur,
+and Asshur cometh into Egypt, and Egypt into Asshur, and Egypt serveth
+with Asshur._"
+
+[Hebrew: ebd] with [Hebrew: at] has commonly the signification "to
+serve some one;" here, however, [Hebrew: at] is used as a preposition:
+Egypt serves God _with_ Asshur. Yet there is an allusion to the
+ordinary use of [Hebrew: ebd] with [Hebrew: at] in order to direct
+attention to the wonderful change: First, Egypt serves Asshur, and the
+powers that follow its footsteps; then, it serves _with_ Asshur. Here
+also it becomes manifest that the deliverer in ver. 20 is no ordinary
+human deliverer; for such an one could help his people only by
+inflicting injury upon the hostile power.
+
+Ver. 24. "_In that day Israel shall be the third with Egypt and with
+Asshur, a blessing in the midst of the earth._"
+
+The "blessing" is not "that union of people formerly separated," but it
+is _Israel_ from which the blessing is poured out upon all the other
+nations; compare the fundamental passage, Gen. xii. 1-3, and the word
+of the Lord: [Greek: he soteria ek ton Ioudaion esti], John iv. 22.
+
+Ver. 25. "_For the Lord of Hosts blesseth him, saying: Blessed be Egypt
+my people, and Asshur the work of mine hands, and Israel mine
+inheritance._"
+
+The suffix in [Hebrew: brm] refers to every thing mentioned in ver. 24.
+"Assyria and Egypt are called by epithets which elsewhere are wont to
+be bestowed upon Israel only."
+
+It is scarcely necessary to point out how gloriously this, [Pg 146]
+prophecy was fulfilled; how, at one time, there existed a flourishing
+Church in Egypt. Although the candlestick of that Church be now removed
+from its place ("_Satanas in hac gente sevit zizania_"--_Vitringa_),
+yet we are confident of, and hope for, a future in which this prophecy
+shall anew powerfully manifest itself The broken power of the
+Mahommedan delusion opens up the prospect, that the time in which this
+hope is to be realized is drawing nigh.
+
+
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XXIII.
+                         THE BURDEN UPON TYRE.
+
+
+In the view of Sennacherib's invasion, the eyes of the Prophet are
+opened, so that he beholds the future destinies of the nations within
+his horizon. It is under these circumstances that it is revealed to him
+that Tyre also, which, not long before, had successfully resisted the
+attack of Asshur, and had imagined herself to be invincible, would not,
+for any length of time, be able to resist the attack of the Asiatic
+world's power.
+
+The threatening goes on to ver. 14; it is, in ver. 13, concentrated in
+the words: "Behold the land of the Chaldeans, this people which was
+not, which Asshur assigns to the beasts of the wilderness,--they set up
+their watch-towers, they arouse her palaces, they bring them to ruin."
+The correct explanation of this verse has been given by _Delitzsch_ in
+his Commentary on Habakkuk, S. xxi. Before the capture of Tyre could be
+assigned to the Chaldeans, it was necessary to point out that they
+should overthrow Asshur, the representative of the world's power in the
+time of the Prophet. The Chaldeans, a people which, up to that time,
+were not reckoned in the list of the kingdoms of the world, destroy, in
+some future period, the Assyrian power, and shall then inflict upon
+Tyre that destruction which Asshur intended in vain to bring upon it.
+
+[Pg 147]
+
+Upon the threatening there follows the promise. Ver. 15. "_And it shall
+come to pass in that day, and Tyre is forgotten seventy years like the
+days of one king. After the end of seventy years, it shall be unto Tyre
+according to the song of the harlot._ Ver. 16. _Take the harp, go about
+the city, forgotten harlot, make sweet melody, sing many songs, that
+thou mayest be remembered._ Ver. 17. _And it shall come to pass, after
+the end of seventy years, the Lord will visit Tyre, and she returneth
+to her hire of whoredom, and whoreth with all the kingdoms of the earth
+upon the surface of the earth._ Ver. 18. _And her gain and hire of
+whoredom shall be holy unto the Lord; not is it treasured and laid up,
+but to those who sit before the Lord its gain shall be, that they may
+eat and be satisfied, and for durable clothing._"
+
+On the "70 years, like the days of one king," _Michaelis_ very
+pertinently remarks: "Not of one individual, but of one reign or
+empire, _i.e._ as long as the Babylonian empire shall last, which,
+after 70 years, was destroyed by Cyrus." The necessary qualification
+follows from ver. 13. According to that verse, the one king can be the
+king of the Chaldeans only. Parallel are the 70 years which, in Jer.
+xxv. 11, 12, are assigned to the Chaldean empire: "And these nations
+serve the king of Babylon 70 years. And it shall come to pass, when the
+70 years are accomplished, I will visit upon the king of Babylon, and
+upon that nation, saith the Lord, their iniquity." In the Commentary on
+Rev. ii. 1, p. 75, 200, it was proved that, in Scripture, kings are
+frequently _ideal_ persons; not individuals, but personifications of
+their kingdoms. _Gesenius'_ objection, that the time of the Babylonish
+dynasty, from the pretended destruction of Tyre to the destruction of
+Babylon, did not last 70 years, vanishes by the remark that the Prophet
+says "like the days;" that, hence, it is expressly intimated that the
+70 years here, differently from what is the case in Jeremiah, are to be
+considered as a _round_ designation of the time. From a comparison of
+Jeremiah we learn that the Chaldean dominion will last 70 years _in
+all_. Into which point of that period the destruction of Tyre is to
+fall, Isaiah does not disclose. It is quite proper that in reference to
+Tyre the announcement should not be so definite, in point of
+chronology, as in reference to Judah. That the capture of [Pg 148] Tyre
+by the Chaldeans, which is here announced, really took place, has been
+more thoroughly established in my book: _De rebus Tyriorum_; and
+afterwards by _Drechsler_ in his Commentary on Isaiah, and by
+_Haevernick_ in his Commentary on Ezekiel.
+
+After the end of the 70 years. Tyre is to resume her trade of whoring,
+and is to carry it on to a wide extent, and with great success. "By the
+image of whoredom"--so we remarked in commenting upon Rev. xiv. 8--"in
+some passages of the Old Testament, that selfishness is designated
+which clothes itself in the garb of love, and, under its appearance,
+seeks the gratification of its own desires. In Is. xxiii. 15 ff., Tyre
+is, on account of her mercantile connections, called a whore, and the
+profit from trade is designated as the reward of whoredom. The point of
+comparison is the endeavour to please, to feign love for the sake of
+gain." Under the dominion of the Persians, Tyre again began to
+flourish.
+
+Tyre's reward of whoredom is consecrated to the Lord, and the bodily
+wants of His servants are provided from it,--quite in agreement with
+the words of the Apostle: [Greek: ei hemeis humin ta pneumatika
+espeiramen, mega, ei emeis humon ta sarkika therisomen]; 1 Cor. ix. 11.
+Converted Tyre offers, in these gifts, its thanks for the noble gift
+which it received from the sanctuary.
+
+_Vitringa_, who remarks that the Prophet was fully aware of "the great
+interval of time that would intervene betwixt the restoration of Tyre,
+and her dedication of herself, with her gains, to the Lord," is right,
+while _Drechsler_, who is of opinion that the doings of consecrated
+Tyre also are represented under the image of whoring, is wrong. Whoring
+designates a sinful conversation which is irreconcilable with
+conversion to the Lord. It does not designate trade, as such, but trade
+as it is earned on by those who, with unrenewed hearts, serve the god
+Mammon. We have here before us two stages, strictly separated. _First_,
+she resumes her old whorings; _then_, she consecrates her gain to the
+Lord. The severe catastrophe intervening, the new capture of Tyre, as
+it took place by Alexander, is not yet beheld by Isaiah. The
+announcement of it was reserved for the post-exilic Prophet Zechariah,
+chap. ix. 3.
+
+The announcement of the future conversion of Tyre received, [Pg 149] in
+the time of Christ, a symbolical representation as it were, in the
+Canaanitish woman. _Vitringa_ says: "The first fruits of this grace
+were received by that wise Canaanitish woman, who had been taught, as
+if she had been in the school of Christ, to ask for divine grace; whom
+Matth. xv. 22, calls a woman of Canaan, Mark vii. 26, a Syrophenician;
+but who was no doubt a Tyrian, inasmuch as she obtained mercy from
+Christ the Lord himself, while He sojourned in the territory of Tyre
+and Sidon. Paul found at Tyre a congregation of disciples of Christ
+already in existence, Acts xxi. 3 ff." At a subsequent period, there
+existed at Tyre a flourishing and wealthy church. _Eusebius_ and
+_Jerome_ describe to us, from their own experience, the fulfilment of
+this prophecy.
+
+
+
+
+                          CHAPTERS XXIV.-XXVII.
+
+
+Upon the ten single "burdens" as they were called forth by the
+threatening Assyrian catastrophe, there follows here a comprehensive
+description of the judgments of God upon His people, and upon the
+world's power hostile to His Kingdom, The characteristic feature in it
+is, that the Prophet abstains from all details.
+
+The prophecy begins in chap. xxiv. 1-13, with the threatening of the
+judgment upon Judah, The fact that Judah is here spoken of, not alone,
+it is true, but together with his companions in suffering, with all the
+other nations crushed like him by the world's power in its various
+phases (verse 4 most clearly shows that it is not Judah alone which is
+spoken of; comp. the same comprehensive mode of representation in Jer.
+xxv.; Hab. ii. 6), appears from ver. 5: "For they transgressed the
+_laws_, violated the _ordinances_, broke the everlasting _covenant_,"
+where there can exist only a collateral reference to the Gentile world;
+from ver. 13, where the continuing gleaning is characteristic of the
+covenant-people (comp. xvii. 6); but especially from ver. 23, where,
+after the time of punishment, the Lord reigneth on Mount Zion.
+
+The judgment upon Judah bears a comprehensive character. [Pg 150] As
+the single phases of the world's power, by which the sins of the people
+of God are visited, there had been mentioned in the cycle of the
+_burdens_, Asshur in chap. xiv. 25; Babylon in chap. xiii., xiv., xxi.,
+(the circumstance that the first _burden_ of the first half of the
+_burdens_, and likewise the first _burden_ of the second half of the
+_burdens_--the ten _burdens_ being thus divided into twice five--is
+directed against Babylon, shows that specially heavy judgments were to
+be inflicted by Babel); Elam in chap. xxii. 6 (comp. remarks on chap.
+xi. 11). Here the idea of judgment upon the covenant-people is viewed
+_per se_, and irrespective of the particular forms of its realisation.
+
+In vers. 14, 15, there is a sudden transition from the threatening to
+the promise: "They (the remnant left according to ver. 13) shall lift
+their voice, they shall shout for the majesty of the Lord, they shall
+cry aloud from the sea,"--from the sea into which they were driven away
+by the storm of the judgments of the Lord. To the "sea" here,
+correspond the "islands of the sea," in ver. 15; compare the mention of
+the islands in chap. xi. 11. Ver. 15. "Therefore, in the light praise
+ye the Lord, in the isles of the sea the name of the Lord God of
+Israel." The words are addressed to the elect in the time of salvation.
+The Plural [Hebrew: ariM] denotes the _fulness_ of light or salvation,
+comp. chap. xxvi. 19; [Hebrew: b] is, in both instances, used in a
+local sense. The light is the spiritual territory; the isles of the
+sea, the natural.
+
+Ver. 16 returns to the threatening: "From the uttermost parts of the
+earth we hear songs: Glory to the righteous! And I say: Misery to me,
+misery to me, woe to me! the treacherous are treacherous, and very
+treacherous are the treacherous." The song of praise of the redeemed,
+which is heard coming forth from a far distant future, is suppressed by
+the same affliction which is immediately impending, by the look to the
+rod of chastisement by the world's power with its treachery, its policy
+feigning love and concealing hatred, with which the Lord is to visit
+His people, and the floods of which, like a new flood, are, according
+to ver. 15, to overflow the whole earth. Compare the very similar
+transition from triumphant hope to lamentation over the misery of the
+future more immediately at hand, in Hab. iii. 16.
+
+In ver. 21, ff. the promise breaks forth anew. Ver. 21: [Pg 151] "_And
+it shall come to pass in that day: the Lord shall visit the host of the
+height in the height, and the kings of the earth upon the earth._ Ver.
+22. _And they are all of them gathered together as prisoners in the
+pit, and are shut up in the prison, and after many days they are
+visited._ Ver. 23. _And the moon blusheth, and the sun is ashamed, for
+the Lord of hosts reigneth on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before
+His ancients is glory._"
+
+In ver. 21 the destruction of the world's power is announced. The
+"kings of the earth" form the explanation of the "host of the height."
+It is very common to represent rulers under the image of stars; compare
+Numb. xxiv. 17; Rev. vi. 13, viii. 10; Is. xiv. 12, xxxiv. 4, 5,
+compared with ver. 12. [Hebrew: mrvM] is used in reference to the great
+ones of the earth in ver. 4, and in chap. xxvi. 5, also. The
+explanation by evil heavenly powers has no Old Testament analogies in
+its favour.--In ver. 22, the words: "And after many days they are
+visited," intimates that the time will appear very long to Zion, until
+the visitation takes place. "Many days," or "a long time," viz., after
+the beginning of their raging, which was to continue for a series of
+centuries, until Christ at length spoke: "Be of good cheer, I have
+overcome the world." The visitation consists in their being gathered
+together.--In ver. 23, the words: "The Lord reigneth," contain an
+allusion to the formula used in proclaiming the accession of earthly
+kings to the throne, and point to an impending new and glorious
+manifestation of the government of the Lord,--as it were, a new
+accession to the throne; compare remarks on Ps. xciii. 1; Rev. xix. 6.
+The "ancients" are the _ideal_ representatives of the Church; compare
+remarks on Rev. iv. 4. Before them is glory, inasmuch as the Lord
+imparts to them of His glory.
+
+In chap. xxv. 1-5, the Lord is praised on account of the glorious
+redemption bestowed upon His people. "For thou hast made"--it is said
+in ver. 2--"of a city a heap, of a firm city a ruin, the palace of
+strangers to be no city; it shall not be built in eternity." The city,
+palace (we must think of such an one as comes up to a city, as is even
+now the case with the palaces of the princes in India) bear an ideal
+character, and represent the whole fashion of the world, the whole
+world's power; comp. ver. 12, chaps. xxvi. 5, xxvii. 10. _Gesenius_ [Pg
+152] speaks of "the strange conjectures of interpreters who have
+guessed all possible cities." But he himself has lost himself in the
+sphere of strange conjectures and guesses, by remarking: "The city
+whose destruction is here spoken of can be none other than Babylon."
+The circumstance that Babylon is not mentioned at all in the whole
+prophecy in chaps. xxiv.-xxvii. shows plainly enough that a special
+reference to Babylon cannot here be entertained; and the less so, that
+it would be against the character of our prophecy, which abstains from
+all details.
+
+While in vers. 1-5 the discourse was laudatory and glorifying, and
+addressed to the Lord, in vers. 6-8 the Lord is spoken of:
+
+Ver. 6. "_And in this mountain the Lord of hosts maketh unto all people
+a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full
+of marrow, of lees well-refined._ Ver 7. _And destroyeth in the
+mountain the surface of the vail covering all the nations, and the
+covering cast upon all the nations._ Ver. 8. _And destroyeth death for
+ever, and the Lord Jehovah wipeth away the tears from off all faces,
+and the rebuke of His people shall He take away from of all the earth;
+for the Lord hath spoken._"
+
+"In this mountain," ver. 6, where He enters upon His government (chap.
+xxiv. 23), and dwells in the midst of His people in a manner formerly
+unheard of.--"Unto all people," comp. chap. ii. 2 ff. The verse under
+consideration forms the foundation for the words of Christ in Matthew
+viii. 2: [Greek: lego de humin hoti polloi apo anatolon kai dusmon
+hexousi kai anaklithesontai meta Abraam kai Isaak kai Iakob en te
+basileia ton ouranon]; comp. xxii. 1 ff.; Luke xxii. 30. In ver. 7,
+"the surface of the vail" is the vail itself, inasmuch as it lies over
+it. The "covering" here comes into consideration as a sign of mourning,
+comp. 2 Sam. xv. 30: "And David went up by the ascent of Mount Olivet,
+weeping, and his head covered, and so also all the people with him."
+The explanation is given in ver. 8, where the [Hebrew: ble] is
+intentionally resumed. We cannot, therefore, agree with _Drechsler_ who
+explains the being "covered," by "dullness and deadness in reference to
+spiritual things."--The first part of ver. 8 is again resumed in Rev.
+vii. 17, xxi. 4. As death entered into the world by sin (Gen. ii. 17;
+Rom. v. 12), [Pg 153] so it ceases when sin is completely overcome;
+compare 1 Cor. xv. 54, where our passage is expressly quoted. Besides
+death, _tears_ also are mentioned, inasmuch as they flow with special
+bitterness in the case of bereavements by death.--The Lord removes the
+rebuke of His people when all their hopes, which formerly were mocked
+and laughed at, are fulfilled, and when, out of the midst of them,
+salvation for the whole world rises.
+
+With the people of God in their exaltation, Moab is, in vers. 9-12,
+contrasted in its weakness and humiliation, and in its vain attempts to
+withdraw from the supremacy of the God of Israel. Moab comes here into
+consideration, only as the representative of all the kingdoms hostile
+to God, and obstinately persevering in their opposition to His Kingdom;
+just as Edom in chap. xxxiv., lxiii. The representative character of
+Moab was recognized by _Gesenius_ also, who thus determines the sense:
+"Whilst Jehovah's protecting hand rests upon Zion, His enemies
+helplessly perish." It is intentionally that Moab is mentioned, and not
+Asshur or Babel, because, in its case, the representative character
+could not so easily be mistaken or overlooked.--Ver. 12 returns to the
+world's power in general.
+
+In chap. xxvi., the rejoicing and shouting for the salvation are
+continued. A characteristic Messianic feature is contained in ver. 19
+only, in which, as in chap. xxv. 8, the ceasing of death and the
+resurrection of the righteous appear as taking place in the Messianic
+time.
+
+Ver. 19. "_Thy dead shall live, my dead bodies shall arise. Awake and
+sing, ye that dwell in dust! For a dew of light is thy dew, and thou
+makest fall to the earth the giants._"
+
+The saints are raised from the earth; the giants are sunk into the
+earth. The [Hebrew: rpaiM] "giants" are identical with the [Hebrew:
+iwbi tbl] in ver. 18. There it was said in reference to the time of
+wrath: "We have not wrought any deliverance in the land, neither have
+the inhabitants of the world fallen;" compare vers. 9 and 21; Numb.
+xiv. 32. Parallel is the announcement of the defeat of the world's
+power in ver. 14. [Hebrew: rpaiM], it is true, is there used of the
+dead; but the signification of the word remains the same: The bodiless
+spirits were called _giants_, because they were objects of terror to
+the living; comp. remarks on Ps. lxxxviii. 11. The word is, in ver. 14,
+used [Pg 154] with a certain irony.--"Light" is equivalent to
+"salvation." The Plural signifies the fulness of light or salvation.
+The complete fulfilment which the words, "Thy dead shall live," will
+find in the resurrection of the body, affords a guarantee for the
+fulfilment of the previous stages.
+
+In chap. xxvii., it is especially ver. 1 which attracts our attention:
+"_In that day the Lord with His sword, hard, great, and strong, shall
+visit the leviathan, the tortuous serpent, and killeth the dragon that
+is in the sea._"
+
+We have here three designations of one and the same monster.
+_Gesenius_, on the other hand, rightly brings forward the accumulation
+of the attributes of the sword: With the three epithets applied to the
+sword, the three epithets of the monster to be killed by it pertinently
+correspond. The leviathan, the dragon, is, as it were, the king of the
+sea-animals, compare remarks on Ps. lxxiv. 13, 14. In the spiritual sea
+of the world, its natural antitype is the conquering world's power;
+comp. remarks on Rev. xii. 3. But that which is meant is the whole
+world's power, according to all its phases, which is here viewed as a
+whole; comp. ver. 13, where it is designated by Asshur and Egypt. The
+special reference to Babylon rests, here also, on a mere fancy.
+
+
+                           * * * * * * * * * *
+
+
+
+
+After the single discourses out of the Assyrian time, from chap.
+vii-xxvii., there follows in chap. xxviii.-xxxiii. the sum and
+substance of those not fully communicated. Even the uncommonly large
+extent of the section suggests to us such a comprehensive character.
+And so likewise does the fact that the same thoughts are constantly
+recurring, as is the case in several of the minor prophets also, _e.g._
+Hosea. But what is most decisive is, that in chap. xxviii. 1-4 Samaria
+appears as not yet destroyed. Considering that the chronological
+principle pervades the whole collection, this going back can be
+accounted for only by the circumstance that we have here a
+comprehensive representation. And we are the more led to this opinion
+that, in other passages of the same section, Jerusalem is represented
+as being threatened immediately. In this section, it is especially the
+passage in chap. xxviii. 16 [Pg 155] which attracts our attention;
+since, in the New Testament, it is referred to Christ.
+
+"_Behold I have laid for a foundation in Zion a stone, a tried_
+(stone), _a precious corner stone of perfect foundation; he that
+believeth need not make haste_," viz., for an escape or refuge for
+himself, Ps. lv. 9. In opposition to false hopes, this stone is pointed
+to as the only true foundation, and all are threatened with unavoidable
+destruction who do not make it their foundation. The stone is the
+Kingdom of God, the Church; compare Zech. iii. 9, where the Kingdom of
+God likewise appears under the image of the stone. But since the
+Kingdom of God (which, in chap. viii. 16, had been represented under
+the image of the quietly flowing waters of Siloah) is, for all
+eternity, closely connected with the house of David which centres in
+Christ, _that which, in the first instance, is said of the kingdom of
+God refers, at the same time, to its head and centre_. Parallel is Is.
+xiv. 32; "The Lord hath founded Zion, and the poor of His people trust
+in it." The [Hebrew: hamiN] here corresponds with the [Hebrew: Hsh]
+with [Hebrew: b] there. The difference is, that there Zion itself is
+the object of confidence, while here it is the stone which is in Zion.
+_There_, Zion is the _spiritual_ Zion; not the mountain as an
+assemblage of stones, nor the outward temple as such, but Zion in so
+far as it is a sanctuary, the seat of the presence of the Lord. The
+Lord--such is the sense--has founded His Kingdom among us; and the
+circumstance that we are citizens of the Kingdom gives us security,
+enables us to be calm even in the midst of the greatest danger. _Here_,
+on the contrary, Zion is the outward Zion, and the Kingdom of God is
+the Church as distinguished from it. The Zion here corresponds to the
+holy mountains in Ps. lxxxvii. 1, where, in a similar manner, a
+distinction is drawn between the material and spiritual Zion: "His
+foundation is in the holy mountains," on which I remarked in my
+Commentary: "The foundation of Zion took place spiritually by its being
+chosen to be the seat of the sanctuary. It was then only that the
+place, already existing, received its spiritual foundation." The stone
+laid by God as a foundation in Zion, in the passage under
+consideration, is, in substance, identical with the "tent that He
+placed among men," in Ps. lxxviii. 60. "In substance the sanctuary was
+erected by God alone, who, by [Pg 156] fulfilling His promise, 'I dwell
+in the midst of them,'breathed the living soul into the body, and
+caused His name to dwell there." In Ezek. xi. the substance of the
+sanctuary, the Shechinah, withdraws into heaven.--Our passage, farther,
+touches very closely upon chap. viii. 14: "And He (the Lord) becomes a
+sanctuary and a stone of offence, and a rock of stumbling to both the
+houses of Israel, and a snare and a trap to the inhabitants of
+Jerusalem." The stone _here_ is the Church; _there_ it is the Lord
+himself, according to His relation to Israel, the Lord who has become
+manifest in His Church. Another point of contact is offered by Ps.
+cxviii. 22: "The stone which the builders rejected has become the
+corner-stone." In that passage, too, the stone is the Kingdom and
+people of God: "The people of God whom the kingdoms of the world
+despised, have, by the working of God, then been raised to the dignity
+of the world-ruling people."
+
+A simple quotation of the passage before us is found in Rom. x. 11:
+[Greek: legei gar he graphe. pas ho pisteuon ep'auto ou
+kataischunthesetai.] In chap. ix. ver. 3, we have chap. viii. 14, and
+the passage under consideration blended in a remarkable manner: [Greek:
+idou tithemi en Sion lithon prokommatos kai petran skandalou. kai pas
+ho pisteuon ep'auto ou kataischunthesetai], and from the remarks
+already offered, the right to this blending is evident. Peter, in 1
+Pet. ii. 6, 7, adds to these two passages, that in Ps. cxviii. 22:
+[Greek: dioti periechei en te graphe: idou tithemi en Sion lithon
+akrogoniaion, eklekton, entimon, kai ho pisteuon ep'auto ou me
+kataischunthe. humin houn he time tois pisteuousin. apeithousi de
+lithon hon apedokimasan hoi oikodomountes, houtos egenethe eis kephalen
+gonias, kai lithos proskommatos kai petra skandalou], on which _Bengel_
+remarks: "Peter quotes, in ver. 6 and 7, three passages, the first from
+Isaiah, the second from the Psalms, the third again from Isaiah. To the
+third he alludes in ver. 8, but to the second and first, in ver. 4,
+having, even then already both of them in his mind." Matth. xxi. 42-44
+refers only to Ps. cxviii. and to Is. viii. 14, 15. to the latter
+passage in ver. 44; Acts iv. has Ps. cxviii. only in view.
+
+The second Messianic passage of the section which is of importance for
+our purpose, is chap. xxxiii. 17.
+
+"_Thine eyes shall see the King in His beauty; they shall see the land
+that is far off._"
+
+[Pg 157]
+
+The "King" is the Messiah. This appears from the reference to the Song
+of Solomon i. 16, where the bride says to the bridegroom, the heavenly
+Solomon, "Behold thou art _fair_, my beloved" (comp. Ps. xlv. 3;) and
+from the words immediately following: "they shall see the land that is
+far off." The wide extension of the Kingdom of God is indissolubly
+connected with the appearance of the Messiah. Those who refer the
+prophecy to Hezekiah refer "the land that is far off" (literally: "the
+land of distances") to "a land stretching far out," in antithesis to
+the siege when the people of Jerusalem were limited to its area, since
+the whole country was occupied by the Assyrians. But the passage, chap.
+xxvi. 15: "Thou increasest the nation, O God, thou art glorified, thou
+removest all the boundaries of the land," is conclusive against this
+explanation. Comparing this passage, as also chap. lx. 4; Zech. x. 9,
+_Michaelis_ correctly explains: "The land of distances is the Kingdom
+of Christ most widely propagated." In chap. viii. 9, likewise, the
+Gentile countries are designated by the "distances of the earth."
+_Farther_--Hezekiah could not be designated simply by [Hebrew: mlK]
+without the article. It is only by the utmost violence that the whole
+announcement can be limited to the events under Hezekiah, which
+everywhere form the foreground only. We might rather, with _Vitringa_,
+think of Jehovah, with a comparison of ver. 22: "For the Lord is our
+judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our King; He will save
+us," and of Ps. xlviii. 3, where he is called [Hebrew: mlK rb]. To
+Jehovah, the passage, chap. xxx. 20, 21 also refers,--a passage which
+has been so often misunderstood: "And the Lord giveth you bread of
+adversity, and water of affliction, and not does thy teacher conceal
+himself any more, and thine eyes see thy Teacher. And thine ears hear a
+voice behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it; do not turn
+to the right hand, nor to the left." The affliction prepares for the
+coming of the heavenly teacher; by it the eyes of the people have been
+opened, so that they are able to behold His glorious form. But although
+we should understand Jehovah by "the King in His beauty," we must, at
+all events, think of His glorious manifestation in Christ Jesus, who
+said, He who sees me sees the Father, and in whom the fulness of the
+Godhead dwells bodily; and it was indeed in Christ that God, [Pg 158]
+in the truest manner, revealed and manifested himself as the Teacher of
+His people.
+
+The close of the whole of the first part of Isaiah is, in chaps.
+xxxiv., xxxv. formed by a comprehensive announcement, _on the one
+hand_, of the judgments upon the God-hating world, here individualized
+by Edom, that hereditary enemy of Israel, who was so much the more
+fitted for this representation that his enmity was the most obstinate
+of all, and remained the same throughout all the phases of Israel's
+oppression by the great kingdoms of the world (he always appears as he
+who helped to bring misery upon his brethren); and, _on the other
+hand_, of the mercy and salvation which should be bestowed upon the
+Church trampled upon by the world.
+
+On chap. xxxiv. 4;, 5, where the heaven is that of the princes, the
+whole order of rulers and magistrates; the stars, the single princes
+and nobles, compare my remarks on Rev. vi. 13.
+
+
+
+
+The description of the salvation in store for the Church, in chap.
+xxxv., is pre-eminently Messianic, although the lower blessings also
+are included which preceded the appearance of Christ. The description
+contains features so characteristic, that we must necessarily submit it
+to a closer examination.
+
+Ver. 1. "_The wilderness and dry land shall be glad for it, and the
+desert shall rejoice and sprout like the bulb._"
+
+The wilderness is Zion--the Church to be devastated by the world.--"For
+it,"--_i.e._ for the judgment upon the world, as it was described in
+chap. xxxiv. with which the changed fate of the Church is indissolubly
+connected.
+
+Ver. 2. "_It shall sprout, and rejoice with joy and shouting. The glory
+of Lebanon is given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon. They
+shall see the glory of the Lord, the excellency of our God._"
+
+"The glory of Lebanon," &c. is a glory like unto that of Lebanon. The
+real condition of the glory of Zion, or the Church, is brought before
+us in the subsequent verses only; it consists in the Lords glory being
+manifested in it. The majestic, wooded Lebanon, and fruitful Carmel,
+are contrasted with one another; the latter is put together with the
+lovely fruitful plain of Sharon, rich in flowers; compare remarks on
+Song of Sol. vii. 6. _Michaelis_ says: "The Lebanon excels among the
+forests; the Carmel among the fruitful hills; the [Pg 159] Sharon among
+the lovely fields or valleys."--To "see the glory of the Lord, the
+excellency _of God_" means to behold Him in the revelation of the full
+glory of His nature. Prophecy would have fed the minds of the people
+with vain hopes, if God had revealed himself in any other way than in
+Christ, the brightness of His glory and the express image of His
+person, in whom dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily (Col.
+ii. 9), and who, along with His own glory, revealed, at the same time,
+that of the Father; for it was the glory as of the only-begotten of the
+Father, John i. 14; ii. 11.
+
+Ver. 3. "_Strengthen ye the slack hands, and confirm ye the tottering
+knees._" The words are addressed to all the members of the people of
+God; they are to strengthen and confirm _one another_ by pointing to
+the future revelation of the glory of the Lord.
+
+Ver. 4. "_Say to them that are of a fearful heart: Be strong, fear not;
+behold, your God will come for vengeance, for a gift of God: He will
+come and save you._"
+
+"To them that are of a fearful heart,"--literally of a "hasty heart,"
+who allow themselves to be carried away by the Present, and are
+unmindful of the _respice finem_.--[Hebrew: mqM] and [Hebrew: gmvl] are
+Accusatives, used in the same manner as in verbs of motion, to
+designate the object of the motion.--On [Hebrew: gmvl], "gift," comp.
+remarks on Ps. vii. 5. "The gift of God" forms a contrast to the poor
+gifts, such as men offer. He comes for vengeance upon His enemies, and
+for bestowing the most glorious divine gifts upon His people. The
+words: "He will come and save you," are an explanation of "the gift of
+God." It is in Christ that the words: "He will come and save you,"
+found their true fulfilment,--a fulfilment to which every lower
+blessing pointed, and which is still going on, and constantly
+advancing.--That which, in the subsequent verses, is said of the
+concomitant circumstances of this salvation, is by far too high to
+admit of the fulfilment being sought in any other than Christ. All
+these forced explanations, such as: "In their joy they feel _as if_
+they were healed" (_Knobel_, after the example of _Gesenius_), only
+serve to show this more clearly. They are overthrown even by the
+parallel announcement of the impending resurrection of the dead in
+chap. xxv. 8; xxvi. 19.
+
+[Pg 160]
+
+Ver. 5. "_Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of
+the deaf shall be unstopped._"
+
+The blind and deaf are the individualizing designations of the
+wretched; in Luke xiv. 13-21, the blind are named along with the poor,
+lame, and maimed as an individualizing designation of the whole genus
+of _personae miserabiles_; comp. John v. 3. But this individualizing
+designation must be carefully distinguished from the image. The blind
+and deaf are mentioned as the most perspicuous _species_ in the
+_genus_; but they themselves are, in the first instance, meant, and
+that which has been said must, in the first instance, be fulfilled upon
+them. _Farther_--as blind and deaf are, without farther remark and
+qualification, spoken of, we shall, in the first instance, be obliged
+to think of the bodily blind and deaf, inasmuch as they, according to
+the common _usus loquendi_, are thus designated. But a collateral
+reference to the _spiritually_ blind and deaf must so much the rather
+be assumed, that they, too, form a portion of the genus here
+represented by the blind and deaf; and the more so that it is just
+Isaiah who so frequently speaks of spiritual blindness and deafness;
+comp. chap. xxix. 18: "And in that day (in the time of the future
+salvation, when the Lord of the Church shall have put to shame the
+pusillanimity and timidity of His people), the deaf hear the words of
+the book, and the eyes of the blind see out of obscurity and darkness;"
+xlii. 18: "Hear ye deaf, and look ye blind and see;" xliii. 8: "Bring
+forth the blind people, that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears;"
+lvi. 10; vi. 10; Matth. xv. 14; John ix. 39; Ephes. i. 18; 2 Pet. i. 9.
+Spiritual blindness and deafness are specially seen in the relation of
+the people to the leadings of the Church, and to the promises of
+Scripture. The blind cannot understand the complicated ways of God; the
+deaf have, especially in the time of misery, no ear for His promises.
+Besides the natural and spiritual blindness, Scripture knows of still a
+third; it designates as blind those who cannot see the way of
+salvation, the helpless and drooping; compare my Commentary on Ps.
+cxlvi. 8; Zeph. i. 17; Isa. xlii. 7. Now, it is blindness and deafness
+of every kind which, along with all other misery, shall find a remedy
+at the time of salvation.--If we ask for the fulfilment, our eye is, in
+the first instance, attracted by Matt. [Pg 161] xi. 5, where, with an
+evident reference to the passage before us, the Lord gives to the
+question of John: "Art thou he that should come, or do we look for
+another," the matter-of-fact answer, that the blind receive their
+sight, the deaf hear, the lame walk: comp. Matth. xv. 31: [Greek: hoste
+tous ochlous thaumasai blepontas kophous laloutas, kullous hugieis,
+cholous peripatountas kai tuphlous blepontas]; xxi. 14; [Greek: kai
+proselthon auto tuphloi kai choloi en to hiero kai etherapeusen
+autous]; Mark vii. 37, where after the healing of the deaf and dumb,
+the people say: [Greek: kalos panta pepoieke. kai tous kophous poiei
+akouein, kai tous alalous lalein.] Yet shall we not be able to see, in
+these facts, the complete fulfilment of the prophecy, in so far as it
+refers to the healing of the bodily blind and deaf--inasmuch as it
+promises the healing of all, not of some only--but only a pledge of the
+complete fulfilment of it; just as Christ's raising some from the dead
+only prefigures what He shall do in the end of the days. The complete
+fulfilment belongs to the time of the resurrection of the just, of
+which it is said: Whatever is here afflicted, groans, prays, shall then
+go on brightly and gloriously. More comprehensive was the fulfilment
+which the prophecy received, in reference to spiritual blindness and
+deafness, immediately at the first appearance of Christ, who declared
+that He had come into the world, that they which see not, might see
+(John ix. 39). But even here the completion as certainly belongs to the
+future world, as [Greek: blepomen arti di'esoptrou hen ainigmati].
+
+Ver. 6. "_Then shall the lame leap as an hart, and the tongue of the
+dumb shall shout; for in the wilderness shall waters be opened, and
+streams in the desert._"
+
+The _leaping and shouting_ imply that they have obtained deliverance
+from their bodily defects,--at this deliverance the preceding verse
+stopped--and proceed from the natural delight at the appearance of this
+salvation, personal as well as general, of which these are an
+emanation. On the first words especially. Acts iii. 8 is to be
+compared, where it is said of the lame man to whom Peter, in the name
+of Jesus spoke. Arise and walk: [Greek: kai exallomenos este kai
+periepatei, kai eiselthe sun autois eis to hieron, peripaton kai
+allomenos kai ainon ton theon]; farther. Acts viii. 7: [Greek: polloi
+de paralelumenoi kai choloi etherapeuthesan]; xiv. 8; John v. 9. Of
+_spiritual_ lameness, Heb. xii. 13 is spoken. It appears especially in
+dark times of affliction, as _Vitringa_ says: "In the time of wild
+persecution, and when the Church languishes, [Pg 162] not a few men
+begin to halt, to vacillate in their views, to suspend their opinions,"
+&c. On the words: "the tongue of the dumb shall shout," compare Matt.
+xii. 22: [Greek: tote prosenechthe auto daimonzomenos, tuphlos kai
+kophos. kai etherapeusen auton, hoste ton tuphlon kai kophon kai lalein
+kai blepein.] _Spiritual_ dumbness is the incapacity for the praise of
+God which, in the time when salvation is withheld, so easily creeps in,
+and which is removed by the bestowal of salvation. The words: "For in
+the wilderness," &c., state the ground of the leaping and shouting,
+point to the bestowal of salvation, which forms the cause. The _waters_
+are the waters of salvation, compare remarks on chap. xii. 3. The words
+contain, moreover, an allusion to Exod. xvii. 3 ff.; Numb. xx. 11,
+where, during the journey through the wilderness, salvation is
+represented by the bestowal of water. The desert here is an image of
+misery.
+
+Ver. 7. "_And the scorching heat of the sun becomes a pool, and the
+thirsty land, springs of water; in the habitation of dragons shall be
+their couching place, grass where formerly reeds and rushes._"
+
+"The scorching heat of the sun," stands for "places scorched by the
+heat" ("parched ground," English version). The passage chap. xlix. 10,
+forbids us to explain it by _mirage_, the appearance of water. The
+suffix in [Hebrew: rbch] refers to Zion. Dragons like to make their
+abode especially in the waterless wilderness. The circumstance that
+Zion has there her couching place, supposes that it has been changed
+into a garden of God; while, on the contrary, in chap. xxxiv. 13, it is
+said of the world that "it becomes an habitation of dragons." Besides
+the dry land, the moor-land which bears nothing but barren reeds, shall
+undergo a change; nourishing _grass_ is to take its place; [Hebrew:
+Hcir] has no other signification than this.
+
+Ver. 8. "_And a high-way shall be there, and a way, and it shall be
+called the holy way; an unclean shall not pass over it; and it shall be
+for them, that they may walk on it, that fools also may not err._"
+
+"The way" is the way of salvation which God opens up to His people in
+the wilderness of misery; comp. chap. xliii. 19: "I will make a way in
+the wilderness, rivers in the desert;" Ps. cvii. 4: "They wandered in
+the wilderness, in the desert without ways," where the pathless
+wilderness is the image of misery; [Pg 163] Ps. xxv. 4; xxvii. 11,
+where the ways of God are the ways of salvation which He reveals to His
+people, that they may walk in them. The way is _holy_ (comp. remarks on
+chap. iv. 3), because inaccessible to the profane world, to the
+_unclean_, who are not allowed to disturb the righteous walking on it;
+comp. ver. 9, which shows how entirely out of place is the remark that
+"the author, in his national hatred, will not allow any Gentiles to
+walk along with the covenant-people." It is only as converted, as
+fellows and companions of the saints, that the Gentiles are allowed to
+enter on the way, and not as unclean and their enemies. The
+circumstance that even the foolish cannot miss the way, indicates the
+abundant fulness of the salvation, in consequence of which it is so
+easily accessible; and no human effort, skill, or excellence, is
+required to attain the possession of it.
+
+Ver. 9. "_No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast go up thereon,
+it shall not be found there; and the redeemed walk on it._"
+
+By the lion, the ravenous beast, heathenish wickedness and tyranny, the
+world's power pernicious to the Kingdom of God, is designated; comp.
+remarks on chap. xi. 7. The Lord declared that the fulfilment had taken
+place, when He said: Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.
+
+Ver. 10. "_And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion,
+and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads. Joy and gladness they
+shall obtain, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away._"
+
+
+
+
+            GENERAL PRELIMINARY REMARKS ON CHAPTERS XL.-LXVI.
+
+
+The historical section, chap. xxxvi.-xxxix., forms the transition from
+the first to the second part of the prophecies of Isaiah. Its close is
+formed by the announcement of Judah's being carried away to Babylon, an
+announcement which Isaiah uttered to Hezekiah after the impending
+danger from the [Pg 164] Assyrians had been successfully warded off, as
+had been mentioned in the preceding chapter. In chap. xxxix. 6, 7, it
+is said: "Behold days are coming, and all that is in thine house, and
+that which thy fathers have laid up in store until this day, shall be
+carried to Babylon, and nothing shall be left, saith the Lord. And of
+thy sons shall they take away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace
+of the king of Babylon." In this announcement, we have at the same time
+the concentration of the rebuking and threatening mission of the
+Prophet, and the point from which proceeds the _comforting_ mission
+which, in the second part, is pre-eminently attended to. This second
+part at once begins with the words: "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people,"
+which stand in closest connection with the preceding announcement of a
+great calamity, yea, even necessarily demand this. It is just for this
+reason that the historical chapters cannot be a later addition and
+interpolation, but must be an original element of the collection
+written by the Prophet himself.[1]
+
+The contents of the second part are stated at once, and generally, in
+the introductory words, chap. xl. 1, 2: "Comfort ye, comfort ye my
+people, saith your God. Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, and cry unto
+her that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned,
+that she receives of the Lord's hand double for all her sins." The
+_comfort_ must, accordingly, form the fundamental character of the
+second part. But since, for the people of God, there does not exist any
+purely external salvation; since, for them, salvation is indissolubly
+connected with _repentance_,--_exhortation_ must necessarily go hand
+ill hand with the announcement of salvation. This second feature and
+element concealed behind the first, is, moreover, expressly brought
+forward in what immediately follows, inasmuch as by it the "Comfort ye"
+does not receive any addition, [Pg 165] but is only commented upon and
+enlarged. The servants of the Lord (the whole chorus of the messengers
+of the divine salvation is addressed in vers. 3, 5), complying with His
+command, announce the impending salvation, designating it as a
+manifestation of the Lord's glory, and exhort to a worthy preparation
+for it. Vers. 3 and 4 treat of preparing in the desert a high-way for
+the Lord, who is to manifest himself gloriously. The way is prepared
+by repentance; the desert symbolizes the condition of bodily and
+spiritual misery. It is from this miserable condition that the Lord is
+to deliver and redeem His people; but in order that He may perform His
+part, they must, previously, have performed theirs. In ver. 5, this
+manifestation itself is described, with which is connected the fulness
+of salvation for the covenant-people. The servants of God are to
+announce the approach of salvation to mourning Jerusalem, in which the
+covenant-people appears to the Prophet as personified. (Jerusalem does
+not stand for "the carried away Zionites;" it is an ideal person, the
+afflicted and bowed down widow sitting on the ground in sackcloth; the
+distressed and mourning mother of the children partly carried away, and
+partly killed,--compare chap. iii. 26, where Jerusalem, desolate and
+emptied, sits upon the ground.) But this salvation can be granted to
+those only whose hearts are prepared to receive it. Thus the
+announcement of salvation is preceded by the [Greek: metanoeite], by
+the call to remove all the obstacles which render impassable the path
+through the desert into the land of promise; which render impossible
+the transition from misery to salvation; which prevent the Lord from
+coming to His people in their misery, and leading them out from it.
+Then, to those who have complied with the exhortation, the
+manifestation of the glory of the Lord is promised--He comes to them,
+in a glorious manifestation, in the way which, in the power of His
+Spirit, they have prepared and opened up to Him--and in, and with it,
+all the glorious things which, according to ver. 2, the servants of the
+Lord were to promise regarding the Future.
+
+The comfort oftentimes moves in general terms, and consists in pointing
+to a Future full of salvation and grace. But, in other passages, the
+announcement of salvation is more individualised, becomes more special.
+These special announcements [Pg 166] refer to a twofold object,
+_First_--The Prophet comforts his people by announcing the deliverance
+from the Babylonish captivity. This deliverance he describes by the
+most lovely images, frequently taken from the deliverance of the people
+from Egypt. But it is to be well observed that even those prophecies
+which pre-eminently refer to the lower object, have something exuberant
+and overflowing; so that, even after having been fulfilled, they cannot
+be looked upon as antiquated. He states the name of the ruler,
+_Koresh_, the king from the rising of the sun, who, sent by the Lord,
+shall punish the oppressors of Zion, and bring back the people to their
+land. The _second_ object is the deliverance and salvation by the
+Servant of God, the Messiah, who, after having passed through
+humiliation, suffering, and death, and having thereby effected
+redemption, will remove from the glorified Kingdom of God all the evil
+occasioned by sin. Of this higher salvation the soul of the Prophet is
+so full, that the references to it are constantly pressing forward,
+even where, in the first instance, he has to do with the lower
+salvation. In the description of the higher salvation, the relation of
+time is not observed. Now, the Prophet beholds its Author in His
+humiliation and suffering; then, the most distant Future of the Kingdom
+of Christ presents itself to his enraptured eye,--the time in which the
+Gentile world, alienated from God, shall have returned to Him; when all
+that is opposed to God shall have been destroyed; when inward and
+outward peace shall prevail, and all the evil caused by sin shall have
+been removed. Elevated above time and space, from the height in which
+the Holy Spirit has placed him, he surveys the whole development of the
+Messianic Kingdom, from its small beginnings to its glorious end.
+
+While the first part, containing the predictions which the Prophet
+uttered for the present generation during the time of his ministry,
+consists mainly of single prophecies which, separated by time and
+occasion, were first made publicly known singly, and afterwards united
+in a collected whole, having been marked out as different prophecies,
+either by inscriptions, or in any other distinguishable way,--the
+second part, destined as a legacy for posterity, forms a continuous,
+collected whole. The fact, first observed by _Fr. Rueckert_, that it is
+divided into _three sections or books_, is, in the first instance,
+indicated by the [Pg 167] circumstance that, at the close of chap.
+xlviii. and chap. lvii., the same thought recurs in the same words:
+"There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked;" and that the same
+thought, viz. the exclusion of the wicked from the promised salvation,
+is found also a third time at the close of the whole, although there in
+another form. Yet, if nothing else could be advanced in favour of this
+tri-partition, we might perhaps be permitted to speak of an accident as
+_Knobel_ indeed does. But a closer consideration shows that the three
+sections are, inwardly and essentially, distinguished from one another.
+Beyond chap. xlviii. 22, there is no farther mention of _Babel_, which
+in the first book is mentioned four times (chap. xliii. 14, xlvii. 1,
+xlviii. 14, 20); nor of the _Chaldeans_, which occur there five times
+(chap. xliii. 14, xlvii. 1, 5, xlviii. 14, 20); nor any farther mention
+of _Koresh_, neither of his name (chap. xliv. 28, xlv. 1), nor of his
+person, which in chap. xl.-xlviii. is so prominently brought before us
+(chap. xli. 2, 25, xlvi. 11, xlviii. 14, 15, _i.e._ immediately at the
+_beginning_, after the introduction contained in chap. xl., at the
+_close_, and several times in the _middle_); nor of _Bel_ and _Nebo_.
+_Farther_--The whole first book is pervaded with the argumentation by
+which the God of Israel is proved to be the true God, from His having
+foretold the deliverance to be effected by _Koresh_. This argumentation
+we meet with in chap. xli., immediately after the introductory chap.
+xl., and so still in the last chap. xlviii.; but never again
+afterwards. With the end of the first book, this arguing and proving
+from prophecy, that the Lord is the true God, as well as the reference
+to _Koresh_, the subject of this prophecy, altogether disappear. But,
+in like manner, the announcement of a personal Messiah is wanting in
+the first book, the sole exception being chap. xlii. 1-9, where, after
+the first announcement of the author of the lower salvation, the Author
+of the higher salvation is, by way of anticipation, _contrasted_ with
+him. To give a more minute and finished description of the Author of
+the higher salvation is the object of the _second_ book. In the _third_
+book, the person of the Redeemer is spoken of briefly only, is, as it
+were, only hinted at, in order to connect this book with the second;
+just as, by chap. xlii., the first book is connected with the second.
+The third book in so far as it is _promising_, is taken up with the
+description of the [Pg 168] _glory of the Kingdom of God_, in that new
+stage upon which it enters by the Redeemer,--a glory, the culminating
+point of which is the creation of the new heavens and the new earth,
+chap. lxv. 17, lxvi. 22. A description of the glory of Zion, like that
+in chap. lxii., is not found in the first and second book. In the third
+book, however, _reproof and exhortation_ prevail, in contradistinction
+to the first and second book, in which the direct _promise_ prevails. A
+transition from this, however, to the reproof and exhortation, is made
+at the close of the second book. From chap. lv. 1, the preaching of
+repentance appears first intermingled with the announcement of
+salvation. Up to that the prevailing tendency of the Prophet had been,
+throughout, to comfort the godly; but from chap. lv. 1, the other
+tendency shows itself by the side of it, that of calling sinners to
+repentance, by which alone they can obtain a participation in the
+promised salvation. In chap. lvi. 9, lvii. 21, the latter tendency
+appears distinctly and exclusively. The second book had commenced with
+the announcement of salvation, and thence to the close had advanced to
+reproof and threatening. The third book takes the opposite course; and
+thus the two principal portions of reproof and threatening border upon
+one another. Yet, the reproof and threatening do not go on without
+interruption and distinction, so that no _boundary line_ could be
+recognized between the two books. At the close of the second book, the
+Prophet has preeminently to do with _apostates_, while, at the
+beginning of the third, he has to do with _hypocrites_; so that thus
+these two portions of reproof supplement one another, and conjointly
+form a complete disclosure of the prevailing corruption, according to
+its two principal tendencies. But the third book is distinguished from
+the second by this circumstance, that in it reproof and threatening are
+not limited to the beginning, which corresponds with the close of the
+second book. At the close of chap. lix. the Prophet returns to the
+announcement of salvation; but with chap. lxiii. 7, a new preaching of
+repentance commences, which goes on to the end of chap. lxiv. The
+Prophet, in the Spirit, transposes himself into the time when the
+visitation has already taken place, and puts into the mouth of the
+people the words by which they are, at that time, to supplicate for the
+mercy of the Lord. This discourse [Pg 169] implies what has preceded.
+In the view of the glorious manifestation of the Lord's mercy and grace
+which are there exhibited, the Prophet calls here upon the people to
+repent and be converted, in order that they may become partakers of
+that mercy. If they, as a people, are anxious to attain that object,
+they must repeat what the Prophet here pronounces before them. But that
+up to this time has not been done, and hence that has taken place which
+is spoken of by St Paul: "The election have obtained it, but the rest
+have been blinded." In chap. lxv., which contains the Lord's answer to
+this repenting prayer of the people, and is nothing else than an
+indirect _paraenesis_, reproof and threatening likewise prevail, and it
+is only at the close that the promise appears. The last chapter, too,
+begins with reproof and threatening. Rightly have the Church Fathers
+called Isaiah the Evangelist among the prophets. This appears also from
+the circumstance that the reproof is so thoroughly an appendage of the
+promise, that it is only at the _close_, after the whole riches of the
+promise have been exhibited, that it expands itself It appears,
+farther, also from the circumstance that, even in the last book, the
+threatening does not prevail _exclusively_, but that, even there, it is
+still interwoven with the most glorious promises which are so
+exceedingly fitted to allure sinners to repentance.
+
+In the whole of the second part, the Prophet, _as a rule_, takes his
+stand in the time which was announced and foretold in the former
+prophecies, and especially, with the greatest clearness and
+distinctness, in chap. xxxix., on the threshold of the second
+part,--the time when Jerusalem is captured by the Chaldeans, the temple
+destroyed, the country desolated, and the people carried away. It is in
+this time that he thinks, feels, and acts; it has become present to
+him; from it he looks out into the Future, yet in such a manner that he
+does not everywhere consistently maintain this ideal stand-point. He
+addresses his discourse to the people pining away in captivity and
+misery. He comforts them by opening up a view into a better Future, and
+exhorts them to remove by repentance the obstacles to the coming
+salvation.
+
+Rationalistic Exegesis, everywhere little able to sympathize with, and
+enter into existing circumstances and conditions, and always ready to
+make its own shadowy, coarse views the rule [Pg 170] and arbiter,
+has been little able to enter into, and sympathize with this ideal
+stand-point occupied by the Prophet; nor has it had the earnest will to
+do so. To its rationalistic tendencies, which took offence at the clear
+knowledge of the Future, a welcome pretext was here offered. Thus the
+opinion arose, that the second part was not written by Isaiah, but was
+the work of some anonymous prophet, living about the end of the
+exile,--an opinion which, at the time of the absolute dominion of
+Rationalism, has obtained so firm a footing, that it has become all but
+an _axiom_, and, by the power of tradition, carries away even such as
+would not think of entertaining it, if they were to enter independently
+and without prejudice upon the investigation.
+
+The fact which here meets us does not by any means stand isolated. The
+prophets did not prophesy in the state of rational reflection, but in
+_exstasis_. As even their ordinary name, "seers," indicates, the
+objects were presented to them in inward vision. They did not behold
+the Future from a distance, but they were rapt into the future. This
+inward vision is frequently reflected in their representation. Very
+frequently, that appears with them as present which, in reality, was
+still future. They depict the Future before the eyes of their hearers
+and readers, and thus, as it were, by force, drag them into it out of
+the Present, the coercing force of which exerts so pernicious an
+influence upon them. Our Prophet expressly intimates this peculiar
+manner of the prophetic announcement by making, in chap. xlix. 7, the
+Lord say: "First I said to Zion: _Behold there, behold there_," by
+which the graphic character of prophecy is precisely expressed, and by
+which it is intimated that hearers and readers were led _in rem
+praesentem_ by the prophets. Even grammar has long ago acknowledged
+this fact, inasmuch as it speaks of _Praeterita prophetica_, _i.e._,
+such as denote the _ideal_ Past, in contrast to those which denote the
+_real_ Past. Unless we have attained to this view and insight, it is
+only by inconsistency that we can escape from _Eichhorn's_ view, that
+the prophecies are, for the most part, disguised historical
+descriptions,--a view into which even expositors, such as _Ewald_ and
+_Hitzig_, frequently relapse. Frequently, the whole of the Future
+appears with the prophets in the form of the _Present_. At other times,
+they take their stand in the [Pg 171] more immediate Future; and this
+becomes to them the _ideal_ Present, from which they direct the eye to
+the distant Future. From the rich store of proofs which we can adduce
+for our view, we shall here mention only a few.
+
+This mode of representation meets us frequently so early as in the
+parting hymn of Moses, Deut. xxxii., which may be considered as the
+germ of all prophetism; compare _e.g._ vers. 7 and 8. On the latter
+verse, _Clericus_ remarks: "Moses mourns over this in his hymn, as if
+it were already past, because he foresees that it will be so, and he,
+in the Spirit, transfers himself into those future times, and says that
+which then only should be said."
+
+In Isaiah himself, the very first chapter presents a remarkable proof
+The Present in chap. i. 5-9 is not a _real_, but an _ideal_ Present. In
+the Spirit, the Prophet transfers himself into the time of the calamity
+impending upon the apostate people, and, stepping back upon the real
+Present, he, in the farther course of the prophecy, predicts this
+calamity as future. The reasons for this view have been thoroughly
+stated, even to exhaustion, by _Caspari_, in his _Beitraege zur
+Einleitung in das Buch Jesaia_. In the second half of ver. 2, the
+kingdom appears as flourishing and powerful. To the same result we are
+led also by the description of the rich sacrificial worship in vers.
+15-19. If, then, we view vers. 5-9 as a description of the Present, we
+obtain an irreconcilable contradiction. _Farther_--Everywhere else
+Isaiah always connects, with the description of the sin, that of the
+punishment following upon it, but never that of the punishment which
+has followed it.--In chap. v. 13, in a prophecy from the first time of
+his ministry, the _future carrying away_ of the people presents itself
+to the Prophet as present. Similarly, in vers. 25, 26, the Praet. and
+Fut. with _Vav Conv._ must be understood prophetically; for in chap.
+i.-v., the Prophet has, throughout, to do with future calamity. In the
+Present, according to ver. 19, the people are yet in a condition of
+prosperity and luxury,--as yet, it is the time of _mocking_; it is only
+of future calamity that vers. 5 and 6 in the parable speak of, the
+threatenings of which are here detailed and expanded.--In the prophecy
+against Tyre, chap. xxiii., the Prophet beholds as present the siege by
+the Chaldeans impending over the city, and describes [Pg 172] as an
+eye-witness the flight of the inhabitants, and the impression which the
+intelligence of their calamity makes upon the nations connected with
+them. From the more immediate Future, which to him has become present,
+he then casts a glance to the more distant. He announces that after 70
+years--counting not from the _real_, but from the _ideal_ Present--the
+city shall again attain to its ancient greatness. His look then rises
+still higher, and he beholds how at length, in the days of Messiah, the
+Tyrians shall be received into the communion of the true God.--The
+future dispersion and carrying away of the people is anticipated by the
+Prophet in the passage, chap. xi. 11, also, which may be considered as
+a comprehensive view of the whole second part.--It is true that, in the
+second part, as a rule, the misery, and not the salvation, appears as
+present; but, not unfrequently, the latter, too, is viewed as present
+by the Prophet, and spoken of in Preterites, comp. _e.g._, chap. xl. 2,
+xlvi. 1, 2, li. 3, lii. 9, 10, lx. 1. If, then, the Prophet is to be
+measured by the ordinary rule, these passages, too, must have been
+written at a time when the salvation had already taken place.--In chap.
+xlv. 20, the escaped of the nations are those Gentiles who have been
+spared in the divine judgments. They are to become wise by the
+sufferings of others. The Prophet takes his stand in a time when these
+judgments, which were to be inflicted by Cyrus, had already been
+completed. Even those who maintain the spuriousness of the second part
+must here acknowledge that the Prophet takes his stand in an _ideal_
+Present.--In chap. liii. the Prophet takes his stand between the
+sufferings and the glorification of the Messiah. The sufferings appear
+to him as past; the glorification he represents as future.
+
+Hosea had, in chap. xiii., predicted to Israel great divine judgments,
+the desolation of the country, and the carrying away of its inhabitants
+by powerful enemies. This punishment and judgment appear in chap. xiv.
+1 (xiii. 16) as still future; but in ver. 2 (1 ff.) he transfers
+himself in spirit to the time when these judgments had already been
+inflicted. He anticipates the Future as having already taken place, and
+does not by any means exhort his _contemporaries_ to a sincere
+repentance, but those upon whom the calamity had already been
+inflicted: "O Israel, return unto the Lord thy God; for [Pg 173] thou
+hast fallen by thine iniquity." This parallel passage shews especially,
+with what right it has been asserted that the addresses to the people
+pining away in exile "were out of place in the mouth of Isaiah, who, as
+he lived 150 years before, could _prophesy_ only of the exiled"
+(_Knobel_).--Micah says in chap. iv. 8 (compare vol. i., p. 449 ff.):
+"And thou tower of the flock, hill of the daughter of Zion, unto thee
+it will come, and to thee cometh the former dominion." If the Prophet,
+a cotemporary of Isaiah, speaks here of a _former dominion_, and
+announces that it shall again come back to the house of David, he
+transfers himself from his time, in which the royal family of David
+still existed and flourished, into that period of which he had just
+before spoken, and during which the dominion of the Davidic dynasty was
+to cease. In vers. 9, 10: "Now why dost thou raise a cry! Is there no
+king in thee, or is thy counsellor gone? For pangs have seized thee as
+a woman in travail," &c., mourning Zion, at the time of the carrying
+away of her sons into captivity, stands before the eye of the Prophet,
+and is addressed by him. (In commenting upon this passage, we pointed
+already to Hosea xiii. 9-11 as an analogous instance of representing as
+present the time of the calamity.) The moment of the carrying away into
+exile forms to him the Present; the deliverance from it, the Future:
+"There shalt thou be delivered, there the Lord thy God shall redeem
+thee out of the hand of thine enemies." In chap. vii. 7, Micah
+introduces, as speaking, the people already carried away into exile,
+and makes them declare both the justice of the divine punishment, and
+their confidence in the divine mercy. In the answer of the Lord also,
+ver. 11, the city is supposed to be destroyed; for He promises that her
+walls shall be rebuilt.--The anticipation of the Future prevails
+throughout the whole prophecy of Obadiah also. The song of Habakkuk in
+chap. iii. takes its stand in the midst of the anticipated misery. In
+the announcement of the invasion of the Chaldeans in chap. i. 6 ff.,
+the Future presents itself in the form of the Present. Here, as in the
+case of Obadiah, _Hitzig_ and others, overlooking and misunderstanding
+this prophetic peculiarity, and considering the _ideal_, to be the
+_real_ Present, have been led to fix the age of the Prophet in a manner
+notoriously erroneous.--Jeremiah, in chap. iii. 22, 25, [Pg 174]
+introduces as speaking the Israel of the Future. In chap. xxx. and
+xxxi., he anticipates the future carrying away of Judah. Even in the
+Psalms we perceive a faint trace of this prophetic peculiarity. On Ps.
+xciii. 1: "The Lord reigneth, He hath clothed himself with majesty,"
+&c., we remarked: "The Preterites are to be explained from the
+circumstance that the Singer as a _seer_ has the Future before his
+eyes. He _beholds_ rejoicingly how the Lord enters upon His Kingdom,
+puts on the garment of majesty, and girds himself with the sword of
+strength in the face of the proud world." A similar anticipation of
+redemption, even before the catastrophe has taken place, we meet with
+in Ps. xciv. 1. The situation in the whole Psalm, yea in the whole
+cycle to which it belongs, the lyrical echo of the second part of
+Isaiah, is not a _real_, but an _ideal_ one. This cycle bears witness
+that the singers and seers of Israel were living in the Future, in a
+manner which it would be so much the greater folly to measure by our
+rule as, for the people of the Old Covenant, the Future had a
+significance altogether different from that which it has for the people
+of the New Covenant. That which is common to all the Psalms, from
+xciii. onward, is the confident expectation of a glorious manifestation
+of the Lord, which the Psalmist, following the example of the prophets,
+beholds as present. A counterpart is the cycle Ps. cxxxviii.-cxlv., in
+which David, stirred up by the promise in 2 Sam. vii., accompanies his
+house throughout history.
+
+Several interpreters cannot altogether resist the force of these facts.
+They grant "that other prophets also sometimes, in the Spirit, transfer
+themselves into later times, especially into the idealistic times of
+the Messiah," and draw their arguments from the circumstance only, that
+the latter again came back to their personal stand point, whilst our
+Prophet continues cleaving to the later time. Now it is true, and must
+be conceded, that this mode of representation is here employed to an
+extent greater than it is anywhere else in the Old Testament. But, in
+matters of this kind, measuring by the ell is quite out of place. In
+other respects also, the second part of Isaiah stands out as quite
+unique. There is, in the whole Old Testament, no other continuous
+prophecy which has so absolutely and pre-eminently proceeded from _cura
+posteritatis_. If [Pg 175] it be acknowledged that the prophesying
+activity of Isaiah falls into two great divisions,--the one--the
+results of which are contained in the first 39 chapters--chiefly,
+pre-eminently indeed, destined for the Present; the other,--which lies
+before us in the second part, belonging to the evening of the Prophet's
+life--forming a prophetical legacy, and hence, therefore, never
+delivered in public, but only committed to writing;--then we shall find
+it quite natural that the Prophet, writing, as he did, chiefly for the
+Future, should here also take his stand in the Future, to a larger
+extent than he has elsewhere done.
+
+That it is in this manner only that this fact is to be accounted for,
+appears from the circumstance that, although our Prophet so extensively
+and frequently represents the Past as Present, yet he passes over, in
+numerous passages, from the _ideal_ into the _real_ Present.[2] We find
+a number of references which do not at all suit the condition of things
+after the exile, but necessarily require the age of Isaiah, or, at
+least, the time before the exile. If Isaiah be the author, these
+passages are easily accounted for. It is true that, in the Spirit, he
+had transferred himself into the time of the Babylonish exile; and this
+time had become Present to him. But it would surely be suspicious to
+us, if the real Present had not sometimes prevailed, and attracted the
+eye of the Prophet. It is just thus, however, that we find it. The
+Prophet frequently steps out of his ideal view and position, and refers
+to conditions and circumstances of his time. _Now_, he has before his
+eyes the condition of the unhappy people in the Babylonish exile;
+_then_, the State still existing at his time, but internally deranged
+by idolatry and apostacy. This apparent contradiction cannot be
+reconciled in any other way than by assuming that Isaiah is the author.
+As a rule, the punishment appears as already inflicted; city and
+temple as destroyed; the country as devastated; the people as carried
+away; compare _e.g._, chap. lxiv. 10, 11. But in a series of passages,
+in which the Prophet steps back from the _ideal_, to the _real_
+stand-point, _the punishment appears as still future_; _city and temple
+as still existing_. In chap. xliii. [Pg 176] 22-28, the Prophet meets
+the delusion, as if God had chosen Israel on account of their deserts.
+Far from having brought about their deliverance by their own merits,
+they, on the contrary, sinned thus against Him, that, to the inward
+apostacy, they added the outward also. The greater part of Israel had
+left off the worship of the Lord by sacrifices. It is the mercy alone
+of the Lord which will deliver them from the misery into which they
+have plunged themselves by their sins. But how can the Lord charge the
+people in exile for the omission of a service which, according to His
+own law, they could offer to Him in their native country only, in the
+temple consecrated to Him, but then destroyed? The words specially:
+"Put me in remembrance," in ver. 26, "of what I should have forgotten,"
+imply that there existed a possibility of acquiring apparent merits,
+and that, hence, the view of our opponents who, in vers. 22-24, think
+of a compulsory, and hence, guiltless omission of the sacrificial
+service during the exile, must be rejected. Vers. 27, 28 also, which
+speak of the punishment which Israel deserves, just on account of the
+omitted service of the Lord, and which it has found in the way of its
+works, prove that this view must be rejected, and that vers. 22-24
+contain a reproof. The passage can, hence, have been written only at
+the time when the temple was still standing. Of this there can so much
+the less be any doubt that, in vers. 27, 28, the exile is expressly
+designated as future: "Thy first father (the high-priestly office) hath
+sinned, and thy mediators have transgressed against me." (The
+sacrificial service was by a disgraceful syncretism profaned even by
+those whose office it was to attend to it). "Therefore I _will_ profane
+the princes of the sanctuary, and _will_ give Jacob to the curse, and
+Israel to reproaches." Even [Hebrew: vaHll] is the common Future, and
+to [Hebrew: vatnh] the [Hebrew: h] _optativum_ is added; and hence, we
+cannot by any means translate and explain it by: _I gave_.--In chap.
+lvi. 9, it is said: "All ye beasts of the field come ye to devour all
+the beasts in the forest." This utterance stands in connection with the
+[Hebrew: lnqbciv], at the close of the preceding verse. The gathering
+of Israel by God the good Shepherd, promised there, must be preceded by
+the scattering, by being given up to the world's power--mercy, by
+judgment. By the wild beasts are to be understood the Gentiles who
+shall be sent by God upon [Pg 177] His people for punishment. This
+mission they must first fulfil before they can, according to ver. 8, be
+added to, and gathered along with, the gathered ones of Israel. By the
+"beasts in the forest," brutalized, degraded, and secularized Israel is
+to be understood, comp. Jer. xii. 7-12; Ezek. xxxiv. 5; and my
+Commentary on Rev. ii. 1.
+
+The beasts have not yet come; they are yet to come. We can here think
+of nothing else than the invasion of the Chaldeans, which the Prophet,
+stepping back to the stand-point of his time, beholds here as future;
+whilst, in what precedes, from his ideal stand-point, which he had
+taken in the Babylonish exile, he had, for the most part, considered it
+as past.--In chap. lvi. 10-12, we meet with corrupted rulers of the
+people, who are indolent, when everything depends upon warding off the
+danger, greedy, luxurious, gormandizing upon what they have stolen. The
+people are not under foreign dominion, but have rulers of their own,
+who tyrannize over, and impoverish them; comp. Is. chap. v.; Micah,
+chap. iii.--In chap. lvii. 1, it is said: "The righteous perisheth and
+no man layeth it to heart, and the men of kindness are taken away, no
+one considering that, on account of the evil, the righteous is taken
+away." The Prophet mentions it as a sign of the people's hardening
+that, in the death of the righteous men who were truly bearing on their
+hearts the welfare of the whole, they did not recognize a harbinger of
+severe divine judgments, from which, according to a divine merciful
+decree, these righteous were to be preserved by an early death. "On
+account of the evil," _i.e._, in order to withdraw them from the
+judgments, which were to be inflicted upon the ungodly people, comp.
+Gen. xv. 15; 2 Kings xxii. 20; Is. xxxix. 8. The evil, _i.e._ according
+to 2 Kings xxii. 20, the Chaldean catastrophe, appears here as still
+future. In chap. lvii. 2: "They enter in peace, they rest in their beds
+who have walked before themselves in uprightness," the "peace" forms
+the contrast to the awful condition of suffering which the survivors
+have to encounter.--In chap. lvii. 9, it is said: "And thou lookest on
+the king anointed with oil, and increasest thy perfumes, and sendest
+thy messengers far off, sendest them down into hell." The apostacy from
+the Lord their God is manifested not only in idolatry, but also in
+their not leaving untried any means to [Pg 178] procure for themselves
+human helpers, in their courting human aid. The personification of
+Israel as a woman, which took place in the preceding verses, is here
+continued. She leaves no means untried to heighten her charms; she
+makes every effort to please the mighty kings. The king is an ideal
+person comprehending a real plurality within himself A parallel
+passage, in which the seeking for help among foreign nations is
+represented under the same image, is Ezek. xvi. 26 ff., comp. Hos. xii.
+2 (1). It occurs also in immediate connexion with seeking help from the
+idols, in chap. xxx. 1 ff. The verb [Hebrew: wvr] means always "to
+see," "to look at;" and this signification is, here too, quite
+appropriate: Israel is _coquetting_ with her lover, the king. The
+reproach which the Prophet here raises against the people has no
+meaning at all in the time of the exile, when the national independence
+was gone. We find ourselves all at once transferred to the time of
+Isaiah, who, in chap. xxxi. 1, utters a woe upon them "that go down to
+Egypt for help,"--who, in chap. xxx. 4, complains: "His princes are at
+Zoar, and his ambassadors come to Hanes,"--who, in chap. vii., exhibits
+the dangerous consequences of seeking help from Asshur. The historical
+point at issue is brought before us by passages such as 2 Kings xvi. 7:
+"And Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglathpileser, king of Assyria, saying: I
+am thy servant and thy son; come up and save me out of the hand of the
+king of Aram, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, who rise
+against me."--In chap. lvii. 11-13, the thought is this: Israel is not
+becoming weary of seeking help and salvation from others than God. But
+He will soon show that He alone is to be feared, that He alone can
+help; that they are nothing against whom, and from whom help is sought.
+The words in ver. 11: "Am I not silent, even of old; therefore thou
+fearest me not," state the cause of the foolish forgetfulness of God,
+and hence form the transition to the subsequent announcement of
+judgment. The prophecy is uttered at a time when Israel still enjoyed
+the sparing divine forbearance, inasmuch as for time immemorial (since
+they were in Egypt), no destructive catastrophe had fallen upon them.
+It was in the Babylonish catastrophe only that the Egyptian received
+its counterpart. But how does this suit the time of the Babylonish
+exile, when the people were groaning under the severe judgments of God,
+[Pg 179] and had not experienced His forbearance, but, on the contrary,
+for almost 70 years, the full energy of His punitive justice? In ver.
+13, it is said: "In thy crying, let thy hosts (thy whole Pantheon so
+rich, and yet so miserable) help thee." "In thy crying, _i.e._, when
+_thou_, in the judgment to be inflicted upon thee in future, wilt cry
+for help." In chap. lxvi. the punishment appears as future; temple and
+city as still existing; the Lord as yet enthroned in Zion. So specially
+in ver. 6: "A voice of noise from the city, a voice from the temple,
+the voice of the Lord that rendereth recompence to His enemies," A
+controversy with the hypocrites who presumed upon the temple and their
+sacrificial service, in vers. 1, 3, has, at the time of the exile, no
+meaning at all, _Gesenius_, indeed, was of opinion that the Prophet
+might judge of the worship of God in temples, and of the value of
+sacrifices, although they were not offered at that time; but it must be
+strongly denied that the Prophet could do so in such a context and
+connection. For, the fact that the Prophet has in view a definite class
+of men of his time, and that he does not bring forward at random a
+_locus communis_ which, at his time, was no longer applicable--a thing
+which, moreover, is not by any means his habit--appears from the close
+of the verse, and from ver. 4, where divine judgment is threatened to
+those men: "Because they choose their own ways, and their soul
+delighteth in their abominations: I also will choose their derision,
+and will bring their fears upon them." Even in ver. 20: "And they (the
+Gentiles who are to be converted to the Lord), shall bring all your
+brethren out of all nations for a meat-offering unto the Lord, upon
+horses, &c., _just as the children of Israel are bringing_ ([Hebrew:
+ibvav], expresses an habitual offering), _the meat-offering in a clean
+vessel into the house of the Lord_," the house of God appears as still
+standing, the sacrificial service in full operation; the future
+spiritual meat-offering of the Gentiles is compared to the bodily
+meat-offering which the children of Israel are now offering in the
+temple.
+
+_Throughout the whole second part we perceive the people under the, as
+yet, unbroken power of idolatry._ It appears everywhere as the
+principal tendency of the sinful apostacy among the people; to
+counteract it appears to be the chief object of the Prophet. The
+controversy with idolatry pervades everything. At the very
+commencement, in chap. xl. 18-26, we are met [Pg 180] with a
+description of the nothingness of idolatry, and an impressive warning
+against it. In the whole series of passages, commencing with chap.
+xli.--of which we shall afterwards speak more in detail--the sole Deity
+of the God of Israel, and the vanity of the idols are proved from
+prophecy in connection with its fulfilment; and this series has for its
+supposition the power which, at the time when the prophecy was uttered,
+idolatry yet possessed over the minds of men. Chap. xlii. 17 announces
+that the future historical development shall bring confusion upon those
+"that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images: Ye are our
+gods." In chap. xliv. 12-20, the absurdity of idolatry is illustrated
+in a brilliant description. We have here before us the real _locus
+classicus_ of the whole Scripture in this matter, the main description
+of the nothingness of idolatry. The emotion and excitement with which
+the Prophet speaks, shew that he has here to do with the principal
+enemy to the salvation of his people. According to chap. xlvi. the
+idols of Babel shall be overturned and carried away. From this, Israel
+may learn the nothingness of idolatry, and the apostates may return to
+the Lord. In the hortatory and reproving section, the punishment of
+idolatry forms the beginning; in chap. lvii. idolatry is described as
+far-spread, manifold, advancing to the greatest horrors. The offering
+up of children as sacrifices especially appears as being in vogue; and
+it can be proved that this penetrated into Israel, from the
+neighbouring nations, at the time of the Prophet (comp. 2 Chron.
+xxviii. 3; xxxiii. 6), while, at the time of the exile, there was
+scarcely any cause for warning against it,--at least, existing
+information does not mention any such sacrifices among the Babylonians
+(comp. _Muenter_, _die Religion der Babylonier_, S. 72). The people
+appear as standing under the dominion of idolatry in chap. lxv. 3: "The
+people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face, that
+sacrificeth in gardens, and burneth incense upon the bricks;" comp.
+ver. 7: "Who have burned incense upon the mountains, and blasphemed me
+upon the hills;" chap. lxvi. 17: "They that sanctify themselves and
+purify themselves in the gardens behind one in the midst, who eat
+swine's flesh, and the abominations, and mice, shall be consumed
+together, saith the Lord." Idolatry is the service of nature, and was,
+therefore, chiefly practised [Pg 181] in places where nature presents
+herself in all her splendour, as in gardens and on the hills. The
+gardens are mentioned in a similar way in chap. i. 29: "Ye shall blush
+on account of the _gardens_ that ye have chosen." (On the words which
+precede in that verse: "For they shall be ashamed of the _oaks_ which
+ye have desired," chap. lvii. 5 offers an exact parallel: "Who inflame
+themselves among the _oaks_ under every green tree.") In chap. lxv. 11,
+they are denounced who forsake the Lord, forget His holy mountain (on
+which, at the time when this was written, the temple must still have
+stood), who prepare a table to _Fortune_, and offer drink-offerings to
+_Fate_. The second main form of sinful apostacy--hypocrisy and dead
+ceremonial service--is only rarely mentioned by the Prophet (in chap.
+lvii., lxvi.), while he always anew reverts to idolatry. Now _this
+absolutely prevailing regard to idolatry can be accounted for, only if
+Isaiah be the author of the second part._ From Solomon, down to the
+time of the exile, the disposition to idolatry in Israel was never
+thoroughly broken. During Isaiah's ministry, it came to the fullest
+display under Ahaz. Under Hezekiah it was kept down, indeed; but with
+great difficulty only, as appears from the fact that, under the reign
+of Manasseh, who was a king after the heart of the people, it again
+broke openly forth; comp. 2 Kings xxi. 1-18; 2 Chron. xxxiii. 1-18; 2
+Kings xxi. 6, according to which Manasseh made his own son to pass
+through the fire. But it is a tact generally admitted, and proved by
+all the books written during and after the exile, that, with the
+carrying away into exile, the idolatrous disposition among the people
+was greatly shaken. This fact has its cause not only in the deep
+impression which misery made upon their minds, but still more in the
+circumstance that it was chiefly the godly part of the nation that was
+carried away into captivity. The disproportionately large number of
+_priests_ among the exiled and those who returned--they constitute the
+tenth part of the people--is to be accounted for only on the
+supposition, that the heathenish conquerors saw that the real essence
+and basis of the people consisted in the faith in the God of Israel,
+and were, therefore, above all, anxious to remove the priests as the
+main representatives of this principle. If, for this reason, they
+carried away the priests, we cannot think otherwise but that, in [Pg
+182] the selection of the others also, they looked chiefly to the
+theocratic disposition on which the nationality of Israel rested. To
+this we are led by Jer. xxiv. also, where those carried away are
+designated as the flower of the nation, as the nursery and hope of the
+Kingdom of God. Incomprehensible, for the time of the exile, is also
+the _strict antithesis_ between the servants of the Lord, and the
+servants of the idols--the latter hating, assailing, and persecuting
+the former--an antithesis which meets us especially in the last two
+chapters; comp. especially chap. lxv. 5 ff. 13-15; lxvi. 16. That such
+a state of things existed at the time of the Prophet is, among other
+passages, shown by 2 Kings xxi. 16, according to which Manasseh shed
+much innocent blood at Jerusalem, and, according to ver. 10, 11,
+especially the blood of the prophets, who had borne a powerful
+testimony against idolatry.
+
+_If it be assumed that the second part was composed during the exile,
+then those passages are incomprehensible, in which the Prophet proves
+that the God of Israel is the true God, from His predicting the
+appearance of the conqueror from the east, and the deliverance of the
+people to be wrought by Him in connection with the fulfilment of these
+predictions._ The supernatural character of this announcement which the
+Prophet asserts, and which forms the ground of its probative power,
+took place, only if it proceeded from Isaiah, but not if it was uttered
+only about the end of the exile, at a time when Cyrus had already
+entered upon the stage of history. These passages, at all events, admit
+only the alternative,--either that Isaiah was the real author, or that
+they were forged at a later period by some deceiver; and this latter
+alternative is so decidedly opposed to the whole spirit of the second
+part, that scarcely any one among the opponents will resolve to adopt
+it. Considering the very great and decisive importance of these
+passages, we must still allow them to pass in review one by one. In
+chap. xli. 1-7, the Lord addresses those who are serving idols, summons
+them triumphantly to defend themselves against the mighty attack which
+He was just executing against them, and describes the futility of their
+attempts at so doing. The address to the Gentiles is a mere form; to
+work upon Israel is the real purpose. To secure them from the
+allurements of the world's religion, the Prophet points to [Pg 183] the
+great confusion which the Future will bring upon it. This confusion
+consists in this:--that the prophecy of the conqueror from the East, as
+the messenger and instrument of the Lord--a prediction which the
+Prophet had uttered in the power of the Lord--is fulfilled without the
+idolators being able to prevent it. The answer on the words in ver. 2:
+"Who hath raised up from the East him whom righteousness calleth
+whither he goes, giveth the nations before him, and maketh kings
+subject to him, maketh his sword like dust, and his bow like driven
+stubble?" is this: According to the agreement of prophecy and
+fulfilment, it is none other than the Lord, who is, therefore, the only
+true God, to whose glory and majesty every deed of His servant Koresh
+bears witness. The argumentation is unintelligible, as soon as,
+assuming that it was Isaiah who wrote down the prophecy, it is not
+admitted that he, losing sight of the _real_ Present, takes his
+stand-point in an _ideal_ Present, viz., the time of the appearance of
+the conqueror from the East, by which it becomes possible to him to
+draw his arguments from the prophecy in connection with the fulfilment.
+It is altogether absurd, when it is asserted that the second part is
+spurious, and was composed at a time when Cyrus was already standing
+before Babylon. It would indeed have required an immense amount of
+impudence on the part of the Prophet to bring forward, as an
+unassailable proof of the omniscience and omnipotence of God, an event
+which every one saw with his bodily eyes. By such argumentation, he
+would have exposed himself to general _ridicule_.--In chap. xli. 21-29,
+the discourse is formally addressed to the Gentiles; but in point of
+fact, the Prophet here, too, has to do with Judah driven into exile, to
+whom he was called by God to offer the means to remain stedfast under
+the temptations from the idolators by whom they were surrounded. Before
+the eyes, and in the hearing of Israel, the Lord convinces the Gentiles
+of the nothingness of their cause. They are to prove the divinity of
+their idols by showing forth the announcements of the Future which
+proceeded from them. But they are not able to comply with this demand.
+It is only the Lord, the living God, who can do that. Long before the
+appearance of the conqueror from the North and East, He caused it to be
+_foretold_, and comforted His Church with the view of the Future.
+Hence, He alone is [Pg 184] God, and vanity are all those who are put
+beside Him. It is said in ver. 22: "Let them bring forth and shew to us
+what shall happen; the former things, what they be, show and we will
+consider them and know the latter end of them; or the coming (events
+make us to hear)." _The former things_ are those which are prior on
+this territory; hence the former prophecies, as the comparison of the
+parallel passage, chap. xlii 9, clearly shows. The _end_ of prophecy is
+its fulfilment. [Hebrew: hbavt] "the coming, or future," are the events
+of the more distant Future. As the Prophet demands from the idols and
+their servants that only which the true God has already performed by
+His servants, we have here, on the one hand, a reference to the whole
+cycle of prophecies formerly fulfilled, as _e.g._, that of the
+overthrow of the kingdoms of Damascus and Ephraim, and the defeat of
+Asshur,--and, on the other hand, to the prophecy of the conqueror from
+the East, &c., contained in the second part. The _former_ prophecies,
+however, are here mentioned altogether incidentally only; the real
+demand refers, as is shown by the words: "What shall happen," only to
+the prophecies in reference to the Future, corresponding to those of
+our Prophet regarding the conqueror from the East, whose appearance is
+here represented as belonging altogether to the _Future_, and not to be
+known by any human ingenuity. In ver. 26: "Who hath declared (such
+things) from the beginning, that we may know, and long beforehand, that
+we may say: he is righteous?" the [Hebrew: mraw] "from the beginning"
+puts insurmountable obstacles in the way of the opponents of the
+genuineness. If the second part of Isaiah be _spurious_, then the
+idolaters might put the same scornful question to the God of Israel.
+The [Hebrew: mraw] denotes just the opposite of a _vaticinium post
+eventum_.--In chap. xlii. 9: "The former (things), behold, they are
+come to pass, and new things do I declare; before they spring forth, I
+let you hear," the Prophet proves the true divinity of the Lord, from
+the circumstance that, having already proved himself by prophecies
+fulfilled, He declares here, in the second part, the future events
+before they spring forth, before the facts begin to sprout forth from
+the soil of the Present, and hence could have been known and predicted
+by human combination. The words, "before they spring forth," become
+completely enigmatical, if it be denied that Isaiah [Pg 185] wrote the
+second part; inasmuch as, in that case, it would have in a great part,
+to do with things which did not belong to the territory of prophetic
+foresight, but of what was plainly visible.--In chap. xliii. 8-13, the
+Prophet again proves the nothingness of idolatry, and the sole divinity
+of the God of Israel, from the great work, declared beforehand by the
+Lord, of the deliverance of Israel, and of the overthrow of their
+enemies. He is so deeply convinced of the striking force of this
+argument, that he ever anew reverts to it. After having called upon the
+Gentiles to prove the divinity of their idols by true prophecies given
+by them, he says in ver. 9: "Let them bring forth their witnesses, that
+they may be justified." By the witnesses it is to be proved, by whom,
+to whom, and at what time the prophecies were given, in order that the
+Gentiles may not refer to deceitfully forged prophecies, to _vaticinia
+post eventum_. According to the hypothesis of the spuriousness of the
+second part, the author pronounced his own condemnation by thus calling
+for witnesses. "Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and witness is my
+Servant whom I have chosen," is said in ver. 10. While the Gentiles are
+in vain called upon to bring forward witnesses for the divinity of
+their idols, the true God has, for His witnesses, just those whose
+services he claimed. The prophecies which lie at the foundation of
+their testimony, which are to be borne witness to, are those of the
+second part. The Prophet may safely appeal to the testimony of the
+whole nation, that they were uttered at a time, when their contents
+could not be derived from human combination. "The great unknown"
+(_Ewald_), could not by any possibility have spoken thus.--In chap.
+xlv. 19-21, it is proved from the prophecy, in connection with the
+fulfilment, that Jehovah alone is God,--the like of which no Gentile
+nation can show of their idols. The argumentation is followed by the
+call to all the Gentiles to be converted to this God, and thus to
+become partakers of His salvation--a call resting on the striking force
+of this argumentation--and with this call is, in ver. 23-25, connected
+the solemn declaration of God, that, at some future time, this shall
+take place; that, at some future time, there shall be one shepherd and
+one flock. How would these high, solemn, words have been spoken in
+vain, if "the great unknown" had spoken them! In ver. 19 [Pg 186] it is
+said: "I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth; I
+said not unto the seed of Jacob: Seek ye me in vain; I the Lord speak
+righteousness, I declare rectitude." The Lord here says, first, in
+reference to His prophecies, those namely which He gave through our
+Prophet, that _they were made known publicly_, that, hence, there could
+not be any doubt of their genuineness,--altogether different from what
+is the case with the prophecies of idolatrous nations which make their
+appearance _post eventum_ only, _no one knowing whence_. Every one
+might convince himself of their truth and divinity. This is expressed
+by the words: "I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the
+earth." Then he says that the Lord had not deceived His people, like
+the idols who leave their servants without disclosures regarding: the
+Future; but that, by the prophecies granted to our Prophet, He had met
+the longings of his people for revelations of the Future. While the
+gods of the world leave them in the lurch, just when their help is
+required, and never answer when they are asked, the Lord, in reference
+to prophecies, as well as in every other respect, has not spoken: "Seek
+ye me in vain," but rather: When ye seek, ye shall find me. And,
+finally, he says that his prophecies are true and right; that the
+heathenish prophets commit an _unrighteousness_ by performing something
+else than that which they promised to perform. To declare
+_righteousness_ is to declare that which is righteous, which does not
+conceal internal emptiness and rottenness under a fair outside. The
+words: "I the Lord speak righteousness, I declare rectitude," could not
+but have died on the lips of the "great unknown."--In chap. xlvi. 8-13
+the apostates in Israel are addressed. They are exhorted to return to
+the true God, and to be mindful, 1. of the nothingness of idols, ver.
+8; 2. of the proofs of His sole divinity which the Lord had given
+throughout the whole of the past history; 3. of the new manifestation
+of it in announcing and sending Koresh (Cyrus), ver. 10, 11; "Declaring
+the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are
+not yet done, saying: My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my
+pleasure. Calling from the East an eagle, from a far country the man of
+His counsel; I have spoken it, and will also bring it to pass; I have
+formed it, and will also do it." To the [Hebrew: rawnvt], the former
+[Pg 187] events, the fulfilled prophecies from former times (comp.
+xlii. 9), here the new proof of the sole divinity of the God of Israel
+is added, in that He sends Koresh: God _now_ declares. The Prophet, by
+designating the time in which the announcement was issued as [Hebrew:
+rawit] and [Hebrew: qdM], as beginning and ancient times, and by
+founding the proof of the divinity of the Lord just upon the high age
+of the announcement, again puts an insurmountable obstacle in the way
+of the opponents of the genuineness. The announcement and declaration
+prove any thing in connection with the execution only; the bringing
+to pass, therefore, is connected with the declaring, the doing with
+the speaking. These words are _now_ spoken, since, from the ideal
+stand-point, the carrying out is at hand; they form the antecedent to
+the _calling_, of which ver. 11 treats. [Hebrew: qvM] properly "to
+rise," opposed to the laying down, means "to bring to stand," "to bring
+about," "to be fulfilled." "The counsel," _i.e._, the contents of the
+prediction which was spoken of before; it is the divine counsel and
+decree to which Koresh served as an instrument.--_Finally_--In chap.
+xlviii., the same subject is treated of; the divinity of the Lord is
+proved from His prophecies, in three sections, ver. 1-11, ver. 12-16,
+ver. 22. Here, at the close of the first book of the second part, the
+argumentation occurs once more in a very strong accumulation, because
+the Prophet is now about to leave it, and, in general, the whole
+territory of the lower salvation. First, in ver. 1-11: Israel should
+return to the Lord, who formerly had manifested and proved His sole
+divinity by a series of prophecies and their fulfilments, and _now_ was
+granting new and remarkable disclosures regarding the Future. Ver. 6:
+"New things I shew thee from this time, hidden things, and thou didst
+not know them, ver. 7. Now they have been created and not of old, and
+before this day thou heardest them not; lest thou shouldest say:
+Behold, I knew them." The deliverance of Israel by Cyrus--an
+announcement uttered in the preceding, and to be repeated immediately
+afterwards--is called _new_ in contrast to the old prophecies of the
+Lord already fulfilled; _hidden_ in contrast to the facts which are
+already subjects of history, or may be known beforehand by natural
+ingenuity. _To be created_ is equivalent to being made manifest,
+inasmuch as the hidden Divine counsel enters into life, only by being
+manifested, and [Pg 188] the prophesied events are created for Israel,
+only by the prophecy. Ver. 8: "Thou didst not hear it, nor didst thou
+know it, likewise thine ear was not opened beforehand; for I knew that
+thou art faithless, and wast called a transgressor from the womb." I
+have, says the Lord, communicated to thee the knowledge of events of
+the Future which are altogether unheard of, of which, before, thou
+didst not know the least, nor couldst know. The reason of this
+communication is stated in the words: "for I knew," &c. It is the same
+reason which, according to vers. 4, 5, called forth also the former
+definite prophecies regarding the Future, now already fulfilled, viz.,
+the unbelief of the people, which requires a _palpable_ proof that the
+Lord alone is God, because it is but too ingenious in finding out
+seeming reasons for justifying its apostacy. All that is perfectly in
+keeping with, and suitable to the stand-point of Isaiah, but not to
+that of "the great unknown," at whose time the conqueror from the East
+was already beheld with the bodily eye; and Habakkuk had long ago
+prophesied the destruction of the Babylonish world's power, and
+Israel's deliverance; and Jeremiah had announced the destruction of
+Babylon by the Modes much more distinctly and definitely than is done
+here in the second part of Isaiah. In ver. 16 it is said: "Come ye near
+unto me, hear this: from the beginning I have not spoken in secret;
+from the time that it was, I was there, and now the Lord God hath sent
+me and His Spirit." The sense is: Ever since the foundation of the
+people, I have given them the most distinct prophecies, and made them
+publicly known (referring to the whole chain of events, from the
+calling of Abraham and onward, which had been objects of prophecy); by
+mine omnipotence I have fulfilled them; and now I have sent my servant
+Isaiah, and filled him with my Spirit, in order that, by a new
+distinguished prophecy, he may bear witness to my sole divinity. It is
+only the accompanying mission of the Spirit which gives its importance
+to that of the Prophet. It is from God's Spirit searching the depths of
+the Godhead, and knowing His most hidden counsels, that those
+prophecies of the second part, going beyond the natural consciousness,
+have proceeded.
+
+We believe we have incontrovertibly proved that we are not entitled to
+draw any arguments against Isaiah's being the [Pg 189] author of the
+second part, from the circumstance "that the exile is not announced,
+but that the author takes his stand in it, as well as in that of
+Isaiah's time, inasmuch as this stand-point is an assumed and ideal
+one. But if the _form_, can prove nothing, far less can the _prophetic
+contents_." It is true that these contents cannot be explained from the
+natural consciousness of Isaiah; but it is not to be overlooked, that
+the assailed prophecies of Isaiah are even as directly as possible
+opposed to the rationalistic notion of prophetism, which is arbitrary,
+and goes in the face of all facts, and from which the arguments against
+their genuineness are drawn. In a whole series of passages of the
+second part (the same which we have just been discussing), the Prophet
+intimates that he gives disclosures which lie beyond the horizon of his
+time; and draws from this circumstance the arguments for his own divine
+mission, and the divinity of the God of Israel. He considers it as the
+disgrace of idolatry that it cannot give any definite prophecies, and
+with a noble scorn, challenges it to vindicate itself by such
+prophecies. That rationalistic notion of prophetism removes the
+boundaries which, according to the express statements of our Prophet,
+separate the Kingdom of God from heathenism. The rationalistic
+_notional_ God, however, it is true, can as little prophesy as the
+heathenish gods of stone and wood, of whom the Psalmist says: "They
+have ears, but they hear not, _neither speak they through their
+throat_."
+
+It is farther to be considered that the predictions of the Future, in
+those portions of Isaiah which are assailed just on account of them,
+are not so destitute of a foundation as is commonly assumed. There
+existed, in the present time and circumstances of the Prophet,
+important actual points of connection for them. They farther rest on
+the foundation of ideal views and conceptions of eternal truths, which
+had been familiar to the Church of the Lord from its very beginnings.
+They only enlarge what had already been prophesied by former prophets;
+and well secured and ascertained parallels in the prophetic
+announcement are not wanting for them.
+
+The carrying away of the covenant-people into exile had been actually
+prophesied by the fact, that the land had spued out its former
+inhabitants on account of their sins. The threatening of the exile
+pervades the whole Pentateuch from [Pg 190] beginning to end; compare
+_Genuineness of the Pentateuch_, _p._ 270 _ff._ It is found in the
+Decalogue also: "That thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord
+thy God giveth thee." David shows a clear knowledge of the sufferings
+impending over his family, and hence also over the people of God; comp.
+my Commentary on Song of Sol. S. 243. Solomon points to the future
+carrying away in his prayer at the consecration of the temple. Amos,
+the predecessor of Isaiah, foresees with absolute clearness, that,
+before the salvation comes, all that is glorious, not only in Israel,
+but in Judah also, must be given over to destruction, compare Vol. i.
+p. 357. In like manner, too, Hosea prophesies not only the destruction
+of the kingdom of the ten tribes, but also that Judah shall be carried
+away into exile, comp. Vol. i. p. 176. In Isaiah, the foreknowledge
+of the entire devastation of the city and land, and the carrying away
+into captivity of its inhabitants--a foreknowledge which stands in
+close connection with the energy of the knowledge of sin with the
+Prophets--meets us from the very beginning of his ministry, and also in
+those prophecies, the genuineness of which no one ventures to assail,
+as, _e.g._, in chap. i.-vi. After the severity of God had been
+manifested before the bodily eyes of the Prophet in the carrying away
+of the ten tribes, it could not, even from human considerations, be
+doubtful to him, what was the fate in store for Judah.
+
+The knowledge, that the impending carrying away of Judah would take
+place by the Chaldeans, and that Babylon would be the place of their
+banishment, was not destitute of a certain natural foundation. In the
+germ, the Chaldean power actually existed even at that time. Decidedly
+erroneous is the view of _Hitzig_, that a Chaldean power in Babylon
+could be spoken of only since the time of Nabopolassar. This power, on
+the contrary, was very old; compare the proofs in _Delitzsch's_
+Commentary on Habakkuk, S. 21. The Assyrian power, although, when
+outwardly considered, at its height, when more closely examined, began,
+even at that time, already to sink. A weakening of the Assyrian power
+is intimated also by the circumstance, that Hezekiah ventured to rebel
+against the Assyrians, and the embassy of the Chaldean Merodach Baladan
+to Hezekiah, implies that, even at that time, many things gave a title
+to expect the speedy downfal of the Assyrian [Pg 191] Empire. But the
+fact that Isaiah possessed the clear knowledge that, in some future
+period, the dominion of the world would pass over to Babylon and the
+Chaldeans,--that they would be the executors of the judgment upon
+Judah, we have already proved, in our remarks on chaps. xiii., xiv.,
+from the prophecies of the first part,--from chap. xxiii. 13, where the
+Chaldeans are mentioned as the executors of the judgment upon the
+neighbouring people, the Tyrians, and as the destroyers of the Assyrian
+dominion,--and from chap. xxxix. The attempt of dispossessing him of
+this knowledge is so much the more futile, that his contemporary Micah
+undeniably possesses it; comp. Vol. i. p. 464. So also does Habakkuk,
+between whose time and that of Isaiah, circumstances had not
+essentially changed, and who likewise still prophesied before the
+Chaldean monarchy had been established.
+
+While this foreknowledge of the future _elevation_ of Babylon had a
+_historical_ foundation, the foreknowledge of its _humiliation and
+fate_, following soon after, rested on a _theological_ foundation. With
+a heathenish people, elevation is always followed by haughtiness, with
+all its consequences; and, according to the eternal laws of the divine
+government of the world, haughtiness is a matter-of-fact prophecy of
+destruction. Proceeding from this view, the downfal of the Chaldean
+monarchy was prophesied by Habakkuk also, at a time when it was still
+developing, and was far from having attained to the zenith of its
+power. In the same manner, the foreknowledge of the future _deliverance
+of Israel_ rises on a theological foundation, and is not at all to be
+considered in the same light as if _e.g._, the Prophet had foretold to
+Moab its deliverance. That which the Prophet here predicts is only the
+individualization of a general truth which meets us at the very
+beginnings of the covenant-people. The principle which St. Paul
+advances in Rom. xi. 2: "God hath not cast away His people whom He
+foreknew," and ver. 29: "For the gifts and calling of God are without
+repentance," meets us, clearly and distinctly, as early as in the books
+of Moses. In Levit. xxvi. 42-45, the deliverance from the land of
+captivity is announced on the ground of the election of Israel, and of
+the covenant with the fathers, and as a fulfilment of the promise of
+future election, which was given by the fact of Israel's being
+delivered from [Pg 192] Egypt. And according to Deut. iv. 30, 31, xxx.
+ff., and the close of chap. xxxii., the end of all the catastrophes
+which are inflicted upon the covenant-people is always Israel's
+conversion and reception into favour; behind the judgment, mercy is
+always concealed. In the prayer of Solomon, the carrying away goes hand
+in hand with the reception into favour. But it will be altogether
+fruitless to deny to Isaiah the knowledge of the future deliverance of
+Israel from Babylon, since his contemporary Micah, in chap. iv. 10,
+briefly and distinctly expresses the same: "And thou comest to Babylon;
+there shalt thou be delivered; there shall the Lord redeem thee from
+the hand of thine enemies."
+
+The only point in the prophetic foreknowledge of the second part which
+really seems to want, not only a historical or ideal foundation, but
+also altogether corresponding analogies, is the mention of the name of
+Koresh. But this difficulty disappears if, in strict opposition to the
+current notion, it is assumed that Cyrus was induced, by our book only,
+to appropriate to himself that name. Recent investigation has proved
+that this name is originally not a proper name, but an honorary
+title,--that the Greek writers rightly explain it by _Sun_,--that the
+name of the sun was, in the East generally, and especially with the
+Persians, a common honorary title of rulers; comp. _Buernouf_ and others
+in _Haevernick's Einleitung_, ii. 2, S. 165. This honorary title of the
+Persian kings, Isaiah might very easily learn in a natural way. And the
+fact that this _Nomen dignitatis_ became, among several others,
+peculiar to Cyrus (the mention of the name of Koresh by Isaiah does not
+originally go beyond the announcement of the conqueror from the East)
+is explained by the circumstance that Cyrus assumed this name in honour
+of our book, and as an acknowledgment of the mission assigned to him by
+it, although the Prophet had not used this name in any other manner
+than Balaam had that of Agag, perhaps with an allusion to its
+signification; compare the phrases "from the East," "from the rising of
+the sun," in chap. xli. 2, 25. And it is historically settled and
+certain, that Cyrus had originally another name, viz., _Agradates_, and
+that he assumed this name only at the time of his ascending the throne,
+which falls into the time when the prophecies of our book could already
+be known to him (comp. the [Pg 193] proofs in _Haevernick's Einleit._)
+And as it is farther certain that the prophecies of our book made a
+deep impression upon him, and, in important points, exercised an
+influence upon his actions (this appears not only from the express
+statement of _Josephus_, [Arch. xi. c. 1. Sec. 1, 2,] but still more from
+an authentic document, the Edict of Cyrus, in Ezra i. 1 ff., which so
+plainly implies the fact reported by _Josephus_, that _Jahn_ rightly
+called _Josephus'_ statement a commentary on this Edict, which refers,
+_partly_ with literal accuracy, to a series of passages from the second
+part of Isaiah, compare the particulars in _Kleinert_, _ueber die
+Echtheit des Jesaias_, S. 142);--as the condition of the Persian
+religion likewise confirms this result gained from the Edict of Cyrus
+(_Stuhr_, _die Religionssysteme des alten Orients_, S. 373 ff., proves
+that in the time of Cyrus, and by him, an Israelitish element had been
+introduced into it);--there will certainly not be any reason to
+consider our supposition to be improbable, or the result of
+embarrassment.
+
+But to this circumstance we must still direct attention, that those
+prophetic announcements of the second part which have reference to that
+which, even at the time of "the great unknown," still belonged to the
+future, are far more distinct, and can far less be accounted for from
+natural causes, than those from which rationalistic criticism has drawn
+inferences as regards the spuriousness of the second part. The personal
+Messianic prophecies of the second part are much more characteristic
+than those concerning Cyrus. He who cannot, by the help of history,
+supplement and illustrate the prophecy, receives only an incomplete and
+defective image of the latter. And, indeed, a sufficiently long time
+elapsed before even Exegesis recognised with certainty and unanimity
+that it was Cyrus who was meant. Doubts and differences of opinion on
+this point meet us even down to last century. The Medes and Persians
+are not at all mentioned as the conquerors of Babylon, and all which
+refers to the person of Cyrus has an altogether ideal character; while
+the Messiah is, especially in chap. liii., so distinctly drawn, that
+scarcely any essential feature in His image is omitted. And it is
+altogether a matter of course that here, in the antitypical
+deliverance, a much greater clearness and distinctness should prevail;
+for it stands [Pg 194] in a far closer relation to the idea, so that
+form and substance do far less disagree.
+
+It would be inappropriate were we here to take up and refute all
+the arguments against the genuineness of the second part, which
+rationalistic criticism has brought together. Besides those which we
+have already refuted, we shall bring into view only this argument,
+which, at first sight indeed, may dazzle and startle even the
+well-disposed, viz., the difference between the first and second parts,
+as regards language and mode of representation. The chief error of
+those who have adduced this argument is, that they judge altogether
+without reference to person,--a matter, however, quite legitimate in
+this case,--that they simply apply the same rule to the productions of
+Isaiah which, in the productions of less richly endowed persons, has
+indeed a _certain_ right, _e.g._, on the prophetical territory of
+Jeremiah, who, notwithstanding the difference of subject, yet does not
+understand so to change his voice, that it should not soon be
+recognized by the skilled More than of all the prophets that holds true
+of Isaiah, which _Fichte_, in a letter to a _Koenigsberg_ friend, writes
+of himself (in his _Life_, by his son, i. S. 196): "I have properly no
+style at all, for I have them all." "Just as the subject demands," says
+_Ewald_, without assigning to the circumstance any weight in judging of
+the second part, "just as the subject demands, every kind of speech,
+and every change of style are easily at his command; and it is just
+this in which here his greatness, as, in general, one of his most
+prominent perfections, consists." The chief peculiarities of style in
+the second part stand in close relation to the subject, and the
+disposition of mind thereby called forth. The Prophet, as a rule, does
+not address the mass of the people, but the election ([Greek: ekloge]);
+nor the sinful congregation of the Lord in the present time, but that
+of the future, purified by the judgments of the Lord, the seed and germ
+of which were the election of the Present. It is to the congregation of
+brethren that he addresses _Comfort_. The beginning: "Comfort ye,
+Comfort ye, Zion," contains the keynote and principal subject. It is
+from this that the gentle, tender, soft character of the style is to be
+accounted for, as well as the frequent repetitions;--the comforting
+love follows, step by step, the grief which is indefatigable in its
+repetitions. [Pg 195] From this circumstance is to be explained the
+habit of adding several epithets to the name of God; these are as many
+shields which are held up against despair, as many bulwarks against the
+things in sight, by which every thought of redemption was cut off Where
+God is the sole help, every thing must be tried to make the
+Congregation feel what they have in Him. A series of single phrases
+which several times recur _verbatim_, _e.g._, "I am the Lord, and none
+else, I do not give mine honour to any other, I am the first and the
+last," are easily accounted for by the Prophet's endeavour and anxiety
+to impress upon the desponding minds truths, which they were only too
+apt to forget. If other linguistic peculiarities occur, which cannot be
+explained from the subject, it must be considered that the second part
+is not by any means a collection of single prophecies, but a closely
+connected whole, which, as such, must necessarily have its own peculiar
+_usus loquendi_, a number of constantly recurring characteristic
+peculiarities. The character of unity must necessarily be expressed in
+language and style also. The fact, however, that, notwithstanding the
+difference of style betwixt the first and second parts, the second part
+has a great number of characteristic peculiarities of language and
+style in common with the first part (a fact which cannot be otherwise,
+if Isaiah was the author of both), was first very thoroughly
+demonstrated by _Kleinert_, while _Kueper_ and _Caspari_ have been the
+first conclusively to prove, that the second part was known and made
+use of by those prophets who prophesied between the time of Isaiah and
+that of "the great unknown."
+
+The close connection of the second part with the first is, among other
+things, proved also by the circumstance that both are equally strongly
+pervaded with the Messianic announcement. Chap. i.-xii. especially
+have, in this respect, a remarkable parallel in the second book of the
+second part. The fact, moreover, that the single Messianic prophecies
+of the second part agree, in the finest and most concealed features,
+with those of the first part, will be shown in the exposition.
+
+
+
+[Footnote 1: Chap. xxxvii. 38, (comp. 2 Kings xix. 37), describing
+apparently the murder of Sennacherib as belonging to the past, does not
+decide any thing as to the composition of this chapter by Isaiah,
+"inasmuch as the year which is assigned for Sennacherib's death, B.C.
+696, is not historically ascertained and certain. Nor can the
+supposition, that Isaiah lived until the time of Manasseh, and himself
+arranged and edited the collection of his prophecies on the eve of his
+life, be liable to any well-founded doubts" (_Keil_, _Einleitung_, S.
+271). The inscription in chap. i. 1, only indicates that the collection
+does not contain any prophecies which go beyond the time of Hezekiah.]
+
+[Footnote 2: To a certain degree analogous are those other passages of
+the Old Testament, in which the Past presents itself in the form of the
+Present, as the deliverance from Egypt in Ps. lxvi. 6; lxxxi. 6. Faith,
+at the same time, makes all the old things new, fresh, and lively, and
+anticipates the Future.]
+
+[Pg 196]
+
+
+
+
+                            CHAP. XLII. 1-9.
+
+
+The 40th chapter has an introductory character. It comforts the people
+of the Lord by pointing, in general, to a Future rich in salvation. In
+chap. xli. the Prophet describes the appearance of the conqueror from
+the East for the destruction of Babylon,--an event from which he
+derives, as from a rich source, ample consolations for his poor
+wretched people, while, at the same time, he represents idolatry as
+being thereby put to shame. It is on purpose that, immediately after
+the first announcement of this conqueror from the East, his antitype
+is, in chap. xlii. 1-9, contrasted with him. In the preceding chapter,
+the Prophet had shown how, by the influence of the king from the East,
+the Lord would put idolatry to shame, and work out deliverance for His
+Church. In the section now before us, he describes how, by the mission
+of His servant, the Lord would effect, definitely and absolutely, that
+which the former had done only in a preliminary, limited, and imperfect
+manner. In the subsequent section, the Prophet then first farther
+carries out the image of the conqueror from the East; and from chap.
+xlix. he turns to a more minute representation of the image of the true
+Saviour. In chaps. xlii. 10, to xliii. 7, the discourse turns, from a
+general description of God's instruments of salvation, to a general
+description of the salvation in its whole extent; just as it is the
+manner of the second part ever again to return from the particular to
+the general.
+
+Here, where the Servant of God is first to be introduced, He is at
+first spoken _of_; it is in ver. 5 that the Lord first speaks _to_ His
+servant. In chap. xlix., on the contrary, the Servant of God, being
+already known from chap. xlii., is, without farther remark, introduced
+as speaking.
+
+In the whole section, the Lord is speaking. It falls into three
+divisions--First, the Lord speaks _of_ His servant, vers. 1-4; then He
+speaks to His servant, ver. 5-7; finally. He addresses some closing
+words to the Church, ver. 8, 9. The representation, in harmony with the
+nature of the prophetic vision, bears a dramatic character.
+
+In ver. 1-4, the Lord, as it were, points to His servant, introduces
+Him to His Church, and commends Him to the [Pg 197] world: "Behold my
+Servant," &c. He, the beloved and elect One, upheld by God, and endowed
+with the fulness of the Spirit of God, shall establish righteousness
+upon the whole earth, and bring into submission to himself the whole
+Gentile world, by showing himself meek and lowly in heart, an helper of
+the poor and afflicted, and combining with it never-failing power. The
+aim: He shall bring forth right to the Gentiles. is at once expressed
+at the close of ver. 1. In ver. 2-4, the means by which He attains this
+aim are then stated. The bringing forth, or the establishing of right,
+recurs again in ver. 3 and 4, in order to point out this relation of
+ver. 2-4 to ver. 1.
+
+In ver. 6 and 7, after having pointed to His Omnipotence as affording a
+guarantee for the fulfilment of a prophecy so great that it might
+appear almost incredible, the Lord turns to His Servant and addresses
+Him. He announces to Him that it should be His glorious destination,
+partly to bring, in His person, the covenant with Israel to its full
+truth, partly to be the light for the Gentile world,--to be, in
+general, the Saviour of the whole human race.
+
+In the closing verses, 8, 9, the Lord addresses the Church, and directs
+its attention to the object which the announcement of the mission of
+His Servant, declared in the preceding context, serves: God, because He
+is God, is anxious for the promotion of His glory. In order, therefore,
+that it may be known that He alone is God, He grants to His people
+disclosures as regards the distant Future, as yet fully wrapped up in
+obscurity.
+
+There is no doubt, and it is now generally admitted, that the Servant
+of the Lord, here described, is the same as He who is brought before us
+in chap. xlix. 4; liii., lxi. It is, hence, not sufficient to point out
+an individual to whom, apparently, the attributes contained in this
+prophecy belong; but we must add and combine all the signs and
+attributes which are contained in the parallel passages.
+
+The Chaldean Paraphrast who, in so many instances, has faithfully
+preserved the exegetical tradition, understands the Messiah by the
+Servant of God; and so, from among the later Jewish expositors, do
+_Dav. Kimchi_ and _Abarbanel_, the latter of whom says of the
+non-Messianic interpretation, [Hebrew: wkl alh] [Pg 198] [Hebrew:
+hHkmiM hkv bsnvriM] "that all these expositors were struck with
+blindness." That this exposition was the current one among the Jews at
+the time of Christ, appears from Luke ii. 32, where Simeon designates
+the Saviour as the light to be revealed to the Gentiles [Greek: phos
+eis apokalupsin ethnon], with a reference to Is xlii. 6; xlix. 6. It is
+especially the latter passage which Simeon has in view, as also St.
+Paul in Acts xiii. 46, 47, as appears from the words immediately
+preceding [Greek: hoti eidon hoi ophthalmoi mou to soterion sou ho
+hetoimasas kata prosopon panton ton laon], which evidently refer to
+chap. xlix. But chap. xlix. is, as regards the point which here comes
+into consideration, a mere repetition and confirmation of chap. xlii.
+
+By the New Testament, this exposition has been introduced and
+established in the Church of Christ. The words which, at the baptism of
+Christ, resounded from heaven: [Greek: houtos estin ho huios mou ho
+agapetos, en ho eudokesa], Matt. iii. 17 (comp. Mark i. 11) evidently
+refer to ver. 1 of the chapter before us, and point out that He who had
+now appeared was none other than He who had, centuries ago, been
+predicted by the prophets. And so do likewise the words which,
+according to Matt. xvii. 5 (compare Mark ix. 7; Luke ix. 35; 2 Pet. i.
+17), at the transfiguration of Christ, towards the close of His
+ministry, resounded from heaven in order to strengthen the Apostles:
+[Greek: houtos estin ho huios mou ho agapetos, en ho eudokesa. autou
+akouete.] These voices at the beginning and the close of Christ's
+ministry have not been sufficiently attended to by those who have
+raised doubts against the Messianic interpretation; for a doubt in this
+must necessarily shake also the belief in the reality of those voices.
+In both of the passages, the place of the Servant of God in chap. xlii.
+1 (which passage is indeed not so much quoted, as only, in a free
+treatment, referred to) is taken by the Son of God, from Ps. ii. 7,
+just as, at the transfiguration, the words [Greek: autou akouete] are
+at once added from Deut. xviii. 15. The name of the Servant of God
+was not high enough fur the sublime moment; the _Son_ formed, in the
+second passage, the contrast to the _mere_ servants of God, Moses and
+Elijah.--In Matt. xii. 17-21, ver. 1-3 are quoted, and referred to
+Christ. The Messianic explanation of chap. xlii., xlix. lies at the
+foundation of all the other passages also, where Christ is spoken of as
+the [Greek: pais Theou]. In Acts iii. 13: [Greek: edoxase ton paida]
+[Pg 199] [Greek: autou Iesoun], we shall be obliged to follow _Bengel_
+in explaining it by: _ministrum suum_, partly on account of Matt. xii.
+18, and because the LXX. often render [Hebrew: ebd] by [Greek: pais];
+partly on account of the obvious reference to the Old Testament
+passages which treat of the Servant of God, and on account of the
+special allusion to chap. xlix. 3 in the [Greek: edoxase] (LXX. [Greek:
+doulos mou ei su [Israel] kai en soi eudoxasthesomai]). And so likewise
+in Acts iii. 26; iv. 27: [Greek: epi ton hagion paida sou Iesoun, hon
+echrisas], where the last words refer to chap. lxi. 1; farther, in Acts
+iv. 30. In all these passages it is not the more obvious [Greek:
+doulos], but [Greek: pais] which is put, in order to remove the low
+notions which, in Greek, attach to the word [Greek: doulos].
+
+Taking her stand partly on these authorities, partly on the natural
+sense of the passage, the Christian Church has all along referred the
+passage to Christ; and even expositors such as _Clericus_, who,
+everywhere else, whensoever it is possible, seek to set aside the
+Messianic interpretation, are here found among its most decided
+defenders. In our century, with the awakening faith, this explanation
+has again obtained general dominion; and wherever expositors of
+evangelical disposition do not yet profess it, this is to be accounted
+for from the still continuing influence of rationalistic tradition.
+
+We are led to the Messianic interpretation by the circumstance that the
+servant of God appears here as the antitype of Cyrus. A real person can
+be contrasted with a real person only, but not with a personification,
+as is assumed by the other explanations. We are compelled to explain it
+of Christ by this circumstance also, that it is in Him only that the
+signs of the Servant of God are to be found,--that in Him only the
+covenant of God with Israel has become a truth,--that He only is the
+light of the Gentiles,--that He only, without external force, by His
+gentleness, meekness, and love, has founded a Kingdom, the boundaries
+of which are conterminous with those of the earth. The connection,
+also, with the other Messianic announcements, especially those of the
+first part, compels us to refer it to Christ.
+
+The reasons against the Messianic interpretation are of little weight.
+The assertion that nowhere in the New Testament does Jesus appear as
+the Servant of Jehovah (_Hendewerk_), is at once overthrown by Matt.
+xii. 18, as well as by the other [Pg 200] passages already quoted, in
+which Christ appears as [Greek: pais Theou]. Phil. ii. 7, [Greek:
+morphen doulou labon] comes as near the [Hebrew: ebd ihvh], as it was
+possible, considering the low notion attached to the Greek [Greek:
+doulos]. The passages which treat of the obedience of Christ, such as
+Rom, v. 19; Phil. ii. 8; Heb. v. 8; John xvii. 4: [Greek: ton ergon
+eteleiosa, ho dedokas moi hina poieso], give only a paraphrase of the
+notion of the Servant of the Lord. With perfect soundness _Dr Nitzsch_
+has remarked, that it was required by the typical connection of the two
+Testaments, that Christ should somehow, according to His [Greek:
+hupakoe], [Greek: hupotage], be represented as the perfect
+manifestation of the [Hebrew: ebd]--The assertion: "The Messiah is
+excluded by the circumstance that the subject is not only to be a
+teacher of the Gentiles, who is endowed with the Spirit of God, but is
+also to announce deliverance to Israel" (_Gesenius_), rests only on an
+erroneous, falsely literal interpretation of ver. 7, which is not a
+whit better than if, in ver. 3, we were to think of a natural bruised
+reed, a natural wick dimly burning.--The objection that this Servant of
+the Lord is not foretold as a future person, but is spoken of as one
+present, forgets that we are here on the territory of prophetic vision,
+that the prophets had not in vain the name of _seers_, and puts the
+_real_, in place of the _ideal_ Present,--a mistake which is here the
+less pardonable that the Prophet pre-eminently uses the Future, and, in
+this way, himself explains the ideal character of the inserted
+Preterites.--In order to refute the assertion, that the doctrine of the
+Messiah is foreign to the second part of Isaiah, that (as _Ewald_ held)
+in it the former Messianic hopes are connected with the person of a
+heathen king, viz., Cyrus (how very little have they who advance such
+opinions any idea of the nature of Holy Writ!), it is only necessary to
+refer to chap. lv. 3, 4, where the second David, the Messiah, appears,
+at the same time, as Teacher, and as the Prince and Lawgiver of the
+nations, who is to extend the Kingdom of God far over all heathen
+nations. That which, in that passage, is declared of the Messiah, and
+that which, in those passages which treat of the Servant of God, is
+declared of Him, exclude one another, as soon as, by the Servant of
+God, any other subject than the Messiah is understood.
+
+Even this circumstance must raise an unfavourable prejudice against the
+non-Messianic interpretation, that its defenders [Pg 201] are at one in
+the negative only, but differ in the positive determination of the
+subject, and that, hitherto, no one view has succeeded in overthrowing
+the other; and farther, that ever anon new subtleties are advanced, by
+means of which it is attempted to patch up and conceal the
+inadmissibilities of every individual exposition.
+
+Passing over those expositions which have now become obsolete,--such as
+of Cyrus, the Prophet Isaiah himself--we shall give attention to those
+expositions only which even now have their representatives, and which
+have some foundation in the matter itself.
+
+The LXX. already understood Israel by the Servant of the Lord. They
+translate in ver. 1: [Greek: Iakob, ho pais mou, antilepsomai autou,
+Israel, ho eklektos mou, prosedexato auton he psuche mou.] Among the
+Jewish interpreters, _Jarchi_ follows this explanation, but with this
+modification, that, by the Servant of the Lord, he understands the
+collective body of the righteous in Israel. In modern times, this view
+is defended by _Hitzig_. It appeals especially to the circumstance
+that, in a series of other passages of the second part, Israel, too, is
+designated by the Servant of God, viz. in chap. xli. 8: "And thou
+Israel, my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, seed of Abraham my
+friend," ver. 9: "Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth,
+and called thee from its sides, and said unto thee: Thou art my
+servant, I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away," chap. xlii. 19,
+xliii. 10, xliv. 1, 2: "And now hear, O Jacob my servant, and Israel
+whom I have chosen. Thus saith the Lord that made thee, formed thee
+from the womb and helpeth thee: Fear not, O Jacob, my servant, and thou
+Jeshurun, whom I have chosen;" chap. xliv. 21, xlv. 4, xlviii. 20; "Say
+ye, the Lord hath redeemed His servant Jacob." In the face of this
+fact, we shall not be permitted to refer to "the general signification
+of the expression, and its manifold use." For, generally, it is of very
+rare occurrence that Israel is personified as the Son of God (in Ps.
+cv. 6, it is not Israel, as _Koester_ supposes, but Abraham who is
+called Servant of God; Jer. xxx. 10, xlvi. 27; Ezek. xxxvii. 25 are, in
+all probability, dependent upon the second part of Isaiah, by which
+this designation first obtained a footing), and never occurs in such
+accumulation as here. For this very reason, we cannot well think [Pg
+202] of an accident; and if there was an intention, we can seek it only
+in the circumstance that there exists a close reference to those
+prophecies which, _ex professo_, have to do with the Servant of God. To
+this we are led by another circumstance, also. While those passages in
+which Israel or Jacob is spoken of as the servant of God, occur in
+great numbers in the first book of the second part of Isaiah, they
+_disappear_ altogether in the second book, which is the proper seat of
+the detail prophecies of the Servant of God in question, who, in the
+first book was, by way of anticipation only, mentioned in chap. xlii.
+After chap. xlviii. 20, where the words: "The Lord hath redeemed His
+servant Jacob," occur with evident intention, once more at the close of
+the first book, Jacob, the servant of God, is, in general, no more
+spoken of, but the Plural is used only of the Israelites as the
+servants of God in chap. lxiii. 17: "For thy servants'sake, the tribes
+of thine inheritance;" lxv. 8, 9-13, lxvi. 14,--passages which make it
+only the more evident that the Prophet purposely avoids bringing
+forward Jacob as the ideal person of the Servant of the Lord.
+_Finally_--The idea of chance is entirely excluded by chap. xlix. 3,
+where the Messiah is called Israel.
+
+From these facts, however, we are not entitled to infer that, in the
+prophetic announcement, Israel is simply spoken of as the servant of
+God; but on the contrary the context must be viewed in a different and
+_nicer_ way. This is evident from the circumstance that, while in the
+passages chaps. xli. 7, xlviii. 20, Israel and Jacob are intentionally
+spoken of as the servant of God, or, at least, Israel is so distinctly
+pointed out that it cannot be at all misunderstood, such an express
+pointing to Israel is (with the sole exception of chap. xlix. 3), as
+intentionally, avoided in the prophetic announcement of the Servant of
+God. The phrase "My servant Jacob," which, in the former passages is
+the rule, never occurs in the latter. This circumstance clearly
+indicates that, besides the agreement, there exists a difference. The
+facts, however, which point out the agreement, receive ample justice by
+the supposition _that the Prophet considers Christ as the concentration
+and essence of Israel_, that he expects from Him the realization of the
+task which was given to Israel, but had not been fulfilled by them, and
+just thereby, also, the realization of the promises given to [Pg 203]
+Israel. But, besides other reasons, the fact that the whole description
+of the Servant of God stands in direct contradiction to what the
+Prophet elsewhere says of Israel, proves that Israel is not meant in
+_opposition_ to the Messiah,--the body without the head. It is
+especially chap. xlii. 19 which here comes into consideration: "Who is
+so blind as my servant, or so blind as my messenger whom I send?"
+Israel is here called servant of the Lord, because it had been called
+by Him to preserve the true religion on earth. Parallel is the
+appellation: "My messenger whom I send." Israel, as the messenger of
+God, was to deliver His commands to the Gentiles. The Prophet sharpens
+the reproof, in that he always contrasts what the people were, and what
+they ought to have been, according to the destination given to them by
+the Lord. The servant of the Lord, who, in order to execute His
+commissions, must have a sharp eye, is blind; His messenger is deaf and
+cannot hear what He says to him. The immense contrast between idea and
+reality which is here pointed out, implies, since the idea must
+necessarily be realized, that it shall receive another bearer; that in
+place of the messenger, who has become blind and deaf, there should
+come the true Messenger who first opens the eyes of Israel, and then
+those of the Gentiles,--that the destination of Israel, which the
+members are unfit to realize, should be realized by the head. We are
+not at liberty to say that the servant who had become blind and deaf
+shall be converted, shall put off the old man and put on the new man,
+and shall then accomplish the great things which, in the prophecies of
+the Servant of God, are assigned to him. For the conversion,--on which
+everything depends, and apart from which the announcement of the
+Prophet would be an empty fancy--is, in all these prophecies, not
+mentioned by a single word. On the contrary, the Servant of God is
+everywhere, from His very origin, brought before us as the absolutely
+just. No more glaring contrast can really be imagined than that which
+exists between that which the Prophet says of the ordinary Israel
+(whose outward state, as it is described in chap. xlii. 22: "This is a
+people robbed and spoiled, they are all of them snared in holes, and
+hid in prison-houses," is only a faithful image of the internal
+condition), and the Son of God in whom His soul delighteth, who in
+exuberant love seeks [Pg 204] that which is lost, whose overflowing
+righteousness justifies many, and who, as a substitute, can suffer for
+others. It is in Christ only, that Israel attains to its destination,
+both in a moral point of view, and as regards the Divine preservation
+and glorification. To this it may still be added, that neither here,
+nor in the parallel passages is [Hebrew: ebd ihvh] ever connected with
+a Plural, but always with the Singular only; while elsewhere, in the
+case of collective nouns and ideal persons, the real plurality not
+uncommonly shines forth from behind the unity; and in those passages,
+especially, where Israel appears personified as a unity, the use of the
+Singular is interchanged with that of the Plural. Comp., _e.g._, chap.
+xli. 8: "And thou Israel, my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, seed
+(_posterity_) of Abraham, my friend," chap. xliii. 10: "_Ye are my
+witnesses._ saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen." But a
+circumstance, which alone would be sufficient for the proof, is the
+fact, that in chap. xli. 6, (comp. chap. xlix. 5, 6) the Servant of the
+Lord is plainly distinguished from the people. How can the Lord say of
+the people, that He will give it for a covenant of the people, that in
+it He will cause the covenant with the people to attain to its truth?
+The fact, that this passage opposes an insurmountable barrier to the
+explanation which makes the people the subject, sufficiently appears
+from the circumstance, that the expositors saw themselves obliged to
+set aside its natural sense by a forced, unphilological explanation.
+_Finally_,--In understanding the people by the Servant of God, the
+prophecies of the Servant of God are brought into irreconcileable
+contradiction with all other prophecies, with the first part of Isaiah,
+and even with the second part, inasmuch as things would then be
+prophesied of the people which, everywhere else, are constantly
+assigned to the Messiah. This is quite openly expressed by _Koester_:
+"The Servant of Jehovah is the Jewish people; viewed, however, by the
+Prophet in such a manner as to combine in itself the attributes of
+both, the prophets and the Messiah." Prophetism would have dug its own
+grave if its organs had, in a manner so inconsiderate, contradicted
+each other as regards the highest hopes of the people. The national
+conviction of the inspiration of the prophets, which formed the
+foundation of their activity and efficiency, could, in that case, not
+have arisen at [Pg 205] all. The same arguments decide partly also
+against a modification of this explanation which evidently has
+proceeded from embarrassment only,[1] against those who, by the Servant
+of God, understand the better portion of Israel,--such as _Maurer_,
+_Ewald_, _Oehler_ (_Ueber den Knecht Gottes_, _Tuebinger Zeitschrift_,
+1840. The latter differs from the other supporters of this view in
+this, that, according to him, the notion of the ideal Israel which, he
+thinks, prevails in chap. xlii. and xlix., is, in chap. liii., raised
+to the view of an individual--the Messiah), _Knobel_ ("The theocratic
+substance of the people, to which especially the prophets and priests
+belonged.") By this modification, the explanation which makes the
+people the subject, loses its only apparent foundation, inasmuch as it
+can no more appeal to those passages in which Israel is spoken of as
+the Servant of the Lord; for it is obvious that, in these, not merely
+the pious portion of the people is spoken of. At the very outset, in
+ver. 19, the whole of the people are undeniably designated by the
+Servant of the Lord. It is they only who are blind and deaf in a
+spiritual point of view. The whole people, and not a portion of them,
+are in the condition of servitude, ver. 22. In ver. 24, Jacob and
+Israel are expressly mentioned. The whole people, and not merely the
+pious portion, are objects of the Lord's election (chap. xli. 8, xliv.
+1, 2); the whole people are to be redeemed from Babylon, chap. xlviii.
+20. The hypothesis of the pious portion of the people can as little
+account for the unexceptional use of the singular, as the hypothesis of
+the whole people; like it, it isolates the prophecies of the Servant of
+God, and brings them into contradiction with all the other prophecies,
+which assign to Christ the same things that are here assigned to the
+Servant of God. But what is especially in opposition to this hypothesis
+is ver. 3, where the Servant of God is designated as the Saviour of the
+poor and afflicted, which, in the first instance, are no other than the
+better portion of the people; as well as other reasons, which we shall
+bring out in commenting upon chap. liii. by which section the
+hypothesis is altogether overthrown.
+
+According to _De Wette_ (_de morte expiat._ p. 26) and _Gesenius_, [Pg
+206] the subject of the prophecy is the collective body of the
+prophets. Substantially, _Umbreit_ too (_Der Knecht Gottes_, Hamburg
+1840) adheres to this interpretation. He rejects the explanation which
+refers it to Christ in the sense of the Christian Church, and on p. 13
+he completely assents to _Gesenius_, by remarking that he could not
+find in the prophets any supernatural, distinct predictions of future
+events. The Prophet, according to him, formed to himself, by his own
+authority, an "ideal of a Messiah," the abstraction of what he saw
+before his eyes in the people, especially in the better portion of
+them, but chiefly in the order of the prophets, and then persuaded
+himself that this self-invented image would, at some future period,
+come into existence as a real person. "The highest ideal of the
+prophetic order, viewed as teaching, is represented in the unity of a
+person." "We find the prophets as a collective body in the [Hebrew:
+ebd], but chiefly, the prophets who, in future only, on the regained
+paternal soil, are, in some person, to reach the highest perfection."
+
+This hypothesis of the collective body of the prophets violently severs
+the prophecy before us, and the parallel passages from those passages
+of the second part in which Israel is spoken of as the Servant of God.
+It is quite impossible to point out anywhere in the Old Testament, and
+especially in the second part of Isaiah, an analogous personification
+of the order of the prophets as the Servant of God. The reference to
+chap. xliv. 26: "That establisheth the word of His servant, and
+performeth the counsel of His messengers; that saith of Jerusalem: She
+shall be inhabited, and of the cities of Judah: They shall be built,
+and I will raise up the walls thereof," is, in this respect, altogether
+out of place, inasmuch as the servant of the Lord, in that verse, is
+not the collective band of the prophets, but Isaiah himself, just as in
+chap. xxiii. The parallelism between the servant of the Lord and His
+messengers is not a _synonymous_, but a _synthetic_ one, just as,
+afterwards, Jerusalem and the cities of Judah are placed beside one
+another. The parallel passages clearly intimate that, by the servant of
+the Lord, Isaiah only is to be understood. Throughout, the Prophet
+refers exclusively to his own prophecies, as regards the impending
+salvation of Israel (the prophecies of others he mentions, everywhere
+else, always in reference to the past only); [Pg 207] and it cannot be
+imagined that, in this single passage only, he should have designated
+himself as one among the many. If we consider those parallel passages,
+we must assume that the _messengers_ also are represented chiefly by
+our Prophet; that he is their mouth and organ, just as, in Rev. i. 1,
+and xxii. 6, the servants of God and the prophets are represented by
+John.
+
+_Farther_--It cannot be denied that a certain amount of truth lies at
+the foundation of the explanation which makes the prophetic order the
+subject. The Messiah appears in our prophecy pre-eminently as the
+Prophet, in harmony and connection with Deut. xviii. (comp. Vol. i., p.
+107); and the substratum of the description forms chiefly the prophetic
+order, while, in the prophecies of the first part, it is chiefly the
+regal office which appears, and, in chap. liii., the priestly. But the
+mistake (as _Umbreit_ himself partly saw) is, that this explanation
+changes the person into a personification, instead of recognizing that
+the idea, which hitherto was only imperfectly realised by the prophetic
+order, demands a future perfect realisation in an individual, so that
+we could not but expect such an one even if there did not exist any
+Messianic prophecy at all. Every prophet who, in human weakness,
+performed his office, was a guarantee of the future appearance of _the_
+Prophet, as surely as God never does by halves what, according to His
+nature, and as proved by the existence of the imperfect, He must do.
+But the fact that, here, we have not before us a mere personification
+of the prophetic order, nor, as little, according to the opinion of
+_Umbreit_, a single individual by whom, in future, the idea of the
+prophetic order was to be most perfectly realised, is evident from the
+circumstance that the Servant of God does not, by any means, represent
+himself as being _only_ the Prophet. The contrast between Cyrus and the
+Servant of God, which _G. Mueller_ advances: "Evidently, the former is a
+conqueror; the latter, a meek teacher," is one-sided; for the Servant
+of God appears, at the same time, as a powerful _ruler_, just as
+Christ, in chap. lv. 4, is at the same time designated as a _Witness_,
+and as Prince and Lawgiver of the nations. To the mere teacher not even
+ver. 3 is applicable, if the parallel passages are compared, but far
+less ver. 4: "The isles shall wait for _His law_." Nor does a mere
+teacher come up to the embodied covenant with Israel in ver. 6, nor to
+_the_ [Pg 208] _light_, _i.e._, Salvation and Saviour of the Gentiles.
+By mere teaching, salvation cannot be wrought out. Ver. 7 also does not
+apply to the mere _teacher_.
+
+The collective body of the prophets, or the ideal prophet, is
+altogether out of place in chap. liii.; for there the Servant of God
+does not appear as a Prophet, but as a High Priest and Redeemer. This
+hypothesis meets with farther difficulties by the mention of Israel in
+chap. xlix. 3. _Farther_--It cannot well be conceived how the Prophet
+who, according to these expositors, lived about the end of the exile,
+could expect such glorious things of the prophetic order, as that
+from it even a preliminary and partial realization of his hopes
+should proceed. At that time the prophetic order was already dying out;
+and a prophetic order among the exiled cannot well be spoken of
+_Finally_--That which is here ascribed to the Servant of God--the grand
+influence upon the heathen world--is not of such a character, as that
+the prophets could be considered as even the precursors and companions
+in the work of _the Prophet_. Neither prophecy nor history assigns to
+the prophets any share in this work. This hypothesis severe the second
+part from its connection with the whole remaining Old Testament,
+according to which it is by Christ alone that the reception of the
+Gentiles into the Kingdom of God shall be effected. And in this second
+part itself, it stands likewise in contradiction to chap. lv. 3, 4.
+
+
+                           * * * * * * * * * *
+
+
+Ver. 1. "_Behold my Servant whom I uphold, mine elect, in whom my soul
+delighteth; I have put my Spirit upon Him, He shall bring forth
+right_[2] _to the Gentiles._"
+
+Every pious man is called, in general, "servant of the Lord," comp. Job
+i. 8; Ps. xix. 12, 14; but ordinarily, the designation is, in a special
+sense, applied to those whom God makes use of for the execution of His
+purposes, to whom He entrusts the administration of His affaire, and
+whom He equips for the promotion of His glory. David, who, according to
+Acts xiii. 36, had in his generation served the counsel of God, calls
+himself [Pg 209] in his prayer in 2 Sam. vii., not fewer than ten
+times, the servant of God, (Vol. i, p. 135, 136); and the same
+designation he gives to himself in the inscriptions of Ps. xviii. and
+xxxvi. The _Prophets_ are called servants of God in 2 Kings xiii. 3;
+Jer. xxvi. 5. In the highest and most perfect degree, that designation
+belongs to Christ, who, in the most perfect manner, carried out the
+decrees of God, and to whom all former servants and instruments of the
+Lord in His kingdom, pointed as types. But the designation has not
+merely a reference to the subjective element of obedience, but points,
+at the same time, to the _dignity_ of him who is thus designated. It is
+a high honour to be received by God among the number of His servants,
+who enjoy the providence and protection of their mighty and rich Lord.
+That this aspect--the dignity--comes here chiefly into consideration,
+in the case of Him who is the Servant of God [Greek: kat'ezochen], and
+in whom, therefore, this dignity must reach its highest degree, so that
+the designation, _My Servant_, borders very closely upon that of _My
+Son_, (comp. Matth. iii. 17, xvii. 5);--that this aspect comes here
+chiefly into consideration is probable even from the circumstance that,
+in those passages of the second part which treat of _Israel_ as the
+servant of God, it is just this aspect which is pre-eminently regarded.
+Thus it is in chap. xli. 8: "And thou Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I
+have chosen, the seed of Abraham, my friend." To be the servant of God
+appears here as an honour, as the privilege which was bestowed upon
+Israel in preference to the Gentiles. On ver. 9: "Thou, whom I have
+taken from the ends of the earth, and from her borders called thee, and
+said unto thee: Thou art my servant, I have chosen thee and not cast
+thee away," Luther remarks: "The name, 'my servant,'contains the
+highest _consolation_, both when we look to Him who speaks, viz.. He
+who has created everything, and also to him who is addressed, viz.,
+afflicted and forsaken man." In chap. xliv. 1, 2: "And now hear, O
+Jacob, my servant, and Israel whom I have chosen; thus saith the Lord
+that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, who will help thee: Fear
+not, O Jacob, my servant, and Jeshurun, whom I have chosen," all the
+designations of God and Israel serve only for an introduction to the
+exhortation: "Fear not," by laying open the necessity which exists for
+the promise in [Pg 210] ver. 3, which, without such ca foundation,
+would be baseless. The context and the parallelism with "whom I have
+chosen" show that the designation, "servant of God" in these verses has
+no reference to a duty imposed, but to a privilege, a relation which is
+the pledge of divine aid to Israel. Jeshurun stands as a kind of _nomen
+proprium_, and is not parallel to [Hebrew: ebdi], but to Jacob. In
+chap. xliv. 21: "Remember this, O Jacob, and Israel, for thou art my
+servant, I have formed thee for a servant to me, Israel, thou shalt not
+be forgotten of me," the [Hebrew: alh] "this" refers to the folly of
+idolatry exhibited in the preceding verses. The duty that Israel should
+remember this, is founded upon the fact, that he is the servant of the
+Lord, called by Him to a glorious dignity, to high prerogatives, of
+which he must not rob himself by apostatizing from Him. It is He who
+has bestowed upon him this dignity, and He will soon show by deeds,
+that He cannot forget him, if only his heart does not forget his God.
+In a similar manner, in chap. xlv. 4, the protecting providence and
+love of God are looked to. The aspect of the duty and of the service
+which Israel has to perform to his Lord, is specially pointed out in a
+single passage only, in chap. xlii. 19; all the other passages place
+the dignity in the foreground. That, in the designation. Servant of
+God, in the passage before us, prominence is also given to the dignity,
+is confirmed by the addition of "whom I uphold," which presents itself
+as an immediate consequence of the relation of a servant of God, and by
+the parallel: "mine elect in whom my soul delighteth."--[Hebrew: tmK]
+"to take," "to seize," "to hold," when followed by [Hebrew: b], always
+signifies _to lay hold of_, _to hold fast_, _to support_. With the
+words: "Behold my servant whom I uphold," corresponds what the Lord
+says in John viii. 29: [Greek: ho pempsas me met'emou estin. ouk
+apheke me monon ho Pater, hoti ego ta aresta auto poio pantote]; comp.
+John iii. 2; Acts x. 38. The Preterite [Hebrew: ntti] is employed,
+because the communication of the Spirit is the condition of his
+bringing forth right, just as, in ver. 6, the _calling_ is the ground
+of the preservation. In the whole of the description of the Servant of
+God, the Future prevails throughout; the _Praeteritum propheticum_ is
+employed only, where something is to be designated, which, relatively,
+is antecedent; compare the words: "And the Spirit of the Lord rests
+upon [Pg 211] Him," in chap. xi. 2; lxi. 1; Matt. iii. 16; John iii.
+34. The three passages in Isaiah which speak of the communication of
+the Spirit to Christ are inseparably connected with one another, and,
+on the whole Old Testament territory, there is no passage exactly
+parallel to them. The Hiphel of [Hebrew: ica] must not be explained by
+"to announce," as some interpreters do; for in this signification it
+nowhere occurs; and according to what follows, and the parallel
+passages, the Servant of God does not by any means establish right by
+the mere announcement, but by His holy disposition. But as little can
+we explain [Hebrew: hvcia] by "to lead out," in contrast to the
+circumstance that, under the Old Testament, right was limited to a
+single nation. For in the parallel passage, chap. li. 4: "Hearken unto
+me, my people, and give ear unto me, O my congregation, for law shalt
+proceed from me, and I will set my right for the light of the nations,"
+[Hebrew: ica] does not mean to go _out_, but to go _forth_, _i.e._, to
+proceed. In the same way, in Hab. i. 4: "And not does right go forth
+for ever," _i.e._, it never comes forth, is never established, comp.
+Vol. i., p. 442, 443. Hence [Hebrew: hvcia] here can mean only "to
+bring to light," "to bring forth." [Hebrew: mwpT] is, by several
+interpreters, taken in the signification, "religion;" but it is just
+ver. 4, by which they support their view, which shows that the ordinary
+signification "right," must be retained here. For in that verse,
+_right_ stands in parallelism with _law_, by which right is
+established; comp. chap. li. 4. Before God's Kingdom was, by the
+Servant of God, extended to the Gentile nations, there existed among
+them, notwithstanding all the excellence of outward legal arrangements,
+a condition without right in the higher sense. Right, in its essence,
+has its root in God, as may be seen from the Ten Commandments, which
+everywhere go back to God, and in all of which Luther, in his
+exposition of the ten commandments, rightly repeats: "We shall fear and
+love God." Where, therefore, the living God is not known, there can be
+no right. The commandment: "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself,"
+_e.g._, has any meaning only where the eye is open for the divine image
+which the neighbour bears, and for the redemption of which he is a
+fellow-partaker. The commandment: "Honour thy father and thy mother"
+will go to the heart only where the divine paternity is known, of which
+all earthly paternity is only an image. [Pg 212] In Deut. iv. 5-8,
+Israel's happiness is praised, in that they alone, among all the
+nations, are in possession of God's laws and commandments. Those
+privileges of Israel are, by the Servant of God, to be extended to the
+Gentiles who, because they are destitute of right, are, in Deut. xxxii.
+21, called a foolish nation. In Ps. cxlvii. 19, 20, it is said: "He
+showeth His word unto Jacob, His statutes and laws unto Israel. He has
+not dealt so with any nation, and law they do not know." This passage
+touches very closely upon that before us; like it, it denies right to
+the Gentiles in general. "The Gentiles, being without God in the world,
+do not know any right at all. For that which they call so, is only the
+shadow of that which really deserves this name, is only a dark mixture
+of right and wrong." As regards the first table of the Ten
+Commandments, they grope entirely in the dark; and with respect to the
+second table, it is only here and there that they see a faint glimpse
+of light.--A consequence of the bringing forth of right to the Gentiles
+is the ceasing of war, as it is described in chap. ii. 4. When right
+has obtained dominion, it cannot tolerate war beside it; where there is
+true right, there is also peace. The benefit which, in the first
+instance, is conferred upon the Gentiles, is enjoyed by Israel also:
+The intention of comforting and encouraging Israel clearly appears in
+the parallel passage, chap. li. 4. For the right which obtains dominion
+among the Gentiles, is Israel's pride and ornament, so that, along with
+their God and His right, they obtain also the dominion over the Gentile
+world, by which they were hitherto kept in bondage; and whensoever and
+wheresoever the divine right obtains dominion, the violent oppression
+must cease, under which the people of God had been groaning up to that
+time. The Servant of God, however, who brings forth right to the
+Gentiles, forms the contrast to the worldly conqueror, of whom it was
+said in chap. xli. 25: "He cometh upon princes as mortar, and, just as
+the potter treadeth the clay."--The words: "He shall bring forth
+right," purposely return again in ver. 3; and equally intentionally,
+the words: "He shall found right on the earth," in ver. 4, refer to
+them. "We have thus"--_Stier_ pertinently remarks--"in ver. 1, the sum
+and substance, even to its aim. But it is immediately brought more
+distinctly to view, what [Pg 213] will be the spirit and character, the
+mode of operation, by which this aim is to be brought about."
+
+Ver. 2; "_He shall not cry nor lift up, nor cause His voice to be heard
+in the street._"
+
+After [Hebrew: iwa] "he shall lift up," "His voice" must be supplied
+from the context. The words must not be understood in such a manner, as
+if they stood in opposition to chap. lviii. 1: "Cry with thy throat, do
+not refrain, lift up thy voice like the trumpet, and show my people
+their transgression, and to the house of Jacob their sins." The
+Prophet, in that passage, encourages himself; and he cannot mean to
+represent that as objectionable, by the circumstance that, in the case
+of the Servant of God, the very ideal of all the servants of God, he
+points out and praises the very opposite. And, in like manner, every
+interpretation is to be avoided according to which "dumb dogs which
+cannot bark" find a pretext in this passage. According to Prov. i. 20:
+"Wisdom crieth aloud without, she uttereth her voice in the streets."
+Just as the prohibition of swearing in Matt. v. 34 is qualified by the
+opposition to Pharisaic levity in cursing and swearing, so here, also,
+the antithesis to the loud manner of the worldly conqueror must be kept
+in view,--the contrast to his violence which stakes every thing upon
+carrying his own will, which cries and rages when it meets with
+opposition and resistance, (Matt. renders [Hebrew: iceq] by [Greek:
+erisei], "He shall contend"), to the earnestly sought publicity, to the
+intention of causing sensation, as it proceeds from vanity or pride.
+The [Greek: kraugasei], by which Matthew renders the [Hebrew: iwa], has
+nothing in common with the [Greek: ekraxe] which, in John vii. 28, 37,
+is said of Christ. With the passionate restlessness, with which the
+conqueror from the East seeks to carry through his human plans, and to
+place himself in the centre of the world's history, is here contrasted
+the inward composure and deportment of the Servant of God, His
+equanimity, His freedom from excitement,--all of which are based upon
+the clear consciousness of His dignity and mission, upon the conviction
+of the power of the truth which is of God, of the power of the Spirit
+which opens up the minds and hearts for it, and which has its source in
+the declaration: "I put my Spirit upon Him," by which the great wall
+of separation between Him and the conqueror from the East is set up. It
+is just [Pg 214] because of His not being beat upon carrying through
+any thing, because of His great confidence, that the Servant of God
+_gains_ everything, and obtains His object of bringing right to the
+nations.--Matt., in chap. xii. 15-21, finds the confirmation of the
+character here assigned to Christ in two circumstances:--_first_, in
+His not entering into a violent dispute with the Pharisees opposing Him
+([Greek: hoi de pharisaioi sumboulion elabon kat'autou exelthontes,
+hopos auton apolesosin]), in His not exciting against them the masses
+who were devoted to Him, but in withdrawing from them ([Greek: ho de
+Iesous gnous anechoresen ekeithen], ver. 15), being convinced that the
+cause was not His but God's, and that there was no reason for getting
+angry with those who were contending against God; just as David said of
+Shimei: "Let him curse, because the Lord has said unto him, Curse
+David."--_Secondly_, in the circumstance that instead of availing
+himself of the excitement of the aroused masses, He charged them that
+they should not make known His miraculous deeds ([Greek: kai epetimesen
+autois hina me phaneron auton poiesosin], ver. 16), being convinced
+that He did not need to seek to draw attention to himself, but that, by
+the secret and hidden power of God, His work would be accomplished.
+
+Ver. 3. "_The bent reed shall He not break, and the dimly burning wick
+shall He not quench; in truth shall He bring forth right._"
+
+Here, too, the antithesis to the worldly conqueror who, without mercy,
+"Cometh upon princes as mortar, and as a potter treadeth the clay"
+(chap. xli. 25), whose mind is bent only upon destroying and cutting
+off nations not a few (chap. x. 7), who does not give rest until he has
+fully cast down to the ground the broken power. The Servant of God, far
+from breaking the bent reed, shall, on the contrary--this is the
+positive opposed to the negative--care for, and assist the wretched
+with tender love. Just thereby does He accomplish the object of His
+efforts. The confirmation of the character here assigned to Christ is,
+by Matthew, found in His healing the sick ([Greek: kai etherapeusen
+autous pantas], ver. 15), as prefiguring all that which He, who has
+declared the object of His coming to be to seek all that which was
+lost, did and accomplished, in general, for the misery of the human
+race. There cannot be any doubt that the bent reed and the dimly
+burning wick are figurative designations [Pg 215] of those who, beaten
+down by sufferings, feel themselves to be poor and miserable. These the
+weary and heavy laden, the Servant of God will not drive to despair by
+severity, but comfort and refresh by tender love. His conduct towards
+them is that of a Saviour. As a bent reed, [Hebrew: qnh rcvC], Pharaoh
+appears on account of his broken power, in chap. xxxvi. 6, and in chap.
+lviii. 6, the [Hebrew: rcvciM] are the oppressed. The fact, that the
+_wick_ dimly burning and near to being extinguished is an image of
+exhausted strength, is shown by chap. xliii. 17, where, in reference to
+the Egyptians carried away by the judgment, it is said: "They are
+extinct, they are quenched like a wick." In the parallel passages which
+treat of the Servant of God, the _weary_ in chap. l. 4, and the
+_broken-hearted_ in chap. lxi. 1, correspond to it. Elsewhere, too, the
+wretched appear as objects of the loving providence of the Saviour.
+Thus, in chap. xi. 4: "And He judges in righteousness the low;" in Ps.
+lxxii. 4: "He shall judge the poor of the people; He shall save the
+children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor;" and in
+vers. 12-14: "For He delivereth the needy when he crieth, and the
+miserable, and him that hath no deliverer. From oppression and violence
+He delivereth their soul, and precious is their blood in His sight."
+Just as, in the passage before us, the bringing forth of right appears
+as a consequence of the loving providence for the bent reed, and the
+dimly burning wick, so in that Psalm, the great fact: "And all the
+kings worship Him, and all the nations serve Him," is traced back to
+the tender love with which He cares for and helps the poor and needy.
+In the Sermon on the Mount, the beatitude of the [Greek: ptochoi],
+Matt. v. 3, of the [Greek: penthountes], ver. 4, and in Matt. xi. 28,
+the invitation of the [Greek: kopiontes kai pephortismenoi], exactly
+correspond. The wicked and ungodly, upon whom the judgments of God have
+been inflicted, are not included, because they are not wretched in the
+full sense; for they harden themselves against the suffering, or seek
+to divert themselves in it; they do not take it fully to heart. The
+[Greek: to pneumati], "in their consciousness," which in Matthew is
+added to the simple [Greek: ptochoi], which alone we find in Luke, must
+be understood as a matter of course. He only is poor in the full sense,
+who feels and takes to heart his poverty. According to an
+interpretation widely spread, repenting sinners are designated [Pg 216]
+by the bent reed, and dimly burning wick. Thus Luther writes: "That
+means that the wounded conscience, those who are terrified at the sight
+of their sins, the weak in life and faith are not cast away by Him, are
+not oppressed and condemned, but that He cares for them, tends and
+nurses them, makes them whole and embraces them with love." But
+repenting sinners do not here come into consideration _per se_, but
+only as one species of the wretched, inasmuch as, according to Luther's
+expression, truly to feel sin is a torment beyond all torments.--The
+last words: "In truth shall He bring forth right" again take up the
+close of ver. 1, after the means have been stated, in the intervening
+words, by which He is to bring about the result. The [Hebrew: lamt]
+must not be translated: "For truth" (LXX: [Greek: eis aletheian]); for
+there is a thorough difference between [Hebrew: l] and [Hebrew: al];
+the former does not, like the latter, designate the motion towards some
+object, but is rather, here also, a preposition signifying "belonging
+to;" hence [Hebrew: lamt] means "belonging to truth," "in a true
+manner," "in truth." By every other mode of dealing, right would be
+established _in appearance_ and _outwardly_ only. Matthew renders it:
+[Greek: heos an ekbale eis nikos ten krisin], "until He has led right
+to victory." By the addition of [Greek: heos] he intimates, that the
+last words state the result which is brought about by the conduct of
+the Servant of God described in the preceding words. [Greek: Eis
+nikos] is a free translation of [Hebrew: lamt]; [Greek: krisis] is
+"right," as in chap. xxiii. 23.--How objectionable and untenable all
+the non-Messianic explanations are, appears very clearly in this verse.
+If Israel were the Servant of God, then the _Gentile world_ must be
+represented by the bent reed and dimly burning wick. But in that case,
+we must have recourse to such arbitrary interpretations as, _e.g._,
+that given by _Koester_: "The weak faith and imperfect knowledge of the
+Gentiles." No weak faith, no imperfect knowledge, however, is spoken
+of; but the Servant of God appears as a Saviour of the poor and
+afflicted, of those broken by sufferings. Those who, by the Servant of
+God, understand the better portion of the people, or the prophetic
+order, speak of "the meek spirit of the mode of teaching, which does
+not by any means altogether crush the sinner already brought low, but,
+in a gentle, affectionate manner, raises him up," (_Umbreit_); or say
+with _Knobel_: "These poor and afflicted He does not [Pg 217] humble
+still more by hard, depressing _words_, but _speaks_ to them in a
+comforting and encouraging way, raising them up and strengthening
+them." But in this explanation everything is, without reason, drawn
+into the territory of speech, while Matthew rightly sees, in the
+healing of the sick by Christ, a confirmation by deeds of the prophecy
+before us. In chap. lxi., also, the Servant of God does not only bring
+glad tidings, but _creates_, at the same time, the blessings announced.
+According to chap. lxi. 3, He gives to them that mourn in Zion beauty
+for ashes, joy for mourning, garment of praise for a weak ([Hebrew:
+khh]) spirit. Verse 6 of the chapter before us most clearly indicates
+how little we are allowed to limit ourselves to mere speaking; for,
+according to that verse, the Servant of God is himself the covenant of
+the people, and the light of the Gentiles, and according to ver. 7, He
+opens the eyes of the blind, &c.
+
+Ver. 4. "_He shall not fail nor run away until He shall have founded
+right in the earth, and for His law the isles shall wait._"
+
+On: "He shall not fail," properly, "He shall not become dim," comp.
+Deut. xxxiv. 7, where it is said of Moses, the servant of God: "His eye
+had not become dim, nor had his strength fled." The [Hebrew: la irvC]
+"He shall not run away" (properly, "He shall not _run_") is qualified
+and fixed by the parallelism with [Hebrew: la ikhh] "He shall not
+fail." [Hebrew: rvC] in other passages also, several times receives, by
+the context, the qualified signification "to run away," "to take to
+flight," "to flee;" comp. Judges viii. 21; Jer. xlix. 19. The words:
+"He shall not fail nor run away" imply that, in the carrying out of His
+vocation, the Servant of God shall meet with powerful _obstacles_, with
+obstinate _enemies_, and shall have to endure severe sufferings. That
+which is here merely hinted at, is carried out and detailed in chap.
+xlix., l., liii. How near He was to failing and running away (David,
+too, was obliged to say: "Oh! that I had wings like a dove, then would
+I fly away and be at rest") is seen from His utterance in Matt. xvii.
+17: [Greek: o genea apistos kai diestrammene, heos pote esomi meth'
+humon; heos pote anexomai humon.]--According to the current opinion,
+[Hebrew: irvC] is here assumed to be the Future of [Hebrew: rcC], for
+[Hebrew: irC], and that in the appropriate signification: "He shall not
+be broken." (Thus it was probably [Pg 218] viewed by the Chaldean
+Paraphrast who renders [Hebrew: la ilai] _non laborabit_; by the LXX.,
+who translate [Greek: ou thrauthsesetai], while _Aquila_ and
+_Symmachus_, according to the account of _Jerome_, render, _non
+curret_, thus following the derivation from [Hebrew: rvC]). As [Hebrew:
+ikhh] points back to [Hebrew: khh] in the preceding verse, so, in that
+case [Hebrew: irvC] would point back to [Hebrew: rcvC] "He shall not
+break that which is bent, nor quench that which is dimly burning; but
+neither shall He himself be broken or quenched." But this explanation
+is opposed by the circumstance, that we must make up our minds to admit
+a double anomaly. The territories of the two verbs [Hebrew: rcC] and
+[Hebrew: rvC] are everywhere else kept distinct, and the former
+everywhere else means "to break," and not "to be broken." In the only
+passage, Eccl. xii. 6, brought forward in support of this irregularity,
+[Hebrew: rvC] "to run," "to flee away," being in parallelism with
+[Hebrew: nrHq] "to be removed," is quite appropriate; just as in the
+second clause of that verse [Hebrew: rvC] "to be crushed," is in
+parallelism with [Hebrew: nwbr] "to be broken."--[Hebrew: aiiM] are, in
+the _usus loquendi_ of Isaiah, not so much the real islands, as rather
+the islands in the sea of the world, the countries and kingdoms;
+compare remarks on Rev. vi. 14, and Ps. xcvii. 1 (second Edition). The
+_law_ for which the islands wait is not so much a ready-made code of
+laws, as the single decisions of the living Lawgiver, which the
+Gentiles, with anxious desire, shall receive as their rule in all
+circumstances, after they have spontaneously submitted to the dominion
+of the Servant of God, having been attracted by His loving
+dispensations. Several unphilologically translate: "for His
+_doctrine_," which does not even give a good sense, for it is not the
+doctrine which is waited for; its value is known only after it has been
+preached. The Servant of God appears here as the spiritual Ruler of the
+nations; and this He becomes by being, in the fullest sense, the
+Servant of God, so that His will is not different from the will of God,
+nor [Hebrew: tvrh] from that of God, just as, in a lower territory,
+even Asaph speaks the bold word: "Hear, my people, my law." "The singer
+comes forth as one who has full authority, the 'Seer' and 'Prophet'
+utter _laws_ which leave no alternative between Salvation and
+destruction." Parallel is chap. ii. 3, 4, where the nations go up to
+Zion, in order there to seek laws for the regulation of their practical
+conduct, and according to which the Lord _judges_ among the nations,
+and the law goes forth [Pg 219] out of Zion, and the word of the Lord
+from Jerusalem. The difference is this only,--that, in that passage,
+the matter is traced back immediately to God, while here, the Servant
+of God is mentioned as the Mediator between Him and the Gentiles. But
+we must keep in mind that, for chap. ii. also, the parallel passages in
+chap. iv., ix., xi., furnish the supplement. We must, farther, compare
+also chap. li. 5: "My righteousness is near, my salvation goes forth,
+_mine arms shall judge the nations_, the isles shall wait for me, and
+on mine arm shall they hope." The _judging_ in that passage does not
+mean divine punitive judgments; but it is rather thereby intimated that
+all the nations shall recognise the Lord as their King, to whose
+government they willingly submit, and with whom they seek the decision
+of their disputes. Matthew purposely changes it into: "And in _His
+name_ shall the Gentiles trust." The desire for the commands of the
+Lord is an effect of the love of His _name_, _i.e._, of Him who is
+glorified by His deeds. For the name is the product of deeds,--here
+especially of those designated in ver. 2 and 3. The commands are
+desired and longed for, only because the person is beloved on account
+of His deeds. Matthew has only distinctly brought out that which, in
+the original text, is intimated by the connection with the preceding
+verses. In consequence of this, His quiet, just, and merciful
+dispensation, the isles shall wait for His law.
+
+In ver. 5-7 the Lord addresses His Servant, and promises Him that, by
+His omnipotence, the great work for which He has called Him, shall be
+carried out and accomplished, viz., that the covenant relation to
+Israel shall be fully realized, and the darkness of the Gentile world
+shall be changed into light.
+
+Ver. 5. "_Thus saith God the Lord, who createth the heavens and
+stretcheth them out; who spreadeth forth the earth and that which
+cometh out of it; who giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit
+to them that walk thereon._"
+
+The Prophet directs attention to the omnipotence of God, in order to
+give a firm support to faith in the promise which exceeds all human
+conception. It is by this that the accumulation of the predicates is to
+be accounted for. He who fully realizes what a great thing it is to
+bring an apostate world back to God, to that God who has become a
+stranger to it, [Pg 220] will surely not explain this accumulation by a
+"disposition, on the part of the Prophet, to diffuseness."
+
+Ver. 6. "_I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and I will
+seize thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for the covenant of
+the people and, for the Light of the Gentiles._"
+
+It is so obvious that [Hebrew: bcdq] must be translated by "in
+righteousness," that the explanations which disagree with it do not
+deserve to be even mentioned. The mission of the Servant of God has
+its root in the divine _righteousness_, which gives to every one his
+due,--to the covenant-people, salvation. Even apart from the promise,
+the appearance of Christ rests on the righteousness of God. For it is
+in opposition to the nature and character of a people of God to be, for
+any length of time, in misery, and shut up to one corner of the earth.
+That which is to be accomplished for Israel by the Servant of God,
+forms, in the sequel, the first subject of discourse. But even that
+which He affords to the _Gentiles_ is, at the same time, given to
+Israel, inasmuch as it is one of their prerogatives that salvation for
+the Gentiles should go forth from them. As, here, the mission of the
+Servant of God, so, in chap. xlv. 13, the appearance of the lower
+deliverer appears as the work of divine righteousness: "I have raised
+him up in righteousness, and all his ways I will make straight."
+Similarly also in chap. xli. 2: "Who raised up from the East him whom
+righteousness calls wherever he goes," _i.e._, him, all whose steps are
+determined by God's righteousness, who, in all his undertakings, is
+guided by it.--The seizing by the hand, the keeping, &c., are the
+consequence of His being called, and are equivalent to: just because I
+have called him, therefore will I, &c. Luther remarks: "Namely, for
+this reason, that Satan and the world, with all their might and wisdom,
+will _resist_ thy work." In the words: "For the Covenant of the people,
+and for the Light of the Gentiles," [Hebrew: eM] and [Hebrew: gviM]
+form an antithesis. The absence of the article shows that we ought
+properly to translate: "For a Covenant of a people, for a Light of
+Gentiles." It is thus, in the first instance, only said that the
+Servant of God should be the personal covenant for a people; but _what_
+people that should be, cannot admit of a moment's doubt. To Israel, as
+such, the name of the _people_ pre-eminently belongs. Israel, in
+preference to all others, is called [Hebrew: eM] (compare _Gesenius'_
+[Pg 221] Thesaurus _s.v._ [Hebrew: gvi]), because it is only the people
+of God that is a people in the full sense, connected by an internal
+unity; the Gentiles are [Hebrew: la eM], _non-people_, according to
+Deut. xxxii. 21, because they lack the only real tie of unity. But what
+is still more decisive is the mention of the _Covenant_. The covenant
+can belong to the covenant-people only, [Greek: hon hai diathekai],
+Rom. ix. 4,--the old, no less than the new one. The covenant with
+Abraham is an everlasting covenant of absolute exclusiveness, Gen.
+xvii. 7. The Servant of God is called the personal and embodied
+Covenant, because in His appearance the covenant made with Israel is to
+find its full truth; and every thing implied in the very idea of a
+covenant, all the promises flowing from this idea, are to be in Him,
+Yea and Amen. The Servant of God is here called the Covenant of Israel,
+just in the same manner as in Mic. v. 4 (comp. Ephes. ii. 14), it is
+said of Him: "This (man) is Peace," because in Him, peace, as it were,
+represents itself personally;--just as in chap. xlix. 6, He is called
+the _Salvation_ of God, because this salvation becomes personal in Him,
+the Saviour,--just as in Gen. xvii. 10, 13, circumcision is called a
+covenant, as being the embodied covenant,--just as in Luke xxii. 20,
+the cup, the blood of Christ, is called the New Covenant, because in it
+it has its root. The explanation: Mediator of the covenant, [Greek:
+diathekes enguos], is meagre, and weakens the meaning. The circumstance
+that the Servant of God is, without farther qualification, called the
+Covenant of the people, shows that He stands in a different relation to
+the covenant from that of Moses, to whom the name of the _Mediator_ of
+the covenant does not the less belong than to Him. From Jer. xxxi. 31,
+we learn which are the blessings and gifts which the Servant of God is
+to bestow, and by which He represents himself as the personal Covenant.
+They are concentrated in the closest connection to be established by
+Him between God and His people: "I will be their God, and they shall be
+my people." It is only in the New Covenant, described in that passage
+of Jeremiah, that the Old Covenant attains to its truth. The second
+destination of the Servant of God, which, according to the context,
+here comes into special consideration, is, to be _the Light of the
+Gentiles_. By the realization of this destination, an important feature
+in [Pg 222] the former was, at the same time, realized. For it formed
+part of the promises of the covenant with Israel that, from the midst
+of them, salvation for all the families of the earth should go forth,
+as our Saviour says: [Greek: he soteria ek ton Ioudaion estin.] Light
+is here, according to the common _usus loquendi_ of Scripture, a
+figurative designation of _salvation_. In the parallel passage, chap.
+xlix. 6, light is at once explained by salvation. The designation
+proceeds upon the supposition that the Gentiles, not less than Israel,
+(comp. chap. ix. 1 [2]) shall, until the appearance of the Servant of
+God, sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,--that they are in
+misery, although, in some instances, it may be a _brilliant_ misery.
+The following verse farther carries out and declares what is implied in
+the promise: "Light of the Gentiles." Parallel is chap. lx. 3: "And the
+heathen walk in thy (Zion's) light"--they become partakers of the
+salvation which shines for Zion--"and kings in the brightness which
+riseth to thee."--The supporters of that opinion, which understands
+Israel by the Servant of God, are in no small difficulty regarding this
+verse, and cannot even agree as to the means of escape from that
+difficulty. Several assume that [Hebrew: eM] is used collectively, and
+refer it to the Gentile nations. But opposed to this explanation is the
+evident antithesis of [Hebrew: eM] and [Hebrew: gviM]; and it is
+entirely overthrown by the parallel passage in chap. xlix. Scripture
+knows nothing of a covenant with the Gentiles. According to the view of
+the Old, as well as of the New Testament, the Gentiles are received
+into the communion of the covenant with Israel. Others (_Hitzig_,
+_Ewald_) explain: "covenant-people, _i.e._, a mediatorial, connecting
+people, a bond of union between God and the nations." But the passage,
+chap. xlix. 8, is most decidedly opposed to this. _Farther_--The
+parallelism with [Hebrew: avr gviM] shows that [Hebrew: brit eM] is the
+_status constructus_. But _f[oe]dus alicujus_, is, according to the
+remark of _Gesenius_, _f[oe]dus cum aliquo sancitum_. Thus in Lev.
+xxvi. 45, the covenant of the ancestors is the covenant entered into
+with the ancestors; Deut. iv. 31; Lev. xxvi. 42 (the covenant of Jacob,
+the covenant of Isaac, &c.) According to _Knobel_: "the true theocrats
+are to become a covenant of the people, the restorers of the
+Israelitish Theocracy, they themselves having connection and unity by
+faithfully holding fast by Jehovah, and by representing His cause."
+This explanation, [Pg 223] also, is opposed to the _usus loquendi_,
+according to which "covenant of the people" can have the sense only of
+"covenant with the people," not a covenant among the people. And,
+_farther_, the parallel passage in chap. xlix. 8 is opposed to this
+interpretation also, inasmuch as, in that passage, the Servant of the
+Lord is called [Hebrew: brit eM], not on account of what He is in
+himself, but on account of the influence which He exercises upon
+others, upon the whole of the people: "That thou mayest raise up the
+land, distribute desolate heritages, that thou mayest say to the
+prisoners: Go forth," &c. In that passage the land, the desolate
+heritages, the prisoners, &c., evidently correspond to the people.
+_Finally_--A covenant is a relation between two parties standing
+opposite one another. "The word is used," says _Gesenius_, "of a
+covenant formed between nations, between private persons, _e.g._, David
+and Jonathan, between Jehovah and the people of Israel." But here no
+parties are mentioned to be united by the covenant.
+
+Ver. 7. "_That thou mayest open blind eyes, bring out them that are
+bound from the prison, and from the house of confinement them that sit
+in darkness._"
+
+On account of the connection with the "for the Light of the Gentiles,"
+which would stand too much isolated, if, in the words immediately
+following, Israel alone were again the subject of discourse, the
+activity of God here mentioned refers, in the first instance, to the
+_Gentiles_; and the words: "them that sit in darkness," moreover,
+evidently point back to "for the Light of the Gentiles." But from chap.
+xlix. 9, and also from ver. 16 of the chapter before us, where the
+blindness of Israel is mentioned, it appears that Israel too must not
+be excluded. Hence, we shall say: It is here more particularly
+described how the Servant of God _proves_ himself as the Covenant of
+the people and the Light of the Gentiles, how He puts an end to the
+misery under which both equally groan. It will be better to understand
+_blindness_, in connection with imprisonment, sitting in darkness, as a
+designation of the need of salvation, than as a designation of
+spiritual blindness, of the want of the light of knowledge. That is
+also suggested by the preceding: "for the Light of the Gentiles,"
+which, according to the common _usus loquendi_, and according to chap.
+ix. 1 (2) is not to be referred to the spiritual illumination
+especially, [Pg 224] but to the bestowal of salvation. To this view we
+are likewise led by a comparison of ver. 16: "And I will lead the blind
+by a way that they knew not, I will lead them in paths that they have
+not known, I will change the darkness before them into light, the
+crooked things into straightness." The _blind_ in this verse are those
+who do not know what to do, and how to help themselves, those who
+cannot find the way of salvation, the miserable; they are to be led by
+the Lord on the ways of salvation, which are unknown to them. In a
+similar sense and connection, the blind are, elsewhere also, spoken of,
+comp. Remarks on Ps. cxlv. 8.--On the words: "Bring out them that are
+bound from the prison," _Knobel_ remarks: "The citizens of Judah were,
+to a great extent, imprisoned; the Prophet hopes for their deliverance
+by the theocratic portion of the people." A strange hope! By this
+coarsely literal interpretation, the connection with "for the Light of
+the Gentiles" is broken up; and this is the less admissible that the
+words at the close of the verse: "those that sit in darkness," so
+clearly refer to it. _Imprisonment_ is a figurative designation of the
+_miserable condition_, not less than, the _darkness_, which, on account
+of the light contrasted with it, and on account of chap. ix. 1 (2),
+cannot be understood otherwise than figuratively. Under the image of
+men bound in dark prisons, the miserable and afflicted appear also in
+Ps. cvii. 10-16; Job xxxvi. 8, where the words, "bound in fetters," are
+explained by the parallel "holden in the cords of misery." When David,
+in Ps. cxlii. 8, prays: "Bring my soul out of the prison," he himself
+explains this in Ps. cxliii. 11 by the parallel: "Thou wilt bring my
+soul out of _trouble_;" comp. also Ps. xxv. 17: "O bring thou me out of
+my _distresses_." If we here understand the prison literally, we might,
+with the same propriety in other passages, also, _e.g._, in Ps. lxvi.
+11, understand _literally_ the net, the snare, the trap.
+
+Ver. 8: "_I the Lord, that is my name, and my honour I will not give to
+another, nor my glory to idols._ Ver. 9. _The former_ (things),
+_behold, they came to pass, and new_ (things) _do I declare; before
+they spring forth, I cause you to hear._"
+
+We have here the solemn close and exhortation. At the close of chap.
+xli. it had been pointed out, how the prediction of the _Conqueror from
+the East_ serves for the glory of Jehovah, [Pg 225] who thereby proves
+himself to be the only true God. Here the zeal of God for His glory is
+indicated as the reason which has brought forth the prediction of the
+_Servant of God_ and His glorious work,--a prediction which cannot be
+accounted for from natural causes. It is thus the object of the
+prophecy which is here, in the first instance, stated. It is intended
+to manifest the true God as such, as a God who is zealously bent on His
+glory. But the same attribute of God which called forth the prophecy,
+calls forth also the events prophesied, viz., the appearance of the
+Servant of God, and the victory over the idols accomplished thereby,
+the bringing forth of the law of God over the whole earth through Him,
+and the full realization of the covenant with Israel. The thought is
+this:--that a God who does not manifest and prove himself as such, who
+is contented with the honour granted to Him without His interference,
+cannot be a God; that the true God must of necessity be filled with the
+desire of absolute, exclusive dominion, and cannot but manifest and
+prove this desire. From this thought, the prophecy and that which it
+promises flow with a like necessity.--According to _Stier_, [Hebrew:
+rawnvt], "the former (things)" means "the redemption of the exiled by
+Cyrus," which in chaps. xli. xlviii. forms the historico-typical
+foreground, whose coming is here anticipated by the Prophet. But the
+parallel passages, chaps. xli. 22, xliii. 9, xlviii. 3, are conclusive
+against this view; for, according to these passages, it is only the
+former already fulfilled predictions of the Prophet and his colleagues,
+from the beginnings of the people, which can be designated by "the
+former (things)." By "the new (things)" therefore, is to be understood
+the aggregate of the events which are predicted in the second part, to
+which belongs the prophecy of the Servant of God which immediately
+precedes, and which the Prophet has here as pre-eminently in view
+(_Michaelis_: _et nova, imprimis de Messia_), as, in the parallel
+passage chap. xli. 22, the announcement of the conqueror from the East.
+Both of these verses seem to round off our prophecy, by indicating that
+such disclosures regarding the Future are not by any means intended to
+serve for the gratification of idle curiosity, but to advance the same
+object to which the events prophesied are also subservient, viz., the
+promotion of God's glory. The [Pg 226] modern view of Prophetism is
+irreconcileable with the verses under consideration, which evidently
+shew, that the prophets themselves were filled with a different
+consciousness of their mission and position And in like manner it
+follows from them, that there is no reason to put, by means of a forced
+interpretation, the prophecy within the horizon of the Prophet's time,
+seeing that the Prophet himself shows himself to be thoroughly
+penetrated by its altogether supernatural character.
+
+
+
+[Footnote 1: This embarrassment becomes still more obvious in the
+explanation of _Vatke_, who understands by the Servant of God, "the
+harmless ideal abstract of the people;" and that of _Beck_, who
+understands thereby "the notion of the people."]
+
+[Footnote 2: The Hebrew word is [Hebrew: mwpT], which means "judgment,"
+"right," "law." Dr. _Hengstenberg_ has translated it by _Recht_, which
+is, as nearly as possible, expressed by the English word "right,"
+(_jus_,) as including "law" and "statutes."--_Tr._]
+
+
+
+
+                           CHAPTER XLIX. 1-9.
+
+
+The Servant of God, with whose person the Prophet had. by way of
+preparation, already made us acquainted in the first book of the second
+part, in chap. xlii., is here, at the beginning of the second book, at
+once introduced as speaking, surprising, as it were, the readers. In
+ver. 1-3, we have the destination and high calling which the Lord
+assigned to His Servant; in ver. 4, the contrast and contradiction of
+the result of this mission; the covenant-people, to whom it is, in the
+first instance, directed, reward with ingratitude His faithful work. In
+ver. 5 and 6, we are told what God does in order to maintain the
+dignity of His Servant; as a compensation for obstinate, rebellious
+Israel, He gives Him the _Gentiles_ for an inheritance. From ver. 7 the
+Prophet takes the word. In ver. 7 the original contempt which,
+according to the preceding verses, the Servant of God meets with,
+especially in _Israel_, is contrasted with the respectful worship of
+nations and kings which is to follow after it. Ver. 8 and 9 describe
+how the Servant of God proves himself to be the embodied covenant of
+the people, and form the transition to a general description of the
+enjoyment of salvation, which, in the Messianic times, shall be
+bestowed upon the Congregation of the Lord. This description goes on to
+chap. l. 3, and then, in chap. l. 4 ff., the person of the Servant of
+the Lord is anew brought before us.
+
+The Messianic explanation of our passage is already met with in the New
+Testament. It is with reference to it that [Pg 227] Simeon, in Luke ii.
+30, 31, designates the Saviour as the [Greek: soterion] of God, which
+He had prepared before the face of all people (comp. ver. 6 of our
+passage: "That thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth"),
+as the [Greek: phos eis apokalupsin ethnon kai doxan laou sou Israel];
+comp. again ver. 6, according to which the Servant of God is to be at
+the same time, the light of the Gentiles, to raise up the tribes of
+Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel. Ver. 1: "The Lord hath
+called me from the womb, from the bowels of my mother hath He made
+mention of my name," is alluded to in Luke ii. 21: [Greek: Kai eklethe
+to onoma autou Iesous, to klethen hupo tou angelou pro tou
+sullephthenai auton en te koilia] (comp. i. 31: [Greek: sullepse en
+gastri kai texe huion kai kaleseis to onoma autou Iesoun]) as is
+sufficiently evident from [Greek: en te koilia] _sc. matris_, which
+exactly answers to the [Hebrew: mbTN] in the passage before us. In Acts
+xiii. 46, 47, Paul and Barnabas prove, from the passage under review,
+the destination of Christ to be the Saviour of the Gentiles, and their
+right to offer to them the salvation despised and rejected by the Jews:
+[Greek: idou strephometha eis ta ethne. houto gar entetaltai hemin ho
+Kurios. tetheika se eis phos ethnon tou einai se eis soterian heos
+eschatou tes ges.] In the destination which, in Isaiah, the Lord
+assigns to Christ, Paul and Barnabas recognize an indirect command for
+his disciples, a rule for their conduct. In 2 Cor. vi. 1, 2, ver. 8 is
+quoted, and referred to the Messianic time.
+
+It is obvious that the Jews could not be favourable to the Messianic
+interpretation; but the Christian Church has held fast by it for nearly
+1800 years. Even such interpreters as _Theodoret_ and _Clericus_, who
+are everywhere rather disposed to explain away real Messianic
+references, than to find the Messiah where He is not presented,
+consider the Messianic interpretation to be, in this place, beyond all
+doubt. The former says: "This was said with a view to the Lord Christ,
+who is the seed of Abraham, through whom the nations received the
+promise." And when, in our century, men returned to the faith, the
+Messianic interpretation also returned. If the Church has Christ at
+all, it is impossible that she should fail to find Him here.
+
+_Gesenius_, and those who have followed him, appeal to the
+circumstance, that the Messiah could not well be introduced as
+speaking, and, least of all, in such a manner, without any introduction
+[Pg 228] and preparation. But it is difficult to see how this argument
+can be advanced by those who themselves assume that a mere
+personification, the collective body of the prophets, or, as _Beck_
+expresses it, the Prophet [Greek: kat'exochen] as a general
+substantial individual, or even the people, can be introduced as
+speaking. The introduction of persons is a necessary result of the
+dramatic character of prophetic Speech, comp., _e.g._, chap. xiv.,
+where now the king of Babylon, then the inhabitants of the Sheol, and
+again Jehovah, are introduced as speaking. The person who is here
+introduced as speaking is already known from chap. xlii., where _he is
+spoken of_. The prophecy before us stands to that prophecy in the very
+same relation as does Ps. ii. 7-9, where the Anointed One suddenly
+appears as speaking, to the preceding verses, where He was spoken of
+The Messiah is here so distinctly described, as to His nature and
+character, that it is impossible not to recognise Him. Who but He
+should be the Covenant of the people, the Light of the Gentiles, the
+Saviour for all the ends of the earth? The point which was here
+concerned was not, first to introduce Him to the knowledge of the
+people. His image existed there already in sharp outlines, even from
+and since Gen. xlix. 10, where the Peaceful One meets us, in whom Judah
+attains to the full height of his destination, and to whom the people
+adhere. The circumstance that it is just here that the Messiah appears
+as speaking, forms the most appropriate introduction to the second
+book, in which He is the principal figure.--It is by a false literal
+interpretation only that ver. 8, 9 have been advanced in opposition to
+the Messianic interpretation.
+
+The arbitrariness of the non-Messianic interpretation manifests
+itself in this also, that its supporters can, up to this day, not
+agree as to the subject of the prophecy. 1. According to several
+interpreters--_Hitzig_, last of all--the Servant of God is to be
+_Israel_, and the idea this, that Israel would, at some future period,
+be the teacher of the Gentiles, and would spread the true religion on
+earth. It is apparently only that this interpretation receives some
+countenance from ver. 3, where the Servant of the Lord is called
+Israel. For this name does not there stand as an ordinary _nomen
+proprium_, but as an honorary name, to designate the high dignity and
+destination of the Servant of God. As this name had passed over from
+[Pg 229] an individual to a people, so it may again be transferred from
+the people to that person in whom the people attain their destination,
+in which, up to that time, they had failed But decisive against this
+explanation, which makes the whole people the subject, is ver. 5,
+according to which the Servant of God is destined to lead back to the
+Lord, Jacob and Israel (in the ordinary sense), who then must be
+different from Him; ver. 6, according to which He is to raise up the
+tribes of Jacob; ver. 8, 9, according to which He is to be the Covenant
+of the people, to deliver the prisoners, &c. (_Knobel_ remarks on this
+verse: "Nothing is clearer than that the Servant of God is not
+identical with the mass of the people, but is something different.")
+Supposing even that the people, destined to be the teachers of the
+Gentiles, appear here as speaking, it is difficult to see how, in ver.
+4, they could say that hitherto they had laboured in vain in their
+vocation, and seen no fruits, since hitherto the people had made no
+attempt at all at the conversion of the Gentiles. 2. _Maurer_,
+_Knobel_, and others, endeavour to explain it of _the better portion of
+the people_. But conclusive against this interpretation is ver. 6,
+according to which the Servant of God has the destination of restoring
+the preserved of Israel, and hence must be distinct from the better
+portion; ver. 8, according to which He is given for a Covenant of the
+people, from which, according to ver. 4 and 6, the ungodly are
+excluded; so that the idea of the people is identical with that of the
+better portion. In general, the contrasting of the better portion of
+the people with the whole people, Jacob and Israel, the centre and
+substance of which was formed just by the [Greek: ekloge], can scarcely
+be thought of, and is without any analogy. Nor is the mention of the
+_womb_. and _bowels of the mother_, in ver. 1, reconcileable with a
+merely imaginary person, and that, moreover, a person of a character so
+indistinct and indefinite,--a character which has no definite and
+palpable historical beginnings. The parallel passages, in which the
+calling from the womb is mentioned, treat of real persons, of
+individuals.--3. According to several interpreters (_Jarchi_, _Kimchi_,
+_Abenezra_, _Grotius_, _Steudel_, _Umbreit_, _Hofmann_), the Servant of
+the Lord is to be none other than _the Prophet himself_. No argument
+has been adduced in favour of this view, except the use of the first
+person, ("If here, without introduction and preparation, a discourse
+begins with the first [Pg 230] person, it refers most naturally to the
+Prophet, who is the author of the Book"),--an argument of very
+subordinate significance, and the more so that the person of the
+Prophet, everywhere else in the second part of Isaiah, steps so
+entirely into the background behind the great objects with which he is
+engaged. To follow thus the first appearance may, indeed, be becoming
+to a eunuch from Ethiopia, but not a Christian expounder of Scripture.
+The contents of the prophecy are decidedly in opposition to this
+opinion. Even the circumstance that a single prophet should assume the
+name of Israel, ver. 3, appears an intolerable usurpation. _Farther_--
+Like all the other prophets, Isaiah was sent to the Jews, and not to
+the Gentiles; but at the very outset, _the most distant lands and all
+the distant nations_ are here called upon to hearken. The Lord says to
+His Servant that the restoration of Israel was too little for Him, that
+He should be a light and salvation for all the heathen nations from one
+end of the earth to the other; kings and Princes shall fall down before
+Him, adoring and worshipping. The Prophet would thus simply have raised
+himself to be the Saviour. _Umbreit_ expressly acknowledges this: "He
+is to be the holy pillar of clouds and fire which leads the people back
+to their native land, after the time of their punishment has expired.
+But a still more glorious vocation and destination is in store for the
+prophets; they receive the highest, the Messianic destination." The
+usurpation of which the Servant of God would have made himself guilty,
+appears so much the more clearly, when it is known, that the work of
+the Servant of God comprehends even all that also, which is described
+in ver. 10-23, viz., the blossoming of the Church of God, her
+enlargement by the Gentiles, &c. _It is obvious that, if the
+interpretation which refers this prediction to the prophets were the
+correct one, the authority of the Old Testament prophecy would be gone;
+the authority of the Lord himself would be endangered, inasmuch as He
+always recognizes, in these prophets, organs of divine inspiration and
+power._ A vain attempt is made at mitigating this usurpation, by
+imperceptibly substituting the collective body of the prophets for the
+single prophet. This view thus leads to, and interferes with another
+which we shall immediately examine. But if we would not give up the
+sole argument by which this [Pg 231] exposition is supported, viz., the
+use of the first person, everything must, in the first instance, apply
+to and be fulfilled in Isaiah; and the other prophets can come into
+consideration only as continuators of his work and ministry. He is
+entitled to use the first person in that case only, when he is a
+perfect manifestation of prophetism.--4. According to _Gesenius_, the
+Servant of the Lord is to be _the collective body of the prophets_, the
+prophetic order. In opposition to this view, _Stier_ remarks: "We
+maintain that, according to history, there did not at that time (the
+time of the exile, in which _Gesenius_ places this prophecy) exist any
+prophetic order, or any distinguished blossom of it; that hence it was
+impossible for any reasonable man to entertain this hope, when viewed
+in this way, without looking farther and higher." Ver. 1 is decisive
+against a mere personification. The name of Israel, too, in ver. 3, is
+very little applicable to the whole prophetic order. This is
+sufficiently evident from the fact that _Gesenius_, in his Commentary,
+declared this word to be spurious; and it was at a later period only,
+when he had become bolder, that he endeavoured to adapt it to his self-
+chosen subject. Nowhere in the Old Testament do the prophets appear
+like the Servant of God here--as the Covenant of the people, ver. 8, as
+the Light of the Gentiles, ver. 6.
+
+
+                           * * * * * * * * * *
+
+Ver. 1. "_Listen, O isles, unto me, and hearken ye people from far; the
+Lord hath called me from the womb, from the bowels of my mother hath He
+made mention of my name._"
+
+As the stand-point which the Messiah occupies in the vision of the
+Prophet, we have to conceive of the time, at which He had already
+entered upon His office, and had already experienced many proofs of the
+Jews'unbelief and hardness of heart,--an event of the Future, the
+foresight of which was, even in a human point of view, very readily
+suggested to the Prophet after the painful experience acquired during
+his own long ministry; comp. chap. vi. For the fruitlessness of His
+ministry among the mass of the covenant-people, ver. 4, as well as the
+great contempt which the Servant of God found among them, ver. 7, are
+represented as having already taken place; [Pg 232] while the
+enlightenment of the Gentiles, the worship of the kings, &c, which are
+to be expected by Him, are represented as being still future. In the
+same manner, in chap. liii., the humiliation of the Servant of God
+appears as past; the glorification, as future, the reason why the
+_isles_ are addressed (comp. remarks on chap. xlii. 4) appears in ver.
+6 only, at the close of the discourse of the Servant of God, for all
+that precedes serves as a preparation. In that verse, the Servant of
+the Lord announces that the Lord had appointed Him to be the Light of
+the Gentiles; that He should be His salvation unto the ends of the
+earth. It is very significant that the second book at once begins with
+an address to the Gentiles, inasmuch us, thus, we are here introduced
+into the sphere of a redemption which does not refer to a single
+nation, like that with which the _first_ book is engaged, but to the
+ends of the earth. At the close of the first book, in chap. xlviii. 20,
+it was said: "Declare ye, tell this, utter it even to the end of the
+earth, say ye: The Lord hath redeemed his servant Jacob." The fact that
+the redemption, in the first instance peculiar to Jacob, is to be
+proclaimed to all the nations of the earth, leads us to expect that
+these nations, too, have their portion in the Lord; that at some future
+period they are to hear a message which concerns them still _more
+particularly_. This expectation is realized here, at the opening of the
+second book. The fact that the Gentiles are to listen here, as those
+who have a personal interest in the message, is proved by the
+circumstance, that the words: "Unto the ends of the earth," in ver. 6
+of the chapter before us, point back to the same words in chap. xlviii.
+20.--_The Lord had called me from the womb._ It is sufficient to go
+thus far back in order to repress or refute the idea of His having
+himself usurped His office, and to furnish a foundation for the
+expectation that God would powerfully uphold and protect His Servant in
+the office which He himself had assigned to Him. Calvin remarks on
+these words: "They do not indicate the commencement of the time of His
+vocation, as if God had, only from the womb, called Him; but it is just
+as if it were said: Before I came forth from the womb, God had decreed
+that I was to undertake this office. In the same manner Paul also says
+that he had been separated from his mother's womb, although he was
+chosen before [Pg 233] the foundation of the world." To be called from
+the womb is, in itself, nothing extraordinary; it is common to all the
+servants of the Lord. Jeremiah ascribes it to himself in chap. i. 5:
+"Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee; and before thou camest
+forth out of the womb I sanctified thee;" and in harmony with this
+passage in Jeremiah--not with that before us--Paul says in Gal. i. 15:
+[Greek: ho theos ho aphorisas] (corresponding to: I have _sanctified_
+thee) [Greek: me ek koilias metros mou.] But we have here merely the
+_introduction to what follows_, where the calling, to which the Servant
+of God had been destined from the womb appears as quite unique.--_From
+the bowels of my mother hath He made mention of my name._ The name is
+here not an ordinary proper name, but _a name descriptive of the
+nature_,--one by which His office and vocation are designated. This
+making mention was, in the case of Christ, not a thing concealed; the
+prophecy before us received its palpable confirmation and fulfilment;
+inasmuch as, in reference to it, Joseph received, even before His
+birth, the command to call Him Jesus, Saviour: [Greek: texetai de huion
+kai kaleseis to onoma autou Iesoun. autos gar sosei ton laon autou apo
+ton hamartion auton], Matth. i. 21, after the same command had
+previously come to Mary, Luke i. 31; comp. ii. 21, where, as we have
+already remarked, there is a distinct reference to the passage before
+us.
+
+Ver. 2. "_And He hath made my mouth like a sharp sword, in the shadow
+of His hand hath He hid me, and He hath made me a sharpened arrow, in
+His quiver hath He hid me._"
+
+According to the common interpretation, the words: "He hath made my
+mouth like a sharp sword. He hath made me a sharpened arrow," are to
+express only such a gift of powerful, impressive speech as is common to
+all the servants of God, to all the prophets. But the two subjoined
+clauses are opposed to that interpretation. The second and fourth
+clauses state the reason of the first and third, and point to the
+source from which that emanates which is stated in them. There cannot
+be any doubt but that in the second and fourth clauses, the Servant of
+God indicates that He stands under the protection of divine
+omnipotence, so that the expression: "Whom I uphold," in chap. xlii. 1,
+is parallel. The _shadow_ is the ordinary figure of protection. The
+figure of the sword is dropped in the second clause, and hence the
+objection, that a drawn sword does not require any protection, is out
+of place. This will [Pg 234] appear from a comparison of chap. li. 16:
+"And I put my words in thy mouth, and I cover thee with the shadow of
+mine hand," where the sword is not mentioned at all, and the shadow
+belongs simply to the person. The quiver which keeps the arrow is
+likewise a natural image of divine protection. The two accessory
+clauses do not suit, if the first and third clauses are referred to the
+_rhetorical endowment_ of the Servant of God; _that does not flow from
+the source of the protecting omnipotence of God_. These accessory
+clauses rather suggest the idea that, by the comparison of the _mouth_
+with the sharp sword, of the _whole person_ with the sharpened arrow,
+there is indicated _the absolutely conquering power which, under the
+protection of omnipotence, adheres to the word and person of the
+Servant of God_, so that He will easily put down everything which
+opposes,--equivalent to: _He has endowed me with His omnipotence, so
+that my word produces destructive effects, and puts down all
+opposition, just as does His word_; so that there would be a parallel
+in chap. xi. 4, where the word of the Servant of God likewise appears
+as being borne by omnipotence: "He smiteth the earth with the rod of
+His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He slayeth the wicked." To
+the same result we are led also by a comparison of chap. li. 16, where
+the word of the Lord, which is put into the mouth of the Servant of
+God, is so living and powerful, so borne by omnipotence, that thereby
+the heavens are planted, and the foundations of the earth are laid. But
+of special importance are those passages of Revelation which refer to
+the verse under consideration. In chap. i. 16, the sharp two-edged
+sword does not by any means represent the power of the discourse
+piercing the heart for salvation; but rather the destructive power of
+the word which is borne by omnipotence. It designates the almighty
+punitive power of Christ directed against his enemies. "By the
+circumstance, that the sword goes out of the mouth of Christ, that
+destructive power is attributed to His mere word, He appears as
+partaking of divine omnipotence. For it belongs to God to slay by the
+words of His mouth, Hos. vi. 5." The same applies to chap. ii. 16. On
+Rev. xix. 15: "And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it
+He should smite the nations," we remarked: "the sharp sword is not that
+of a teaching king, [Pg 235] but that of omnipotence which speaks and
+it is done, and slayeth by the breath of the lips. How Christ casts
+down His enemies by the word of His mouth is seen, in a prophetical
+instance, John xviii. 6; Acts ix. 4, 5." With the sword, Christ appears
+even where He does not mean to destroy, but to bring salvation; for,
+even in those who are to be blessed, hostile powers are to be overcome.
+The image, however, is here, in the fundamental passage, occasioned by
+the comparison of the Servant of God with the conqueror from the East,
+whose sword, according to chap. xli. 2, the Lord makes as dust, and his
+bow as the driven stubble. Where the mere _word_ serves as a sword, the
+effect must be much more powerful. The conquering power throwing down
+every opposing power, which, in the first clause, is assigned to the
+mouth, is, in the third clause ("And He hath made _me_ a sharpened
+arrow"), attributed to the whole person. He, of whom it was already
+said in Ps. xlv. 6: "Thine arrows are sharp, people fall under thee,
+they enter into the heart of the king's enemies," is himself to be
+esteemed as a sharp arrow.
+
+Ver. 3. "_And He said unto me: Thou art my Servant, O Israel, in whom I
+glorify myself._"
+
+"My Servant" stands here as an honorary _designation_; to be the
+Servant of God appears here as the highest privilege, as is evident not
+only from the analogy of the parallel passages, which treat of the
+Servant of God (comp. remarks on chap. xlii. 1), but also from the
+parallel second clause. In it, the Servant of God is called _Israel_ as
+the concentration and consummation of the covenant-people, as He in
+whom it is to attain to its destination, in whom its idea is to be
+realized. (It is evident from ver. 5, and from those passages in the
+second part in which the people of Israel is spoken of as the Servant
+of God [comp. remarks on chap. xlii.], that Israel must here be
+understood as the name of the people, not as the name of the ancestor
+only.) _Haevernick_ rightly remarks that the Messiah is here called
+Israel, "in contrast to the people to whom this name does not properly
+belong." Analogous is Matt. ii. 15, where that which, in the Old
+Testament, is written of Israel, is referred to Christ. As the true
+Israel, Christ himself also represents himself in John i. 52; with a
+reference to that which in Gen. xxviii. 12 is written, not of Jacob as
+[Pg 236] an individual, but as the representative of the whole race, it
+is said there: [Greek: ap'arti opsesthe ton ouranon aneogota, kai tous
+angelous tou theou anabainontas kai katabainontas epi ton huion tou
+anthropou.] All those declarations of the Old Testament, in which the
+name of Jacob or Israel is used to designate the _election_, to the
+exclusion of the false seed, the true Israelites in whom there is no
+guile,--all those passages prepare the way for, and come near to the
+one before us. Thus Ps. lxiii. 1: "Truly good is God to Israel, to such
+as are of a clean heart;" and then Ps. xxiv. 6: "They that seek thy
+face are Jacob," _i.e._, those only who, with zeal and energy in
+sanctification, seek for the favour of God. In the passage before us,
+the same principle is farther carried out. The true Israel is
+designated as he in whom God glorifies, or will glorify himself,
+inasmuch as his glorification will bear testimony to God's mercy and
+faithfulness; comp. John xii. 23: [Greek: eleluthen he hora hina
+doxasthe ho huios tou anthropou]; xvii. 5: [Greek: kai nun doxason me
+su pater.] The verb [Hebrew: par] means in _Piel_, "to adorn," in
+_Hithp._ "to adorn one's self," "to glorify one's self." Thus it occurs
+in Judg. vii. 2; Is. x. 15; lx. 21: "Work of my hands for glorifying,"
+_i.e._, in which I glorify myself; lxi. 3: "Planting of the Lord for
+glorifying." There is no reason for abandoning this well-supported
+signification either here or in chap. xliv. 23: "The Lord hath redeemed
+Israel and glorified himself in Israel." If God glorifies himself in
+His Servant, He just thereby gets occasion to glory in Him as a
+monument of His goodness and faithfulness. Our Saviour prays in John
+xii. 28: [Greek: Pater doxason sou to onoma.] The Father, by glorifying
+the Son, glorifies at the same time His name. Those who explain
+[Hebrew: atpar] by: _per quem ornabor_, overlook the circumstance that,
+also in the phrase: "Thou art my Servant," the main stress does not,
+according to the parallel passages, lie in that which the Servant has
+to perform, but in His being the protected and preserved by God.
+
+Ver. 4. "_And I said: I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength
+for emptiness and vanity; but my right is with the Lord, and my reward
+with my God._"
+
+The Servant of God, after having spoken of His sublime dignity and
+mission, here prepares the transition for proclaiming His destination
+to be a Saviour of the Gentiles, to whom His whole discourse is
+addressed. He complains of the small [Pg 237] fruits of His ministry
+among Israel; but comforts himself by the confidence placed upon the
+righteousness of God, that the faithful discharge of the duty committed
+to Him cannot remain without reward. The speaking on the part of the
+Servant of God in this verse refers to the speaking of God in verse 3.
+_Jerome_, who remarks on this point: "But when the Father told me that
+which I have repeated, I answered Him: How wilt thou be glorified in
+me, seeing that I have laboured in vain?" recognised this reference,
+but erroneously viewed the words as being addressed to the Lord. It is
+a soliloquy which we have here before us. Instead of "I said," we are
+not at liberty to put: "I imagined;" the Servant of God had in reality
+expended His strength for nothing and vanity. As the _scene_ of the
+vain labour of the Servant of God, the _heathen world_ cannot be
+thought of; inasmuch as this is, first in ver. 6, assigned to Him as an
+indemnification for that which, according to the verse before us, He
+had lost elsewhere. It is _Israel_ only which can be the object of the
+vain labour of the Servant of God; for it was to them that, according
+to ver. 5, the mission of the Servant of God in the first instance
+referred: The Lord had formed Him to be His Servant, to bring back to
+Him Jacob and Israel that were not gathered. Since, then, the mission
+is directed to _apostate_ Israel, it can the less be strange that the
+labour was in vain. To the same result we are led also by the
+circumstance that, in ver. 6, the saving activity of the Servant of God
+appears as limited to _the preserved_ of Israel, while the original
+mission had been directed to the _whole_. And this portion to which His
+activity is limited, is comparatively a _small_ portion. For that is
+suggested by the circumstance that to have the preserved of Israel for
+His portion is represented as a light thing--not at all corresponding
+to the dignity of the Servant of God. As, in that verse, the preserved
+of Israel form the contrast to the mass of the people _given up_ by the
+Lord, so in the verse under consideration, the opposition which the
+Servant of God finds, is represented as so great, that His ministry
+was, in the main, in vain; so that accordingly the great mass of the
+people must have been unsusceptible of it.--In the view that a great
+portion of the people would reject the salvation offered in Christ, and
+thereby become liable to judgment, the Song of Solomon [Pg 238] had
+already preceded our Prophet. As regards the natural grounds of this
+foresight, we remarked in the Commentary on the Song of Solomon, S.
+245: "With a knowledge of human nature, and especially of the nature of
+Israel, as it was peculiar to the people from the beginning, and was
+firmly and deeply impressed upon them by the Mosaic laws,--after the
+experience which the journey through the wilderness, the time of the
+Judges, the reign of David and of Solomon also offered, it was
+absolutely impossible for the enlightened to entertain the hope that,
+at the appearance of the Messiah, the whole people would do homage to
+Him with sincere and cordial devotion." How very much this was the
+case, the very first chapter of Isaiah can prove. It is impossible that
+one who has so deeply recognized the corrupted nature of his people,
+should give himself up to vain patriotic fancies; to such an one, the
+time of the highest manifestation of salvation must necessarily be, at
+the same time, a period of the highest realization of judgment. The
+same view which is given here, we meet with also in chap. liii. 1-3. In
+harmony with Isaiah, Zechariah, too, prophesies, in chaps. xi., xiii.
+8, that the greater portion of the Jews will not believe in Christ.
+Malachi iii. 1-6, 19, 24, contrasts with the longed-for judgment upon
+the heathen, the judgment which, in the Messianic time, is to be
+executed upon the people itself.--On the words: "My right is with the
+Lord, and my reward with my God," compare Lev. xix, 13: "The reward of
+him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the
+morning." The God who watches that among men the well-earned wages of
+faithful labour shall not be withheld, will surely himself not withhold
+them from His Servant. The right, the well-deserved reward of His
+Servant is _with Him_; it is there safely kept, in order that it may be
+delivered up to Him in due time. That which the Servant of the Lord
+here, in the highest sense, says of himself, holds true of His inferior
+servants also. Their labour in the Lord is, in truth, never in vain.
+Their right and their reward can never fail them.
+
+Ver. 5. "_And now, saith the Lord that formed me from the womb to be a
+Servant to himself, to bring Jacob again to Him, and Israel which is
+not gathered, and I am honoured in the eyes of the Lord, and my God was
+my strength._ Ver. [Pg 239]6. _And He saith: It is too light a thing
+that thou shouldest be my Servant only to raise up the tribes of Jacob,
+and to restore the preserved of Israel, and I give thee for a light to
+the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my Salvation unto the ends of the
+earth._"
+
+The confidence which the Servant of the Lord has placed in Him has not
+been put to shame by the result, but rather has been gloriously
+justified by Him. He who was, in the first instance, sent to Israel, is
+appointed to be the Saviour of the Gentiles, in order to compensate Him
+for the unbelief of those to whom His mission was in the first instance
+directed. _And now_, _i.e._, since the matter stands thus (Gen. xlv.
+8),--since Israel, to whom my mission is, in the first instance,
+directed, reject me. _Saith the Lord_--That which the Lord spoke
+follows in ver. 6 only, which, on account of the long interruption,
+again begins with: "And He saith," equivalent to: I say. He hath
+spoken. The declaration of the Lord has reference to the destination of
+His Servant to be the Saviour of the Gentiles. This declaration is, in
+ver. 5, based upon two reasons:--_first_, the frustration of the
+original mission of the Servant of the Lord to the Jews; and
+_secondly_, on the intimate relation in which He stands to the Lord,
+who cannot withhold from Him the reward which He deserves for His work.
+In the New Testament, also, the mission of Christ appears as being at
+first directed to the Jews only. The Lord says, in Matt. xv. 24:
+[Greek: ouk apestalen ei me eis ta probata ta apololota oikou Israel.]
+He says, in Matt. x. 6, to the Apostles, after having forbidden them to
+go to the heathens, and to the Samaritans, who were nothing but
+disguised heathens: [Greek: poreuesthe de mallon pros ta probata ta
+apololota oikou Israel.] Paul and Barnabas say, in Acts xiii. 46:
+[Greek: humin en anankaion proton lalethenai ton logon tou Theou.
+epeide de apotheisthe auton kai ouk axious krinete heautous tes aioniou
+zoes, idou strephometha eis ta ethne.] It is rather an idle question to
+ask what would have happened, if the Jews as a nation had accepted the
+offered salvation. But so much is certain that here, in the prediction,
+as well as in history, the rejection of Christ, on the part of the
+Jews, appears to have been a necessary condition of His entering upon
+His vocation as the Saviour of the Gentiles. Those who understood the
+people by the Servant of the Lord refer [Hebrew: lwibb] to Jehovah, and
+consider it as a Gerund. [Pg 240] _reducendo_, or _qui reducit ad se
+Jacobum_. In the same way they explain also the Infinit. with [Hebrew:
+l] in the following verse, as also in chap. li. 16. But although the
+Infinit. with [Hebrew: l] is sometimes, indeed, used for the Gerund.,
+yet this is neither the original nor the ordinary use; and nowhere does
+it occur in such accumulation. Moreover, by this explanation, this
+verse, as well as the following ones, are altogether broken up, and the
+words [Hebrew: lwvbb ieqb aliv] must indicate the destination for which
+He was formed. And it is not possible that Jehovah's bringing Jacob
+back to himself should be a display of Israel's being formed from the
+womb to be the Servant, inasmuch as the bringing back would not, like
+the formation, belong to the first stage of the existence of the
+people.--"_And Israel, which is not gathered._" Before [Hebrew: awr],
+[Hebrew: la] must be supplied. According to the parallel words: "To
+bring Jacob again to Him," the not gathering of Israel is to be
+referred to its having wandered away from the Lord. It was appropriate
+that this should be expressly mentioned, and not merely supposed, as is
+the case in: "To bring Jacob again to Him." The image which lies at the
+foundation, is that of a scattered flock; comp. Mic. ii. 12. Parallel
+is Isaiah liii. 6: "All we _like sheep_ have gone astray, we have
+turned every one to his own way."--To the words under consideration the
+Lord alludes in Matt. xxiii. 37: [Greek: hIerousalem ... posakis
+ethelesa epi sunagagein ta tekna sou hon tropon episunagei ornis ta
+nossia heautes hupo tas pterugas kai ouk ethelesate]; comp. also Matt.
+ix. 36: [Greek: idon de tous ochlous esplanchnisthe peri auton hoti
+esan eskulmenoi kai erhrimmenoi hosei probata me echonta poimena.] On
+account of chap. xi. 12, it will not do to take [Hebrew: asP] in the
+signification of "to snatch away," "to carry off," as is done by
+_Hitzig_. Moreover [Hebrew: nasP] means, indeed, "to be gathered," but
+never "to be carried off" The Mazoreths would read [Hebrew: la] for
+[Hebrew: lv]: "And that Israel might be gathered to _Him_." Thus it is
+rendered, among the ancient translators, by _Aquila_ and the Chaldee;
+while _Symmachus_, _Theodoret_, and the Vulgate express the negation.
+Most of the modern interpreters have followed the Mazoreths. But the
+assumption of several of these, that [Hebrew: la] is only a different
+writing for [Hebrew: lv], is altogether without foundation, compare the
+remarks on chap. ix. 2; and the reading of the Mazoreths is just like
+all the _Kris_, a mere conjecture, owing its origin, as has already
+been [Pg 241] remarked by _Jerome_, only to a bad Jewish patriotism.
+The circumstance that, with the sole exception, of 2 Chron. xxx. 3,--an
+exception which, from the character of the language of that book, is of
+no importance--the verb [Hebrew: asP] in the signification "to gather"
+has the person to whom it is gathered never joined to it by means of
+[Hebrew: l], but commonly by means of [Hebrew: al], is of so much the
+greater importance, that [Hebrew: l] has nothing to do with [Hebrew:
+al]. When _Stier_ remarks that ver. 6, where Jacob and Israel were
+again beside each other in a completely parallel clause, proves that
+Israel's gathering can be spoken of positively only, he has overlooked
+the essential difference of ver. 5, which refers to the position of the
+Servant of God towards the whole people and ver. 6, which refers to His
+destination for the _election_.--The words: "And I am honoured in the
+eyes of the Lord, and my God is my strength," _i.e._, my protection and
+helper, recapitulate what, in ver. 2 and 3, was said about the high
+dignity of the Servant of God, of which the effect appears, in ver. 6,
+in His appointment to be the Saviour of the Gentiles, after the mission
+to Israel has been fruitless. In ver. 6, it is not the decree of the
+salvation of the Gentiles through Christ which forms the subject (that
+decree is an eternal one), but rather that this decree should be
+carried out. It is for this that Israel's unbelief offers an occasion
+"As the salvation of the elect among Israel (in reference to the great
+mass, the Servant of God had laboured in vain, ver. 4) would be too
+small a reward for thee, I assign to thee in addition to them, an
+infinitely larger inheritance, viz., the whole heathen world." [Hebrew:
+wvb] in _Hiphil_ frequently means "to lead back," in the ordinary
+sense, but sometimes also "to lead back into the former, or _normal_
+condition," "to restore," compare remarks on Dan. ix. 25; Ps. lxxx. 4.
+The parallel, "to raise up," which is opposed to the _lying down_ (Ps.
+xli. 9), shows that here it stands in the sense of "to restore." The
+local leading back belongs to the sphere of Koresh, to whom the first
+book is dedicated; but, with that, the abnormal condition of misery and
+abasement, which is so much opposed to the idea of the people of God,
+is not completely and truly removed. That which the Servant of God
+bestows upon the elect of Israel, viz., _raising up and restoration_,
+is, in substance, the same which, according to what follows, He becomes
+to the _Gentiles_, [Pg 242] viz., _light and salvation_. By becoming
+light and salvation to the elect of Israel, He raises them up and leads
+them back, inasmuch as this was the normal, natural condition of the
+covenant-people, from which they had only fallen by their sins. It is
+to that, that the election is restored by the Servant of God. By the
+_tribes of Jacob_, the better part only of the people is to be
+understood, to the exclusion of those souls who are cut off from their
+people, because they have broken the covenant of the Lord, comp. ver.
+4. This appears from the addition: "And the preserved of Israel"
+(the _Kethibh_ [Hebrew: neiri] is an adjective form with a passive
+signification; the marginal reading [Hebrew: ncvri] is the Part.
+Pass.); just as, similarly in Ps. lxxiii. 1, Israel is limited to
+the true Israel by the explanatory clause: "Such as are of a clean
+heart." The verb [Hebrew: ncr], "to watch," is, according to
+_Gesenius_, especially used _de Jehova homines custodiente et tuente._
+Hence, the preserved of Israel are those whom God keeps under His
+gracious protection and care, in contrast to the great mass of the
+covenant-breakers whom He _gives up_. Chap. lxv. 13, 14: "Behold my
+servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry; behold my servants shall
+drink, but ye shall be thirsty; behold my servants shall rejoice, but
+ye shall be ashamed; behold my servants shall sing for joy of heart,
+but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of
+spirit," likewise points to a great separation which shall take place
+in the Messianic time. _Light_ (compare remarks on chap. xlii. 6), and
+_salvation_ are related to one another, as the image to the thing
+itself From the circumstance that the point here in question is the
+reward for the Servant of God, who is to be indemnified for the loss
+which He suffered by Israel (comp. ver. 4), it is obvious that we must
+not explain: "that my salvation be," but: "that thou mayest be my
+salvation;" for it is only when He is the salvation that such an
+indemnification is spoken of Moreover, the Infinitive with [Hebrew: l]
+can here not well be understood otherwise than in the preceding clause.
+The servant of God is the personal salvation of the Lord for the
+heathen world; comp. chap. xlii. 6, and, in the chapter under
+consideration, ver. 8, where He is called the _covenant_ of the people,
+because this covenant finds in Him its truth; compare also the
+expression: "This man is _peace_," in Mic. v. 4 (5). _Gesenius_ rightly
+remarks, that [Pg 243] there is here an allusion to the promises given
+to the Patriarchs, Gen. xii. 3, &c. In Christ, the Shiloh to whom the
+people adhere, the old promise of the future extension of salvation to
+all the Gentiles is to be fulfilled.
+
+Ver. 7. "_Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One, to
+Him that is despised by every one, to the abhorrence of the people, to
+the servant of rulers: Kings shall see and rise up, princes, and
+prostrate themselves because of the Lord that is faithful, the Holy One
+of Israel that hath chosen thee._"
+
+Hitherto, the Servant of the Lord has spoken: here, the Prophet speaks
+of Him. He gives a short and comprehensive summary of the contents of
+ver. 1-6, the rejection of the Servant of God by the people to whom His
+mission was, in the first instance, directed, and His appointment to be
+the Saviour of the Gentiles. The matter is traced back to the Redeemer
+of Israel and their Holy One, _i.e._, the high and glorious God,
+because the Servant of God is, in the first instance, sent to Israel as
+[Greek: diakonos peritomes huper aletheias theou eis to bebaiosai tas
+epangelias ton pateron], Rom. xv. 8; but still more, because He himself
+is the concentration of Israel (ver. 3), the [Greek: kephale tou
+somatos tes ekklesias], Col. i. 18,--He in whose glorification the true
+Israel, as opposed to the darkened refuse, attain to their right.
+According to the context, the contempt, &c., must proceed chiefly _from
+the apostate portion of the covenant-people_: The _princes and kings_
+must, according to ver. 6 (comp. chap. lii. 15), be conceived of as
+heathenish ones. The verse under consideration merely exhibits, in
+short outlines, the contrast already alluded to in the preceding
+context. It cannot appear at all strange that the Prophet foresees the
+reproach of Christ, and His sufferings from the ungodly world. In those
+Psalms which refer to the suffering righteous one, righteousness and
+the hostility of the wicked world are represented as being inseparably
+connected with each other. Hence it cannot be conceived of otherwise,
+but that the Servant of God, who, in His person, represented the
+_ideal_ of righteousness, should, in a very special manner, have been
+liable to this hostility. Moreover, it can be proved that, in some
+Psalms which refer to the suffering righteous one, David has, besides
+the individual and the whole people, in view, at the same time, his own
+[Pg 244] family, and Him in whom it was to centre; comp. my commentary
+on Ps. Vol. iii. p. lxxx. ff. There seems here to be a special
+reference to Ps. xxii. 7, 8: "And I am a worm and no man, a reproach of
+man and despised of the people. All they that see me laugh me to scorn,
+open their lips, shake their heads;" and it is the more natural to
+assume this reference that, in chap. lii. 14; liii. 3, this passage
+also is referred to [Hebrew: bzh] is, after the example of _Kimchi_,
+viewed by several interpreters as an infinitive form standing in place
+of a Noun, "despising or contemning," instead of "contempt," and this
+again instead of "object of contempt." Others view it as the _Stat.
+construct._ of an adjective [Hebrew: bzh] with a passive signification.
+This latter view is more natural; and the reason which _Stier_ adduces
+against it, viz., that of verbs [Hebrew: lh] no such forms are found,
+cannot be considered as conclusive. [Hebrew: bzh-npw], literally the
+"despised one of the _soul_" might, according to Ezek. xxxvi. 5:
+"Against Edom who have taken my land into their possession with the joy
+of all their heart, with the contempt of their soul," mean, "who is
+inwardly and deeply despised," the soul being viewed as the seat of the
+affections. But we are led to another explanation by the fundamental
+passage, Ps. xxii. 7, and by the circumstance that [Hebrew: npw] is
+_here_ parallel to [Hebrew: nvi], and that the latter corresponds to
+the [Hebrew: eM] in Ps. xxii. "The despised one of the soul" must,
+accordingly, be he who is despised of every one. The soul corresponding
+to _man_ in Ps. xxii. is, as it were, conceived of as a great concrete
+body. In a similar manner, "soul" is used for all that has a soul, in
+Gen. xiv. 21, where the king of Sodom says to Abraham: "Give me the
+_soul_, and take the goods to thyself."--"_To the abhorrence of the
+people._" [Hebrew: teb] in _Piel_ never has another signification than
+"to abhor." Such is the signification in Job ix. 31 also, where the
+clothes abhor Job plunged in the dirt, resist being put on by him;
+likewise in Ezek. xv. 25, where Judah abhors his beauty, disgracefully
+tramples under feet his glory, as if he hated it. In favour of the
+signification: "To cause to abhor" (_Roediger_: _horrorem incutiens
+populo, qui abominationi est populo_), interpreters cannot adduce even
+one apparent passage, except that before us. We are, therefore, only at
+liberty to explain, after the example of _Kimchi_: "to the ... people
+abhorring," _i.e._, to him against whom the [Pg 245] people feel an
+abhorrence. [Hebrew: gvi] is used of the Jewish people in Is. i. 4
+also. _Hofmann_ is of opinion that it ought to have the article, if it
+were to refer to the Jewish people. But no one asserts a direct
+reference to them; it designates, in itself, the mass only, in contrast
+to single individuals, just as [Hebrew: eM] in Ps. xxii. The abhorrence
+is felt by the masses--is popular. The fact that it is among Israel
+that the Servant of God meets this general abhorrence, is not implied
+in the word itself, but is suggested by the whole context. While
+[Hebrew: npw] and [Hebrew: gvi] designate the generality of this
+hatred, [Hebrew: mwliM] points to the highest places of it. Of heathen
+rulers this word occurs in chap. xiv. 5; of native rulers, in chap.
+lii. 5; xxviii. 14. The heathen rulers can here come into
+consideration, in so far only as they are the instruments of the native
+ones; comp. John xix. 10: [Greek: legei auto ho Pilatos. emoi ou
+laleis; ouk oidas hoti exousian echo staurosai se kai exousian echo
+apolusai se.] The _servant of rulers_ forms the contrast to the servant
+of the Lord. But in the words: "Kings shall see," &c., it is described
+how the original dignity finally breaks forth powerfully, and reacts
+against the momentary humiliation. It was especially at the crucifixion
+that Christ presented himself as "He that was despised by every one, as
+the abhorrence of the people, as the servant of rulers." The historical
+commentary on these words we have in Matt. xxii. 39 ff.: [Greek: hoi de
+paraporeuomenoi eblasphemoun auton k.t.l. homoios de kai hoi archiereis
+empaizontes meta ton grammateon kai presbuteron elegon. allous esosen
+k.t.l. to d'auto kai hoi lestai hoi susaurothentes auto honeidizon
+auton.]--After [Hebrew: irav] "they shall see," the object must be
+supplied from ver. 6, viz., the brilliant turn which, under the Lord's
+direction. His destiny shall take,--His being constituted the light and
+salvation of the Gentiles. The kings who sit on their thrones rise up;
+the nobles who stand around the throne prostrate themselves. The
+Servant of God is the concentration of Israel, ver. 3. Hence His
+glorification is, at the close, once more traced back to the _Holy One
+of Israel_; and that so much the rather, because the glorification
+which is bestowed upon Him is bestowed upon Him for the benefit of the
+Congregation, whom He elevates along with himself out of the condition
+of deep abasement; comp. vers. 8 and 9. The verse before us forms the
+germ of that which, in chap. lii. 13, is carried out and expanded.
+
+[Pg 246]
+
+Ver. 8. "_Thus saith the Lord: In the time of favour have I heard thee,
+and in the day of salvation have I helped thee; and I will preserve
+thee, and give thee for the Covenant of the people, that thou mayest
+raise up the land, divide desolate heritages._ Ver. 9. _That thou
+mayest say to the prisoners: Go forth; to them that are in darkness:
+Come to light; they shall feed in the ways, and on all bare hills shall
+be their pasture._"
+
+_The time of favour_ may be either the time when God shows His delight
+in, and favour to His Servant, and, in Him, to the Church, _q. d._, of
+delight in thee, mercy for thee,--in which case chap. lx. 10 would be
+parallel: "In my _wrath_ I smote thee, and in my favour have I had
+mercy on thee;" or, "in the time of favour," may be equivalent to: "at
+the agreeable, acceptable time" (LXX., which Paul follows in 2 Cor. vi.
+1, 2, [Greek: kairo dekto], Vulg. _tempore placito_); in contrast to a
+preceding unacceptable time, in which the Lord seemed to have forsaken
+His Servant, in which it appeared as if He had laboured in vain, and
+spent His strength for nought and vanity. Acceptable is the time to all
+parties, not only to the Servant of God, but also to those who are to
+be redeemed through Him; and not less to God, to whom it is a joy to
+pour out upon His Servant the rivers of His salvation. The Preterites
+in ver. 8 must be viewed as prophetic Preterites. Concerning "Covenant
+of the people," compare remarks on chap. xlii. 6. The idea of the
+people is more closely defined and qualified by ver. 6 and 7. The souls
+who have been cut off from their people, because they have broken the
+covenant of the Lord, and despised His Servant, are justly passed by.
+But since [Hebrew: eM] can here be understood of the better portion of
+the people only, of the invisible Church in the midst of the visible,
+the Servant of God cannot be the better portion of the people.--In the
+words: "That thou mayest raise up the land, divide desolate heritages,"
+the bestowal of salvation is described under the image of the
+restoration of a devastated country. In ver. 9, the misery of the
+Congregation of God is described under the image of pining away in a
+dark prison; comp. remarks on chap. xlii. 7. With the second half of
+the verse, there begins a more general description of the glorious
+salvation which the Lord will giant to His people; and the person of
+the Mediator [Pg 247] steps into the back-ground, in order afterwards
+to come forth more prominently. The _ways_ and _bare hills_ have come
+into consideration as places which, in themselves, are completely
+barren, and which the wonderful grace of God can alone cause to bud and
+flourish.
+
+
+
+
+                            CHAPTER L. 4-11.
+
+
+The Servant of God here also appears as speaking. In ver. 4, He
+intimates His vocation: God has bestowed upon Him the gift of
+comforting those who are weary and heavy laden. He then at once turns
+to His real subject,--the sufferings which, in fulfilment of this
+vocation he has to endure. The Lord has inwardly manifested to Him
+that, in the exercise of His office. He shall experience severe trials;
+and willingly has He borne all these sufferings, all the ignominy and
+shame, ver. 5, 6. With this willingness and fortitude He is inspired by
+His firm confidence in the Lord, who, he certainly knows, will help Him
+and destroy His enemies, ver. 7-9. The conclusion, in ver. 10 and 11,
+forms the prophetic announcement of the different fates of the two
+opposing parties among the people. At the foundation of this lies the
+foresight of heavy afflictions which, after the appearance of the
+Servant of God, will be laid upon the covenant-people. That portion of
+the people who are devoted to the Servant of God, are told to hope in
+the midst of the misery, and may hope; their sorrows shall be turned
+into joy. But the ungodly who, without regarding the Lord, and without
+hearkening to His Servant, would help themselves, will bring
+destruction upon themselves by their self-willed doings, and shall be
+visited by the avenging hand of the Servant of God.
+
+An intimation of the lowliness of Christ at His first appearance occurs
+as early as in chap. xi. 1. In chap. xlii. 4, the words: "He shall not
+fail nor run away," intimate that the Servant of God has to struggle
+with great obstacles and difficulties in the exercise of His calling.
+According to chap. xlix. 4, He will labour in vain among the great mass
+of the covenant-people, [Pg 248] and spend his strength for nought and
+vanity. In ver. 7, it is expressly intimated that severe sufferings
+shall be inflicted upon Him by the people. That which was there alluded
+to, is here _carried out and expanded_. But the suffering of the
+Servant of God is here described from that aspect only which is common
+to Christ with His members. It is first in chap. liii. that its
+vicarious power is pointed out. The Servant of God comes here before us
+in His deepest humiliation. Even in the description of His vocation in
+ver. 4, the most unassuming aspect, the prophetic office only, is
+brought forward. It is only quite at the close that a gentle intimation
+is given of the glory concealed behind the lowliness: He there appears
+as the judge of those who have rejected Him.
+
+In the Messianic explanation of this Section, the Lord himself has gone
+before His Church. We read in Luke xviii. 31, 32, [Greek: paralabon de
+tous dodeka eipe pros autous. idou anabainomen eis hIerosoluma kai
+telesthesetai panta ta gegrammena dia ton propheton to huio tou
+anthropou. paradothesetai gar tois ethnesi kai empaichthesetai kai
+hubristhesetai kai emptusthesetai kai mastigosantes apoktenousin
+auton.] There cannot be any doubt that the Lord here distinctly refers
+to ver. 6 of the prophecy under consideration. There is, at all events,
+no other passage in the whole of the Old Testament, except that before
+us, in which there is any mention made of being spat upon. But in other
+respects, too, the reference is visible: "I gave my back to the smiters
+( [Greek: mastigosantes], LXX. [Greek: eis mastigas]), and my cheeks to
+those plucking ( [Greek: empaichthesetai]--the plucking of the beard,
+an act of degrading wantonness), my face I hid not from shame ( [Greek:
+hubristhesetai]) and spitting." _Bengel_ draws attention to the fact of
+how highly Christ, in the passage quoted, placed the prophecy of the
+Old Testament: "Jesus most highly valued that which was written. The
+word of God which is contained in Scripture is the rule for all which
+is to happen, even for that which is to happen in eternal life." If, in
+respect of the high estimation of prophecy, our age were to follow in
+the steps of Jesus, it would also most readily agree with Him as
+regards the subject of the prophecy before us. This alone is the cause
+of the aberration from Him, that people confined and shut up the
+prophet within the horizon of his time, and then imagined that he could
+not know anything of the suffering of Christ. It was altogether
+different in the [Pg 249] ancient Christian Church. In it, the
+Messianic interpretation prevailed throughout; and _Grotius_, who in a
+lower sense would refer the prophecy to Isaiah, and, in a higher sense
+only, to Christ, met with general opposition, even on the part of
+_Clericus_.
+
+In favour of the Messianic explanation there is the remarkable
+agreement existing between prophecy and fulfilment, comp. Matt. xxvi.
+67, 68: [Greek: Tote eneptusan eis to prosopon autou kai ekolaphisan
+auton. hOi de erhrapisan legontes. propheteuson hemin, christe, tis
+estin ho paisas se]; xxvii. 30: [Greek: kai emptusantes eis auton
+elabon ton kalamon kai etupton eis ten kephalen autou],--an agreement,
+the significance and importance of which are only enhanced by the
+circumstance that one of the most individualizing features of the
+prophecy, viz., the plucking off of the beard, is not met with in the
+history of Christ; for it is just thereby that this agreement is proved
+to be a free and spontaneous one. _Farther_--The exactness with which,
+in ver. 10 and 11, the destinies of Israel, after the rejection of
+Christ, are drawn; and the destruction which the mass of the people,
+who did not believe in the Servant of God, prepared for themselves, by
+their attempts to help themselves by their own strength, by enkindling
+the flame of war, whilst those who fear the Lord and listen to the
+voice of Hs Servant, obtain salvation. _Farther_--Ver. 11, where the
+Servant of God ascribes to himself the judgment upon the unbelieving
+mass of the people: "From _my_ hand is this to you," in harmony with
+Matt. xxvi. 64 and other passages, where the Son of Man appears as
+executing judgment upon Jerusalem. _Finally_--The parallel passages.
+
+Most of the modern interpreters assume that the Prophet himself,
+Isaiah, or Pseudo-Isaiah, is the subject of the prophecy. _Jerome_
+mentions that this explanation was the prevailing one among the Jews of
+his time. The explanation which refers it to the better portion of the
+people, found only one defender, viz., _Paulus_. The explanation which
+refers it to the _whole_ of the Jewish people, or to the collective
+body of the prophets, has been entirely abandoned, although it is
+maintained in reference to the parallel passages.
+
+Since it is undeniable that this Section is related to the other
+prophecies which treat of the Servant of God,--and hence an identity of
+subject is necessarily required--those who, in the [Pg 250] Section
+under consideration, are compelled to give up their former hypothesis,
+themselves bear witness against the correctness of it, at the same
+time, also against the soundness of their explanation of the passage
+before us. For an explanation which compels to the severance of what is
+necessarily connected, cannot be right and true. It is only then that
+Exegesis has attained its object, when it has arrived at a subject in
+whom all those features, which occur in the single prophecies which are
+connected with each other, are found at the same time. _Knobel_, in
+saying: "This small unconnected Section, is the only one in the whole
+collection, in which the Prophet speaks of himself only, and represents
+his suffering's and hopes," has thereby himself pronounced judgment
+upon his own interpretation of this Section, and at the same time, of
+the other prophecies of the Servant of God.
+
+Moreover, the Prophet would here form rather a strange figure; he would
+appear as it were, as if he had been blown in by a snow-storm.
+According to _Hofmann_, he describes how he is rewarded for his
+activity and zeal in his vocation. But how does this suit the contents
+of the second part, which evidently is a whole, the single parts of
+which must stand in a close relation to its fundamental idea! _It is
+only a person of central importance that is suitable to this context._
+It is only when we refer it to Christ, that the expectations are
+satisfied which were called forth by the words: Comfort ye, comfort ye
+my people. This call is answered only by pointing to the future Saviour
+of the world.
+
+One element of truth, indeed, there is in the explanation which makes
+the Prophet the subject. It is revealed to him, indeed, that the
+Servant of God shall undergo persecution, shame, and ignominy; but he
+has the natural substratum for this knowledge in the experience of
+himself and his colleagues, comp. Matt. xxiii. 29-37; Heb. xi. 36, 37.
+The divine, wherever it enters into the world of sin, as well as the
+servant of truth who upholds it in the face of prevailing falsehood,
+must undergo struggles, shame, and ignominy. This truth was confirmed
+in the case of the prophets as types, in the case of Christ as the
+antitype. All that which the prophets had to experience in their own
+cases was a prophecy by deeds of the sufferings of Christ; and we
+should the less have any difficulty [Pg 251] in admitting their
+knowledge of this, that it would be rather strange if they were
+destitute of such knowledge.
+
+Ver. 4. "_The Lord Jehovah hath given me a disciples tongue, that I
+should know to help the weary with a word: He awakeneth morning by
+morning, wakeneth mine ear, that I may hear as the disciples._"
+
+The greater number of expositors explain a disciple's tongue by: "A
+tongue such as instructed people or scholars possess,--an eloquent
+tongue." But [Hebrew: lmd], everywhere else in Isaiah, means "pupil,"
+"disciple," and is used especially of the disciples of the Lord, those
+who go to His school, are instructed by Him; comp. chaps. viii. 16;
+liv. 13. A disciple's tongue is such as the disciples of the Lord
+possess. Its foundation is formed by the disciple's _ear_ mentioned at
+the close of the verse. He who hears the Lord's words, speaks also the
+Lord's words. The signification, "learned," is not suitable in the last
+clause of the verse, and its reference to the first does not permit of
+our assuming a different signification in either clause. Just as here
+the Servant of God traces back to God that which He speaks, so Jesus
+says, in John viii. 26: [Greek: kago ha ekousa par'autou tauta lalo
+eis ton kosmon], comp. iii. 34: [Greek: hon gar apesteilen ho theos ta
+rhemata tou theou lalei.] The verb [Hebrew: smK], which occurs only
+here, means, according to the Arabic, "to help," "to support;"
+_Aquila_: [Greek: huposterisai], Vulg. _sustentare_. Like other similar
+verbs, _e.g._, [Hebrew: smK], in Gen. xxvii. 37, it is construed with a
+double accusative: "that I may help the weary, word," _i.e._, may
+support him by comforting words. The weary or fatigued are, like the
+bent reed, the faintly burning wick, in chap. xlii. 3; the blind, the
+prisoners sitting in darkness, _ibid._, ver. 7; the broken-hearted,
+chap. lxi. 1; them that mourn, _ibid._, ver. 2. Just as here the
+Servant of God represents the suffering and afflicted ones as the main
+objects of His mission, so Christ announces, that His mission is
+specially directed to these, comp. _e.g._, Matt. v. 4; xi. 28. In order
+to be able to fulfil this mission. He must be able to draw from the
+fulness of God, who looketh to him that is poor and of a contrite
+spirit, chap. lxvi. 2, and who alone understands to heal the broken in
+heart, and to bind up their wounds, Ps. cxlvii. 3.--In the words: "He
+wakeneth, &c." we are told in what manner the Lord gives to His Servant
+the disciple's tongue. _To waken_ [Pg 252] _the ear_ is equivalent to:
+to make attentive, to make ready for the reception of the divine
+communications. The expression "morning by morning" indicates that the
+divine wakening is going on uninterruptedly, and that the Servant of
+God unreservedly surrenders himself to the influences which come from
+above, in which He has become an example to us.
+
+Ver. 5. "_The Lord Jehovah hath opened mine ear, and I was not
+rebellious, and have not turned back._"
+
+The phrases "to open or uncover the ear" have always the signification,
+"to make known something to some one," "to reveal to him something."
+"to inform him," both in ordinary circumstances (comp. 1 Sam. xx. 12;
+Ruth iv. 4), and on the religious territory, comp. 2 Sam. vii. 27: "For
+thou, Lord of Hosts, God of Israel, hast opened the ear of thy servant,
+saying: I will build thee an house;" Isa. xlviii. 8: "Thou heardest
+not, thou knewest not, nor was formerly thine ear opened;" chap. xlii.
+20: "The ear was opened to him." According to this well established
+_usus loquendi_, "The Lord hath opened mine ear," can only mean: The
+Lord hath revealed to me, hath informed me inwardly; _Abenezra_:
+[Hebrew: glh svdv li] "He has made known to me His secret." What the
+Lord has made known to His Servant, we are not here expressly told; but
+it may be inferred from ver. 6, where the Servant declares that which,
+in consequence of the divine manifestation, He did, viz., that He
+should give His back to the smiters, &c. The words: "The Lord hath
+opened mine ear" here are connected with: "The Lord wakeneth mine ear,
+that I may hear," in the preceding verse: The Lord has specially made
+known to me that, in carrying out my vocation, I shall have to endure
+severe sufferings. _To this subject the Servant of God quickly passes
+over, after having, in the introduction, described, by a few features,
+the vocation, in the carrying out of which these sufferings should
+befal Him._ As the authors of these sufferings, we must conceive of the
+party opposed to the weary, viz., the proud, secure, unbroken sinners.
+On "I was not rebellious," compare what, in Deut. xxi. 20, is written
+of the stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his
+father; and farther, the words: [Greek: plen ouch hos ego thelo all'hos
+su], Matt. xxvi. 39.
+
+[Pg 253]
+
+Ver. 6. "_I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to the pluckers,
+I hid not my face from shame and spitting._"
+
+The words express in an individualizing manner the thought, that the
+Servant of God, in His vocation as the Saviour of the _personae
+miserabiles_, would experience the most shameful and ignominious
+treatment, and would patiently bear it. In God's providence, part of
+the contents was literally fulfilled upon Christ. But the fact that
+this literal agreement is not the main point, but that it serves as a
+hint and indication only of the far more important _substantial_
+conformity which would take place, although the hatred of the world
+against the Saviour of the poor and afflicted should have manifested
+itself in forms altogether different,--this fact is evident from the
+circumstance that regarding the fulfilment of the words: "and my cheeks
+to the pluckers"--plucking the cheeks, or plucking off of the beard
+being the greatest insult and disgrace in the East, comp. 2 Sam. x.
+4--there is no mention in the New Testament history.
+
+In vers. 7-9 we have the future glory, which makes it easy for the
+Servant of God to bear the sufferings of the Present. If God be for
+Him, who may be against Him?
+
+Ver. 7. "_But the Lord Jehovah helpeth me, therefore I am not
+confounded, therefore I make my face like a flint, and I know that I am
+not put to shame._"
+
+[Hebrew: nklmti] refers to [Hebrew: klmvt] in the preceding verse. He
+whom the Lord helps is not confounded or put to shame by all the
+ignominy which the world heaps upon him. The expression: "I make my
+face like a flint" denotes the "holy hardness of perseverance"
+(_Stier_); comp. Ezek. iii. 8. In that passage it is especially the
+assailing hardness which comes into consideration; here, on the
+contrary, it is the suffering one. There is an allusion to the passage
+before us, in Luke ix. 51: [Greek: egeneto de to sumplerousthai tas
+hemeras tes analepseos autou, kai autos to prosopon autou esterixe tou
+poreuesthai eis hIerousalem.]
+
+Ver. 8. "_He is near that justifieth me; who will contend with one? Let
+us stand together; who has a right upon me, let him come near me._"
+
+In the confidence and assurance of Christ, His redeemed ones, too,
+partake,--those that hear the voice of the Servant of God, ver. 10,
+comp. Rom. viii. 33, 34, where this and the [Pg 254] following verse
+are intentionally alluded to. The justification is one by _deeds_. It
+took place and was fulfilled, in the first instance, in the
+resurrection and glorification of Christ, and, then, in the destruction
+of Jerusalem.--[Hebrew: bel mwpTi] literally, "the master of my right,"
+_i.e._, he who according to his opinion or assertion which, by the
+issue is proved to be false, has a right over me, comp. the [Greek:
+en emoi ouk echei ouden] which, in John xiv. 30, the Lord says in
+reference to the chief of His enemies.
+
+Ver. 9. "_Behold the Lord Jehovah will help me; who is he that shall
+condemn me? Lo, they shall wax old as a garment, the moth shall eat
+them._"
+
+That which is said herein reference to the enemies of Christ is, in
+chap. li. 8, with a reference to our passage, said of the opponents of
+those who know righteousness, and in whose heart is the law: "The moth
+shall eat them up like a garment." Enmity to Christ and His Church is,
+to those who entertain it, a prophecy of sure destruction. The words:
+"The moth shall eat them," are farther expanded in ver. 11, where it is
+described how the people who ventured to _condemn_ the Servant of God,
+become a prey to destruction.
+
+The Servant of God closes with a double address; first, to the godly;
+and then, to the ungodly.
+
+Ver. 10. "_Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the
+word of His Servant? When he walketh in darkness, in which there is no
+light to him, let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his
+God._"
+
+From the words: "Of mine hand," in ver. 11, it appears that the Servant
+of God is continuing the discourse. Hence "the voice of His Servant,"
+_q.d._, the voice of me who am His Servant. By the words: "Among you,"
+the address is directed to the whole of the people. In this two parties
+are distinguished. The first is formed by those who fear the Lord, and
+obey the voice of His Servant. Both of these things appear as
+indissolubly connected. The fear of God must necessarily prove itself
+in this, that He whom He has sent is obeyed. It is a mere imagination
+on the part of the people to think that they can fear God without
+obeying the voice of His Servant; comp. John v. 23. There is in this an
+allusion to the emphatic "Unto him ye shall hearken," which, in Deut.
+xviii. 15, had been said in reference to _the_ Prophet. [Pg 255] From
+ver. 11 it appears that the darkness in which those walk who fear the
+Lord, is not to be understood of personal individual calamity which
+befals this or that godly one, nor of the sufferings which happen to
+the pious godly _party_, in contrast to the ungodly wicked, but rather
+that we have before us the foresight of a dark period of sufferings
+which, after the appearance of the Servant of God, shall be inflicted
+upon the whole people; so that both of the parties,--that devoted to
+the Servant of God, and that opposed to Him,--are thereby affected, but
+with a different issue. For in ver. 11, it is described how the
+ungodly, who likewise walk in darkness, endeavour to light up their
+darkness by a fire which they have kindled, but do so to their own
+destruction. Behind the exhortation: "Let him trust in the name of the
+Lord, and stay upon his God," there is concealed the promise: he _may_
+trust, his darkness shall be changed into light, his sorrow into joy.
+When the destruction of Jerusalem approached, the cry came to believing
+Israel: "Lift up your heads, for your redemption draweth nigh," Luke
+xxi. 28. In the destruction of apostate Israel, not obeying the Servant
+of God, but persecuting His faithful ones, they beheld the beginning of
+the victory of the true people of God over the world.
+
+Ver. 11. "_Behold all ye that kindle a fire, that gird sparks,--walk in
+the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. From
+mine hand is this to you; ye shall lie down in pain._"
+
+The image begun in the preceding verse is continued. The pious walk in
+confidence and patience through the lightless darkness, until the Lord
+kindles a light to them. Those who do not hear the Lord, who do _not_
+obey the voice of His Servant, kindle a fire which is to light up their
+darkness; but instead of that, they are consumed by the fire. Thus the
+Servant of God, who brings this destruction upon them, obtains His
+right upon them.--The _fire_ is often in Scripture the fire of war,
+chap. ix. 18; Jer. li. 5; Rev. viii. 7-10. According to several
+interpreters (_Hitzig_, _Ewald_, _Knobel_), it is assumed that the
+discourse is here not of "self-assistance by rebellion," but "of the
+attacks of the wicked upon the godly, and of the destruction, into
+which these attacks turn out for their authors." But this view is
+opposed by the circumstance that the darkness [Pg 256] is common to
+both parties; hence, it must come from some other quarter. The fire
+which the wicked kindle is destined to enlighten the darkness in which
+they also are, which is especially evident from the words: "Walk in the
+_light_ of your fire." They now have a light which enlightens their
+darkness; but this self-created light consumes them.--To _gird_ stands
+for, "to surround one's self with a girdle," "to put on a girdle." In
+substance it is equivalent "to provide one's self with it."--The
+[Greek: hapax legomenon] [Hebrew: ziqvt] cannot with certainty be
+explained from the dialects. The connection and parallelism are in
+favour of the signification "sparks," "flames," which is found as early
+as in the Septuagint ( [Greek: phloga]), and Vulg. (_flammas_). In
+Syriac [Hebrew: ziqa] has the signification "lightning." Those who
+explain it by "fiery darts" are not at liberty to refer it to the
+[Hebrew: zqiM] in Prov. xxvi. 18. The signification "flames" (not
+"sparks," as _Stier_ holds), is, in that passage, quite suitable;
+simple arrows could there not be mentioned after the fiery darts
+without making the discourse feeble.--[Hebrew: lki] "walk ye," is
+equivalent to: "ye shall walk," yet with an intimation of the fact that
+this result, as we are immediately afterwards expressly told, proceeds
+from the speaker: _sic volo, sic jubeo._ The words: "From mine hand is
+this to you," are, by those who make the Prophet the subject of this
+prediction, supposed to be spoken by Jehovah. But throughout the whole
+section, the Lord is always only spoken of, and never appears as
+speaking. The words are in harmony with the exalted dignity which,
+elsewhere also, is attributed by the Prophet to the Servant of God who
+plants the heavens, and lays the foundation of the earth, chap. li. 16;
+whose mouth the Lord makes like a sharp sword, chap. xlix. 2; who is
+the personal salvation, the Saviour for the whole earth, chap. xlix. 6;
+and the embodied Covenant for the covenant-people, chaps. xlii. 6;
+xlix. 8. The last passages, especially, are of no small importance. The
+saving and judging activity go hand in hand, and cannot be separated.
+We have here thus the Old Testament beginnings and preparation for the
+doctrine of the New Testament, that the Father has given all judgment
+to the Son, The Servant of God, in the highest sense, is Lord and judge
+of the fellow servants.--The [Hebrew: l] in [Hebrew: lmecbh] serves for
+designating the condition: so that you belong to pain, [Hebrew: wkb]
+occurs in [Pg 257] chap. xliii. 17 of the Egyptians lying down; comp.
+Ps. xli. 9: "He that _lieth_ shall rise up no more." In the
+announcement that Israel's attempt to help themselves would turn out to
+their destruction, the Song of Solomon, in chap. iii. 1-3; v. 7, has
+preceded our Prophet: "The daughter of Zion, in her restlessness,
+endeavours to bring about, by worldly, rebellious doings, the Messianic
+salvation. It is in vain; what she is seeking she does not find, but
+the heavenly watchmen find her."
+
+
+
+
+                            CHAPTER LI. 1-16.
+
+
+Ver. 1. "_And I put my words in thy mouth, and cover thee in the shadow
+of mine hand, that thou mayest plant the heaven and lay the foundation
+of the earth, and say unto Zion: Thou art my people._"
+
+The discourse in chap. li. to lii. 12 is not addressed to the whole of
+Israel, but to the _election_. They are, in chap. li. 1, called those
+that follow after righteousness, that seek the Lord; in ver. 7, those
+who know righteousness, in whose heart is the law of the Lord. These
+the Prophet seeks to comfort and strengthen by pointing to the future
+glorious mercies of the Lord.
+
+The Section chap. li. 4-8 comforts the elect by the coming of the
+salvation, by the dominion of the people of God over the whole world;
+points to the foundation of these successes, viz., the eternity of the
+salvation and righteousness for the Church; and exhorts them that,
+having this eternal salvation before them, they might patiently bear
+the temporal reproach of the world given over to destruction.
+
+In vers. 9-11, the Church calls upon the Lord to do as He had promised;
+and this prayer, founded upon His almighty love, which in times past
+had so gloriously manifested itself, passes over, at the close, into
+hope and confidence.
+
+In vers. 12-16 follows the answer of the Lord, who exhorts the Church
+to be stedfast, by reminding her that her opponents are weak mortals,
+while the omnipotent God is her protector; and announces that, with the
+same omnipotence which He manifests in nature, He would soon bring
+about her deliverance, [Pg 258] and that Ho would do so by His Servant,
+in whom all His promises should be Yea and Amen, and whom at the close
+Ho addresses, committing to Him the work of redemption. According to
+the current opinion, the discourse in ver. 16 is addressed to the
+people. But, in that case, we must also make up our minds to view the
+Infinitive with [Hebrew: l] a Gerund, "planting," or "by planting,"--a
+supposition which is beset with great difficulties. It was only by an
+inconsistency that _Stier_, who, in chap. xlix. rejects this view,
+could here agree to it. And, farther, it is obvious that the words at
+the close: "Thou art my people," are the _words_ which, according to
+the commencement of the verse, are put into the mouth of the speaker,
+and that hence, the planting of heaven and earth, which prepares for
+this speaking, belongs to Him. If this be not supposed, one does not at
+all see to what the: "I put my words in thy mouth," is to refer. What
+farther militates against this explanation is the unmistakable relation
+of the passage before us to chaps. xlix., l., which it is impossible to
+refer to the people. The same reason is also against the supposition of
+_Gesenius_ and _Umbreit_, that the discourse is addressed to the
+prophetical order. Nor is it defensible to explain: "to plant the
+heaven and lay the foundation of the earth," by: to establish the new
+state of Israel. To these arguments it may be added that, according to
+this explanation, the words: "Thou art my people," are unsuitable; for
+Israel was not the people of the Prophet, but the people of God and of
+His Servant. The discourse is addressed rather to the Messiah, compare
+the parallel passages, chap. xlix., especially ver. 2, and chap. l.,
+especially vers. 4 and 5. Considering the dramatic character of the
+whole section, the change of the person addressed is a circumstance of
+very little importance; and chap. lix. 21, where the word of God is put
+into the mouth of Jacob, is parallel in appearance only. Even _a
+priori_ we could not expect that, in this context, treating, as it
+does, of the personal Messiah, the whole section, chap. li. 1 to lii.
+12, should lack all reference to the Messiah. By the words: "I put my
+word in thy mouth," the Messiah is appointed to be, in the highest
+sense, the speaker of God; the realization of the divine counsels is
+committed to Him. For the fact that it is not mere words which are here
+treated of, but such as are living [Pg 259] and powerful, like those
+which God spoke at the creation, becomes evident by the circumstance
+that the planting of heaven and earth is attributed to the Servant of
+God as bearer of His words,--a thing which cannot be done by the
+ordinary word; comp. Isa. xl. 4, according to which the Messiah smites
+the earth with the rod of His mouth, and slays the wicked with the
+breath of His lips.--_I cover thee in the shadow of mine hand_,
+designates the divine protection and providence which are indispensable
+in order that the Servant of God may fulfil His vocation to be God's
+speaker. The words form an accessory thought only: I appoint thee my
+speaker whom, as such, I will keep and protect in order that thou,
+etc.;--for that which follows is that which the Servant of God is to
+_perform_ as His Speaker. By the word of Omnipotence committed to Him,
+He plants a new heaven, and lays the foundation of a new earth, and
+invests Zion with the dignity of the people of God.--To plant the
+heaven and lay the foundation of the earth, is equivalent to founding a
+_new_ heaven, a _new_ earth; comp. chaps. lxv. 17, lxvi. 22; Rev. xxii.
+For, as long as the old heaven and the old earth exist, a planting and
+founding activity cannot take place in reference to heaven and earth.
+All that is created, in so far as it opposes the Kingdom of God, is
+unfit for being an abode of the glorified Kingdom of God, and must be
+shaken and broken to pieces, in order that this Kingdom may enter into
+its natural conditions, and find a worthy abode. The activity of God
+and His Servant, necessary for this purpose, will most completely take
+place at the end of days, at the [Greek: palingenesia] announced by the
+Lord, Matt. xix. 28; compare what is said in chap. xi., in reference to
+the entire change of the conditions of the earth. But in a preparatory
+manner, this activity pervades all history. The heaven, according to
+the _usus loquendi_ of Scripture, and also of Isaiah, is not only the
+natural heaven, but also the heaven of princes, the whole order of
+rulers and magistrates, (comp. my remarks on Rev. vi. 13), whose form
+and relation to the Kingdom of God underwent a great change, even at
+the first appearance of Christ.--The _saying_, according to the
+preceding: That thou mayest plant, &c., is not to be referred to the
+mere announcing; but, according to the frequent _usus loquendi_, it
+includes the performing also, just as _e.g._, in ver. 12, the [Pg 260]
+comforting is effected by a discourse _in deeds_. The distinction
+between, and separation of word and deed belongs to human weakness. God
+speaks and it is done; and what holds true of His word, applies also to
+the word of His Servant, which he has put into His mouth.
+
+
+
+
+                       CHAPTERS LII. 13-LIII. 12.
+
+
+This section forms the climax of the prophecies of Isaiah, of
+prophetism in general, of the whole Old Testament, as appears even from
+the circumstance that the Lord and His Apostles refer to no part of the
+Old Testament so frequently and so emphatically as to this,--a section
+which, according to _Luther's_ demand, every Christian should have
+committed _verbatim_. Christ is here, with wonderful clearness,
+described to us in His highest work--His atoning suffering.
+
+In vers. 13-15 of chap. lii. Jehovah speaks. These verses contain a
+short summary of what is enlarged upon in chap. liii. The very deepest
+humiliation of the Servant of God shall be followed by His highest
+glorification. In consequence of the salvation wrought out and
+accomplished by Him, the nations of the earth and their kings shall
+reverently submit to Him. In chap. liii. 1-10, the Prophet utters the
+sentiments of the _elect_ in Israel. At first, in His humiliation, they
+had not recognized the Redeemer; but now they acknowledged Him as their
+Redeemer and Saviour, and saw that He had taken upon Him His sufferings
+for our salvation, and that they had a vicarious character. The
+commencement forms, in ver. 1, the lamentation that so many do not
+believe in the report of the Servant of God, that so many do not behold
+the glory of God manifested in Him. In vers. 2 and 3, we have the cause
+of this fact, viz., the appearance of the Divine, in the form of a
+Servant--the offence of the cross. In lowliness, without any outward
+splendour, the Servant of God shall go about. Sufferings, heavier than
+ever befel any man, shall be inflicted upon Him. In vers. 4-6, the
+vicarious import of these sufferings is pointed out. The people, seeing
+his sufferings, [Pg 261] and not knowing the cause of them, imagined
+that they were the well-merited punishment of His own transgressions
+and iniquities. But the Church, now brought to believe in Him, see that
+they were wrong in imagining thus. It was not His own transgressions
+and iniquities which were punished in Him, but ours. His sufferings
+were voluntarily undergone by Him, and for the salvation of mankind,
+which else would have been given up to destruction. God himself was
+anxious to re-unite to himself those who were separated from Him, and
+who walked in their own ways. To the vicarious import of the sufferings
+of the Servant of God corresponds, according to ver. 7, His conduct: He
+suffers quietly and patiently. In vers. 8-10 we have the reward which
+the Servant of God receives for His passive obedience. God takes Him to
+himself, and He receives an unspeakably great generation, ver. 8, the
+ominous burial with the rich, ver. 9, numerous seed and long life, and
+that the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand; ver. 10. In
+vers. 11 and 12, the Lord again appears as speaking, and confirms that
+which has been declared by the faithful Church.
+
+The two verses of the close, together with the exordium, chap. lii.
+13-15, occupy five verses--five being the signature of the half and
+incomplete. The main body, ten verses, is divided into seven referring
+to the humiliation and suffering, and three referring to the exaltation
+of the Servant of God. The seven are, as usual, divided into three and
+four. In the three verses, the suffering of the Servant of God is
+exhibited; in the four, its cause and vicarious import.
+
+By the "_Behold_," with which the prophecy opens, the Prophet intimates
+that we have here before us a vision beheld by him in the spirit. As
+the period in which the Prophet beholds the vision, we have to suppose
+the time between the suffering and the glorification of the Servant of
+God. The glorification is described chiefly by Futures, the suffering
+by Preterites; but, from the fact that this stand-point is not strictly
+adhered to, it is evident that we have to do with a stand-point which
+is purely ideal.
+
+The section forms, in a formal and material point of view, a whole by
+itself; but, notwithstanding its absolute independence, it must stand
+in a certain connection with what precedes and what follows. Let us,
+therefore, now consider the relation [Pg 262] in which it stands to the
+portions surrounding it. Its relation to what goes before is thus
+strikingly designated by _Calvin_: "After Isaiah had spoken of the
+restoration of the Church, he passes over to Christ, in whom all things
+are gathered together. He speaks of the prosperous success of the
+Church, at a time when it was least to be expected, which calls them
+back to their King, by whom all things are to be restored, and exhorts
+them to expect Him." The preceding section begins with chap. li. 1. We
+have already stated the contents up to li. 16. Vers. 17-23 are closely
+connected with the preceding, in which salvation and mercy were
+announced to the Church of God. This announcement is here continued in
+new forms. Chap. lii. 1-6: As the Lord had formerly delivered His
+people out of the hand of Egypt and Asshur, so, now too, He will
+deliver them. Zion appears under the image of a woman imprisoned,
+fettered, lying powerlessly in a miserable garment, on a dirty floor,
+and is called upon to arise, to strengthen herself, to throw off her
+bands, to put on festive garments, inasmuch as the time of her
+deliverance from the misery is at hand. Vers. 7-10: In the last words
+of ver. 6, the Lord had announced that He was already at hand for the
+redemption of His Church. This salvation now presents itself vividly to
+the spiritual eye of the Prophet, and is graphically described by him.
+He beholds a messenger hastening with the glad tidings to Jerusalem;
+_watchmen_, who are standing on the ruins of Jerusalem in longing
+expectation, discover him at a distance, and exultingly call upon
+the ruins to shout aloud for joy.[1] "How beautiful"--so verse 7
+runs--"upon the mountains the feet of the Messenger of joy, that
+announceth peace, that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth
+salvation, that saith unto Zion: Thy God reigneth." In Rom. x. 15, the
+Apostle refers this passage to the preaching of the Gospel. That is
+more than mere application; it is real explanation. The deliverance
+from Babylon is only the first faint beginning of the salvation, which
+the Prophet has before his eye in its [Pg 263] whole extent. As the
+substance of the salvation, the circumstance that Zion's God reigneth,
+is intimated. There is, in this, an allusion to the formula which was
+used in proclaiming the ascension of earthly kings to the throne. Even
+this allusion shows that the point here in question is not the
+continuous government of the Lord, but a new, glorious manifestation of
+His government, as it were a new ascension to the throne. This "the
+Lord reigneth," found a faint beginning only of its confirmation and
+fulfilment in the destruction of Babylon, and the deliverance of
+Israel; but as to its full import, it is Messianic. In Christ, the Lord
+has truly assumed the government, and will still more gloriously reign
+in future.--Ver. 8: "The _voice_ of thy watchmen! they lift up the
+voice, they shout together; for they see eye to eye that the Lord
+returneth to Zion." The watchmen are ideal persons, representatives of
+the truth that the Lord is around His people, and that the
+circumstances of His Church are to Him a constant call to help; or they
+may be viewed as the holy angels who, as the servants of the watchmen
+of Israel, form the protecting power for the Church. These watchmen
+continue to stand even on the destroyed walls; for, even in her misery,
+the Lord is Zion's God. The anxious waiting eye of the watchmen, and
+the mercy-beaming eye of God returning to Zion meet one another. The
+returning here is opposed to the forsaking, over which Zion had
+lamented in chap. xlix. 14. Instead of the concealed presence of the
+Lord during the misery, which, to the feeling, so easily appears as
+entire absence, there comes the presence of God manifested in the
+salvation. This return of the Lord to Zion truly took place in Christ
+only, Luke i. 68.--Ver. 9: "Break forth into joy, shout together, ye
+ruins of Jerusalem, for the Lord comforteth Jerusalem, redeemeth His
+people." This call goes far beyond the time of the restoration of
+Jerusalem after the exile; for, even at that time, the spiritual eye
+still beheld ruins, where the bodily eye saw firm, walled buildings.
+The condition of the Kingdom of God was still miserable, the eye
+of the faithful remained still fixed, with hopes and longings, upon the
+Future which was to bring, and has brought, _true_ comfort and
+consolation.--Ver. 10: "The Lord maketh bare His Holy arm in the eyes
+of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth see the salvation of
+our God." The making bare of the arm of the Lord designates the
+manifestation, by deeds, of [Pg 264] the divine power and glory, such
+as took place by the sending of Christ, and by the wonderful elevation
+of the Church over the world,--an elevation which has it roots in Him;
+comp. chap. liii. 1. In vers. 11 and 12 there is still the exhortation
+to the Church of the Lord that, by true repentance, she should worthily
+prepare for the impending salvation.
+
+After the Prophet has, in chap. li. 1 to lii. 12, described the
+transition of the Church of God from humiliation and sorrow to
+glorification, it is quite natural that he should now turn from the
+members to the Head, through whose mediation this transition was to be
+accomplished, after the same contrast had been exhibited in Himself
+There is the most intimate connection between the Church of God and His
+Servant; for, all that He does and suffers. He does and suffers for
+her; and all that befals her is prefigured by the way in which He has
+been led by the Lord.
+
+With what follows, too, the section before us stands in a close
+relation. The glorification of the Servant of God described at the
+close of chap. liii., is, in Him, bestowed at the same time, upon the
+Church. Thus chap. liv., in which the Church is comforted by pointing
+to her future glorification, is connected with the preceding. The
+Church of the Lord appears here as a woman who, after having been put
+away by her husband, and after having, for a long time, lived in a
+childless, sorrowful solitude, is again received by him, and sees
+herself surrounded by numerous children. The time of punishment is now
+at an end, and the time of mercy is breaking.
+
+Chap. lii. 13. "_Behold, my Servant shall act wisely, He shall be
+exalted and extolled, and be very high._"
+
+[Hebrew: hwkil] always means "to act wisely" (LXX. [Greek: sunesei];
+_Aquil. Sym._: [Greek: episthemonisthesetai]), never "to be successful"
+(the Chaldean, whom most of the modern interpreters follow, renders it
+by [Hebrew: iclH]), and this ascertained sense (comp. Remarks on Jer.
+iii. 15; xxiii. 5, where the verb is used of the Messiah, just as it is
+here), must here be maintained so much the more, that our passage
+evidently refers to David, the former servant of God. Of him it is said
+in 1 Sam. xviii. 14, 15: "And David was acting wisely in all his ways,
+and the Lord was with him. And Saul saw that he was acting very wisely,
+and was afraid of him;" comp. 1 Kings ii. 3, where David says to
+Solomon: "And keep the charge of the Lord thy God ... in order [Pg 265]
+that thou mayest act wisely in all that thou doest, and whithersoever
+thou turnest thyself;" Ps. ci. 2, where David, speaking in the name of
+his family, says: "I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way;" and 2
+Kings xviii. 7, where it is said of Hezekiah: "And the Lord was with
+him, and whithersoever he went forth, he acted wisely." According to
+these fundamental and parallel passages, the expression, "He shall act
+wisely" refers to the administration of government, and is equivalent
+to: He shall rule wisely like his ancestor David. _Stier_ is wrong in
+opposing the view, that the Messiah here presents himself as King. He
+says: "The King has here stepped behind the Prophet, Witness, Martyr,
+Saviour;" but in chap. liii. 12, the royal office surely comes out with
+sufficient distinctness. We must never forget that the different
+offices of Christ are intimately connected with one another by the
+unity of the person. The _prosperity and success_ which the Servant of
+God enjoys, are first brought before us and detailed in what follows;
+and appear, just as in the fundamental passages quoted, as the
+consequence of acting wisely: "My Servant shall, after having, through
+the deepest humiliation, attained to dominion, administer it well, and
+thereby attain to the highest glory." To the words: "He shall act
+wisely" correspond, afterwards, the words: "The pleasure of the Lord
+shall prosper by His hand," chap. liii. 10. The fact that a person acts
+wisely is, in a twofold aspect, a fruit of his connection with God:
+_first_, because God is the source and fountain of all wisdom, and,
+_secondly_, because from God the blessing proceeds which always
+accompanies his doings. The ungodly is by God involved in circumstances
+which, notwithstanding all his wisdom, make him appear as a fool.
+Compare only chap. xix. 11: "The princes of Zoan become fools, the
+counsel of the wise counsellors of Pharaoh is become brutish; how can
+ye say unto Pharaoh: a son of the wise am I, a (spiritual) son of the
+(wise) kings of ancient times?" comp. ver. 13; Job xii. 17, 20; Eccles.
+ix. 11. In the second clause the Prophet puts together the verbs which
+denote elevation, and still adds [Hebrew: mad] "very" in order most
+emphatically to point out the glory of the exaltation of the Servant of
+God.
+
+Ver. 14. "_As many were shocked at thee--so marred from man was His
+look, and His form from the sons of man_--Ver. 15. _So shall He
+sprinkle many nations; kings shall shut their_ [Pg 266] _mouths on
+account of Him, for they who had not been told, they see, and they who
+did not hear, they perceive._"
+
+Ver. 14 contains the _protasis_, ver. 15 the _apodosis_. The former
+describes the deep humiliation, the latter the highest glorification of
+the Servant of God. The _so_ in ver. 14 begins a parenthesis, in which
+the reason why many were shocked is stated, and which goes on to the
+end of the verse. In keeping with the dramatic character of the
+prophetic discourse, the Lord addresses His Servant in ver. 14: "At
+thee;" while, in ver. 15, He speaks of Him in the third person: "He
+shall sprinkle;" "on account of _Him_" This change has been occasioned
+by the parenthetical clause which contains a remark of the Prophet, and
+in which, therefore, the Servant of God could not but be spoken of in
+the third person. _Haevernick_ and _Stier_ refuse to admit the existence
+of a parenthesis. Their reasons: "Parentheses are commonly an
+ill-invented expedient only," and: "It is not likely that the same
+particle should have a different signification in these two clauses
+following immediately the one upon the other," are not entirely
+destitute of force, but are far-outweighed by counter-arguments. They
+say that the _apodosis_ begins with the first [Hebrew: kN], and that in
+ver. 15 a second _apodosis_ follows. But no tolerable thought comes out
+in this way;--it is hard to co-ordinate two _apodoses_,--and the
+transition from the 2d to the 3d person remains unaccounted for.
+[Hebrew: wmM] "to be desolated" is then transferred to the spiritual
+desolation and devastation, and receives the signification "to be
+horrified," "to be shocked."--Who the many are that are shocked and
+offended at the miserable appearance of the Servant of God, appears
+from chap. xlix. 4, according to which the opposition to the Servant of
+God has its seat among the covenant people; farther, from the contrast
+in ver. 15 of the chapter before us, according to which the respectful
+surrender belongs to the _Gentiles_; and farther, from chap. liii. 1,
+where the unbelief of the former covenant-people is complained of; from
+vers. 2-4, where even the believers from among Israel complain that
+they had had difficulty in surmounting the offence of the Cross.
+[Hebrew: mwHt], properly "corruption," stands here as _abstractum pro
+concreto_, in the signification, "corrupted," "marred." As to its form,
+it is in the _status constructus_ which, in close connections, can
+stand even [Pg 267] before Prepositions. From the corresponding
+[Hebrew: Hdl aiwiM] in chap. liii. 3, it appears that the Preposition
+stands here only for the sake of distinctness, and might as well have
+been omitted. The [Hebrew: mN] serves for designating the distance,
+"from man," "from the sons of men," so that He is no more a man, does
+no more belong to the number of the sons of men. The correctness of
+this explanation appears from chap. liii. 3, and Ps. xxii. 7: "I am a
+worm and no man." As regards the sense of the whole parenthesis, many
+interpreters remark, that we must not stop at the bodily disfiguration
+of the Servant of God, but that the expression must, at the same time,
+be understood figuratively. Thus, Luther says: "The Prophet does not
+speak of the form of Christ as to His person, but of the political and
+royal form of a Ruler, who is to become an earthly King, and does not
+appear in royal form, but as the meanest of all servants; so that no
+more despised man than He has been seen in the world." But the Prophet
+evidently speaks, in the first instance, of the bodily appearance only;
+and we can the less think of a figurative sense, that bodily
+disfiguration forms the climax of misery, and that, in this _part_, the
+_whole_ of the miserable condition is delineated. Even the severe
+inward sufferings are a matter of course, if the outward ones have
+risen to such a pitch. How both of these go hand in hand is seen from
+Ps. xxii. These interpreters are, farther, wrong in this respect, that
+they refer the pretended figurative expression solely to the lowliness
+and humility of the Messiah, and not, at the same time, to His
+_sufferings_ also. Thus, among the ancient interpreters, it was viewed
+by _Jerome_: "The horrid appearance of His form is not thereby
+indicated, but that He came in humility and poverty;" and among recent
+interpreters by _Martini_: "The sense of the passage does not properly
+refer to the deformity of the face, but to the whole external weak,
+poor, and humble condition." But, for that, the expression is by far
+too strong. Mere lowliness is no object of horror (comp. 1 Cor. i. 23,
+according to which it is the _Cross_ which offends the Jews); it does
+not produce a deformity of the countenance; it cannot produce the
+effect that the Servant of God should, as it were, cease to be a man.
+All this suggests an unspeakable _suffering_ of the Servant of God, and
+that, moreover, a suffering which, in the first instance, [Pg 268]
+manifested itself upon His own holy body. _Farther_--We must also take
+into consideration that the _sprinkling_, in ver. 15, has for its
+background the shedding of blood, and is the fruit of it, at first
+concealed. If any doubt should yet remain, it would be removed by the
+subsequent detailed representation of that which is here given in
+outline merely. The sole reason of that narrow view is, that
+interpreters did not understand the fundamental relation of the section
+under consideration to the subsequent section; that they did not
+perceive that, here, we have in a complete sketch what there is given
+in detail and expansion.--Ver. 15. The verb [Hebrew: nzh] occurs in
+very many passages, and signifies in _Hiphil_, everywhere, "to
+sprinkle." It is especially set apart and used for the sprinkling with
+the blood of atonement, and the water of purification. When "the
+anointed priest" had sinned, he took of the blood of the _sacrifice_,
+and _sprinkled_ it before the vail of the sanctuary, Lev. iv. 6; comp.
+v. 16, 17. The high priest had, every year, on the great day of
+atonement, to sprinkle the _blood_ before the Ark of the Covenant, in
+order to obtain forgiveness for the people. Lev. xvi. 14, comp. also
+vers. 18, 19: "And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it (the altar)
+with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the
+uncleanness of the children of Israel." In the same manner the verb is
+used of the sprinkling of blood upon the healed leper, Lev. xiv. 7, and
+frequently. According to Numb. xix. 19, the _clean_ person shall
+_sprinkle_ upon the unclean, on the third day, and on the seventh day,
+"with the water in which are the ashes of the red heifer" when any one
+has become unclean by touching a dead body. The outward material
+purification frequently serves in the Old Testament to denote the
+spiritual purification. Thus, _e.g._, in Ps. i. 9: "Purge me with
+hyssop, and I shall be clean;" Ezek. xxxvi. 25: "And I sprinkle clean
+water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your filthiness." In
+all those passages there lies, everywhere, at the foundation an
+allusion to the Levitical purifications (the two last quoted especially
+refer to Numb. xix.); and this allusion is by no means so to be
+understood, as if he who makes the allusion were drawing the material
+into the spiritual sphere. On the contrary, he uses as a figure that
+which is, in the law, used symbolically. All the laws of purification
+in the Pentateuch [Pg 269] have a symbolical and typical character.
+That which was done to the outward impurity was, in point of fact, done
+to the _sin_ which the people of the Old Testament, well versed in the
+symbolical language, beheld under its image. Hence, here also, the
+_sprinkling_ has the signification of _cleansing_ from sin. The
+expression indicates that Christ is the true High Priest, to whom the
+ordinary priesthood with its sprinklings typically pointed. The
+expression is a summary of that which, in the following chapter, we are
+told regarding the expiation through the suffering and death of the
+Servant of God. The words: "When His soul maketh a sin-offering," in
+ver. 10, and: "He shall justify," in ver. 11, correspond. Among the
+ancient expositors, this translation is followed by the Syriac and
+Vulgate, the _asperget_ of which _Jerome_ thus explains: "He shall
+sprinkle many nations, cleansing them by His blood, and in baptism
+consecrating them to the service of God." In the New Testament, it is
+alluded to in several passages. Thus, in 1 Pet. i. 2, where the Apostle
+speaks of the [Greek: rhantismos haimatos Iesou Christou]. Farther, in
+Heb. x. 22: [Greek: erhrantismenoi tas kardias apo suneideseos
+poneras]; xii. 24: [Greek: kai haimati rhantismou kreitton lalounti
+para ton Abel], and also in chap. ix. 13, 14. Among Christian
+interpreters, this view was always the prevailing one, was indeed the
+view held by the Church. _Schroeder observ. ad origin. Hebr._ c. viii. Sec.
+10, raised some objections which were eagerly laid hold of, and
+increased by the rationalistic interpreters. Even some sound orthodox
+expositors allowed themselves to be thereby dazzled. _Stier_ declares
+"that, for this time, he must take the part of modern Exegesis against
+the prevailing tradition of the Church." Yet his disrelish for the
+doctrine of the atonement held by the Church has no doubt exercised a
+considerable influence in this matter; and _Hofmann_, too, in so
+decidedly rejecting this explanation, which rests on such strong
+arguments, and is not touched by any weighty counter-arguments, seems
+not to have been guided by exegetical reasons only. But let us submit
+these objections to a closer examination. 1. "The verb ought not to be
+construed with the Accusative of the thing to be sprinkled, but with
+[Hebrew: el]." _Reinke_ (in his Monograph on Is. liii.) brings forward,
+against this objection, the passage Lev. iv. 16, 17; but he is wrong in
+this, inasmuch as [Hebrew: at] is there not the [Pg 270] sign of the
+Accusative, but a Preposition. [Hebrew: at pni] in the signification
+"before," is, elsewhere also, very frequently used. But even _Gesenius_
+is compelled to agree with _Simonis_.[2] and to acknowledge that, in
+the proper name [Hebrew: izih] the verb is connected with an
+Accusative. The deviation is there still greater, inasmuch as the _Kal_
+is, at the same time, used transitively. But even apart from that, such
+a deviation cannot appear strange. It has an analogy in chap. liii. 11,
+where [Hebrew: hcdiq], which everywhere else is construed with the
+Accusative, is followed by [Hebrew: l]; and likewise in [Hebrew: rpa],
+followed by [Hebrew: l] in chap. liii. 5. The signification of the
+verb, in such cases, undergoes a slight modification. [Hebrew: hzh]
+with [Hebrew: el] means "to sprinkle;" with the Accusative, "to
+sprinkle upon." This modification of the meaning has the analogy of
+other languages in its favour. In the Ethiopic, the verb [Hebrew: nzH],
+which corresponds to the Hebrew [Hebrew: nzh], is used of the
+sprinkling of both persons and things; Heb. ix. 19, xi. 28; Ps. li. 9.
+In Latin, we may say: _spargere aquam_, but also _spargere corpus
+aqua_; _aspergere quid alicui_, but also _re aliquem_, _conspergere_,
+_perspergere_, _respergere quem_. "Why should not this be allowed to
+the Jews also,"--remarks _Koecher_--"who have to make up for the defect
+of compound verbs by the varied use of simple verbs?" But the Prophet
+had a special reason, in the liberty specially afforded by the higher
+style, for deviating from the ordinary connection. The [Hebrew: el] had
+to be avoided, because, had it been put, the perception of the
+correspondence of the subsequent [Hebrew: eliv] with the [Hebrew:
+eliK], in ver. 14, would have become more difficult.--2. It is asserted
+that it is against the connection; that the contrast to [Hebrew: mwM]
+induces us to expect something corresponding. _Beck_ says: "A change in
+those who formerly abhorred the Servant is to be expressed here, not _a
+deed by the Servant himself_." If there were here, indeed, a contrast
+intended to the many who formerly were shocked, we might answer that,
+indirectly, the words: "He shall sprinkle," suggest, indeed, an
+opposite conduct of the "many Gentiles." No one is cleansed by the
+Servant of God, who does not allow himself to be cleansed by [Pg 271]
+Him. But no one will desire to be cleansed by Him, who does not put his
+whole trust in Him, who does not recognize Him as his King and Lord. To
+the contempt and horror with which the Jews shrink back from the
+Messiah in His humiliation, would thus be opposed the faithful, humble
+confidence, with which the heathens draw near to the glorified Messiah.
+But the fact that the real contrast to the [Hebrew: wmmv] is not
+[Hebrew: izh], but rather [Hebrew: iqpcv], is clearly shown by [Hebrew:
+eliv], which corresponds with [Hebrew: eliK]. The [Hebrew: izh]
+corresponds rather to: "He was disfigured." Just as this states the
+cause of their being shocked, so in: "He shall sprinkle," the cause of
+the shutting of the mouth is stated. This is also seen from a
+comparison of chap. liii. 3, 4. His sufferings appeared formerly as the
+proof that He was hated by God. Now that the vicarious value of His
+suffering manifests itself, it becomes the reason of humble, respectful
+submission. Just as, formerly, many were shocked at Him, because he was
+so disfigured, so, now, even kings shall shut their mouth at Him on
+account of His atonement. Moreover, one does not exactly see how this
+reason could be brought forward, as, in a formal point of view, there
+is, at all events, "a deed by the Servant himself" before us, in
+whatever way we may view the [Hebrew: izh].--3. "If _sprinkling_ were
+meant to be equivalent to cleansing by blood, the matter of
+purification could not be omitted. If it were objected to this, that
+the noun 'blood' might easily be supplied from the verb's being
+ordinarily used of cleansing with blood, the objection would be of no
+weight, inasmuch as sprinkling was done not only with blood, but also
+with water and oil." But the sprinkling with _oil_, denoting
+sanctification, appears only quite isolated, and has for its foundation
+the sprinkling with blood, comp. Exod. xxix. 21: "And thou shalt take
+of the blood which is upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and
+sprinkle it upon Aaron, and he shall be hallowed." The sprinkling with
+_water_ has likewise the shedding of blood for its foundation. It was
+done with such water only, as had in it the ashes of the sin-offering
+of the red heifer. But the Prophet has certainly on purpose made no
+express mention of the blood, because that water, too, should be
+included. This fact, that the sprinkling here comprehends both, was
+perceived by the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, in chap. ix.
+13, 14: [Greek: ei gar to haima] [Pg 272] [Greek: tauron kai tragon kai
+spodos damaleos rhantizousa tous kekoinomenous hagiazei pros ten tes
+sarkos katharoteta. mallon to haima tou Christou ... kathariei ten
+suneidesin hemon apo nekron ergon eis to latreuein Theo zonti.] The
+defilement by dead bodies, against which the water of purification was
+specially used, is the most significant symbol of sinners and sins.--4.
+"It is, in general, not probable that the Servant of God, who farther
+down is described as a sacrificial beast (!),--who, by taking upon
+Himself the sins of His people, dies for them, should here appear as
+the High Priest justifying them." Thus _Umbreit_ argues. But in
+opposition to this view, it is sufficient to refer to: "He shall
+justify," in chap. liii. 11, which is parallel to "He shall sprinkle."
+That which, in the typical sacrifices, is separated, is, in the
+antitypical, most closely connected. Even at the very first beginnings
+of sacred history, it was established for all times, that the
+difference between him who offers up, and that which is offered up,
+should not go beyond the territory of animal sacrifice. But there is
+the less ground for setting aside the reference to the priestly office
+of the Messiah, that, even before Isaiah, David, in Ps. cx. 4,
+designates Christ as the true High Priest on account of the atonement
+to be made by Him; and, after Isaiah, Zechariah says in chap. vi. 13:
+"And He sitteth and ruleth upon the throne, and He is a Priest upon His
+throne."--It has now become current to derive [Hebrew: izh] from
+[Hebrew: nzh] in the signification "to leap"--"He shall cause to leap.
+This explanation made its appearance at first in a very cautious way."
+_Martini_ says: "I myself feel how very far from a right and sure
+interpretation that is, which I am now, but very timidly, to advance,
+regarding the sense of the received reading [Hebrew: izh]." By and by,
+however, expositors hardened themselves against the decisive objections
+which stand in the way of it. These objections are the following. 1.
+The Hebrew _usus loquendi_ is in [Hebrew: nzh] so sure, that we are not
+entitled to take the explanation from the Arabic. The verb is, in
+Hebrew, never used except of _fluids_. In _Kal_, it does not mean "to
+leap," but "to spatter," Lev. vi. 20 (27): "And upon whose garment is
+_spattered_ of the blood;" 2 Kings ix. 33; Is. lxiii. 5. In _Hiphil_,
+it is set apart and used exclusively for the holy sprinklings; and the
+more frequently it occurs in this signification, the less are we at
+liberty to deviate from it. 2. "He shall make to leap" would be far too
+indefinite,--a circumstance [Pg 273] which appears from the vague and
+arbitrary conjectures of the supporters of this view. _Gesenius_, in
+his Commentary, _Stier_, and others, think of a leaping for joy, in
+support of which they have quoted the _Kamus_, according to which the
+verb is used of wanton asses! According to _Gesenius_ in the
+_Thesaurus_, _Hofmann_, and others, the Gentiles are to leap up, in
+order to show their _reverence_ for the Servant of God. According to
+_Hitzig_ and others, it is to leap for _astonishment_, while, according
+to _Umbreit_ and others, it is for _joyful admiration_. One sees that
+the mere "He shall make to leap" is in itself too meaningless; and
+interpreters are obliged to make the best addition which they can.--3.
+According to this explanation, no cause is assigned by which the homage
+of the Gentiles is called forth; and that cause can the less be
+omitted, that the horror of the Jews is traced back to its cause. The
+parenthesis in ver. 14 lacks its antithesis; and that this antithesis
+must lie in [Hebrew: izh], is rendered probable even by the
+circumstance, that this word signifies, in a formal point of view,
+something which the Servant of God does, and not something which the
+Gentiles do, while we should, by the antithesis to [Hebrew: wmmv], be
+led to expect just this.[3]--In the _protasis_, the discourse is only
+of many; here, it is of many nations (_Gousset_: "It is emphatic, so
+that it comprehends all, and denotes, at the same time, that they are
+numerous"), and of kings. This is quite natural; for it was only
+members of the covenant-people who felt shocked, while the reverence is
+felt by the whole Gentile world.--The _shutting of the mouth_ occurs
+elsewhere, too, repeatedly, as a sign of reverence and humble
+submission. The reference of [Hebrew: eliv] to [Hebrew: eliK], shows
+that _Ewald_ is wrong in explaining it by "besides Him." Since the
+preceding [Hebrew: el] designated the object of the horror,--the
+substratum of it--it must here, too, designate the substratum of the
+shutting of the mouth, and "over Him," be equivalent to: "on account of
+Him," "out of reverence for Him."--In the exposition of the last words,
+the old translations differ. We may explain them either: "They to whom
+it had not been [Pg 274] told, see;" thus the LXX.: [Greek: hois ouk
+anengele peri autou, opsontai, kai hoi ouk akekoasi, sunesousi], whom
+Paul follows in Rom. xv. 21. (In that context, however, the difference
+of the two explanations is of no consequence; the passage would be
+equally suitable, even according to the other interpretation.) Or, we
+may explain them: "That which had not been told them, they see," &c.
+Thus the other ancient translations explain. According to the first
+view, the connection would be this: For, in order that ye may not
+wonder at my speaking to you of nations and kings, they who, &c.
+According to the second view, the ground of the reverence of the
+heathen kings and their people is stated. That which formerly had not
+been told to them, had not been heard by them, is the expiation by the
+Servant of God. By Him they receive a blessing not formerly hoped for
+or expected, and are thereby filled with silent reverence towards the
+Author of the gift. We decide in favour of the former view, according
+to which chap. lxvi. 19: "That have not heard my fame, neither have
+seen my glory," is parallel. The contrast, in our verse, to those who
+did not hear and who now perceive, is, in the subsequent verse, formed
+by those who do hear, and do not believe. The words: "Who had not been
+told, who did not hear," refer to the Messianic announcement which was
+given to Israel only, and from which the Gentiles were excluded.[4]
+
+Upon this sketch, there follows in chap. liii. 1-10, the enlargement.
+First, in vers. 1-3 that is expounded which, in ver. 14 had been said
+of the many being _shocked_, and of the _cause_. The commentary upon
+[Hebrew: wmmv] "they were shocked," is given in ver. 1: a great portion
+of the Jews do not believe in the salvation which had appeared. The
+enlargement of: "so marred," &c., is given in vers. 2, 3. The cause of
+the [Pg 275] unbelief is, that the glory of the Servant of God is
+concealed behind humiliation, misery, and shame.
+
+Chap. liii. 1: "_Who believes that which we hear, and the arm of the
+Lord, to whom it is revealed?_"
+
+The Prophet, whose spiritual eye is just falling upon the large, the
+enormously large number of unbelievers, overlooks, at the moment, the
+other aspect, and, in his grief, expresses that which took place in a
+large _portion_ only, in such a manner as if it were general. Similar
+representations we elsewhere frequently meet with, _e.g._, Ps. xiv. 3
+(compare my Commentary); Jer. v. 1--[Hebrew: wmveh] is commonly
+understood in the signification, "message" or "discourse." But in
+favour of the explanation: "That which is heard by us," _q.d._, "that
+which we hear," there is, in the first instance, the _usus loquendi_.
+The word never occurs in any other than its original signification,
+"that which is heard," and in the signification, "rumour," which is
+closely connected with the former. In Isa. xxviii. 9, a passage which
+is most confidently referred to in proof of the signification,
+_institutio_, _doctrina_, [Hebrew: wmveh] is that which the Prophet
+hears from God. The mockers who exclaim: "Whom will he make to
+understand [Hebrew: wmveh]?" take, with a sneer, out of his mouth the
+word upon which chap. xxi. 10: "That which I have heard of the Lord of
+Hosts, I declare unto you," forms a commentary, [Greek: Akoe] too, by
+which, in the New Testament, [Hebrew: wmveh] is rendered, has not at
+all the signification, "discourse," "preaching." [Greek: Akoe] in Rom.
+x. 16, 17, is not the preaching, but the hearing, as is shown by the
+[Greek: me ouk ekousan] in ver. 18. The [Greek: akoe], according to
+ver. 17: [Greek: he de akoe dia rhematos Theou], is the passive to the
+active to the word of God. "Who believes our [Greek: akoe], our
+hearing," _i.e._, that which we hear, which is made known to us by the
+Word of God. In a passive sense, [Greek: akoe] stands likewise in the
+passages Matt. iv. 24, xiv. 1, xxiv. 6, which _Stier_ cites in support
+of the signification "discourse," "preaching;" it is that which has
+been heard by some one, "rumour," "report." In Heb. iv. 2 (as also in 1
+Thess. ii. 13) [Greek: logos akoes], is the word which they heard. That
+passage: [Greek: ouk ophelesen ho logos tes akoes ekeinous, me
+sunkekramenos te pistei tois akousasi], may simply be considered as a
+paraphrase of our: Who believes that which we hear. A second argument
+in favour of our explanation: "That which we hear" lies in the relation
+[Pg 276] to the preceding, which, only when thus explained, arranges itself
+suitably: "Those understand what they formerly did not hear; Israel, on
+the contrary, does not believe that which they have heard." Of great
+importance, _finally_, is the circumstance, that it is only with this
+interpretation that the unity of the speaker in vers. 1-10 can be
+maintained. In the sequel, the _we_ everywhere refers to the _believing
+Church_. But, for this reason, it is difficult to think here of the
+order of the teachers, which must be the case when we translate: "Who
+believes our preaching." It has been objected that, even in this case,
+no real change of subject takes place, but that, in both cases, the
+Prophet is speaking, with this difference only, that, in ver. 1, he
+numbers himself among the proclaimers of the message, while, in ver. 2
+ff., he reckons himself among the believing Congregation. But we shall
+be obliged not to bring in the Prophet at all. In ver. 2 ff., the
+speaker is the believing Church of the _Future_, in the time after the
+appearance of the Saviour, and just so, in ver. 1, the preaching, if it
+should be spoken of at all, cannot belong to the Prophet and his
+contemporaries, but to those only who came forward with the message of
+the manifested Saviour; just as in John xii. 38; Rom. x. 16, our verse
+is referred to the unbelief of the Jews in the manifested Saviour. The
+cause of the unbelief over which ver. 1 laments is indeed, according to
+vers. 2 and 3, the appearance of the Saviour in the form of a Servant,
+and His bitter suffering. That, then, must first have taken place,
+before the unbelief manifested itself.[5] _Stier_ rightly remarks:
+"Between 'the arm of God,'and ourselves, a [Hebrew: wmveh] is placed
+as the medium, and the point is to believe in it." It is the gospel,
+the tidings of the manifested Saviour. By the side of the joy over the
+many Gentiles who with delight hear and understand the message of the
+Servant of God, there is the sorrow over the many in Israel who do not
+believe this message.--The _arm of the Lord_ comes into consideration
+as the seat of His divine power; comp. chap. xl. 10, li. 5-9, lii. 10.
+[Pg 277] According to the context, the manifestation of this power in
+Christ is here spoken of _Stier_ says: "In this Servant, the redeeming
+arm manifests itself, personifies itself Christ himself is, as it were,
+the outstretched arm of the Lord." In Rom. i. 16, the Gospel is
+designated as [Greek: dunamis Theou eis soterian panti to pisteuonti.]
+[Hebrew: glh] is elsewhere commonly construed with [Hebrew: al] or
+[Hebrew: l], here with [Hebrew: el]. This indicates that the revealing
+of the arm of the Lord is of a _supernatural_ kind, such an one as
+conies down from above. The Lord has revealed His arm, His power and
+glory, as He has manifested them in the mission of His servant, _in the
+eyes of all_ (comp. chap. lii. 10: "The Lord hath made bare His holy
+arm in the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth see
+the salvation of our God"); but it is really seen by those only whose
+eyes God opens. The deeds of God, even the most manifest, always retain
+the nature of a mystery which remains concealed to the worldly
+disposition. God can be recognised only by God. Of the ungodly it holds
+true: "With seeing eyes they do not see, and with hearing ears they do
+not hear." What was the _cause_ of this unbelief in the Son of God, we
+are told in the sequel. It is the appearance of the Divine in the form
+of a servant, which the gross carnal disposition cannot understand, and
+by which it is offended. This offence which, according to the sequel,
+even the God-fearing had to overcome, is, for the ungodly, a lasting
+one.
+
+Ver. 2. "_And He grew up as the sprout before Him, and as the root from
+a dry ground. He had no form nor comeliness: and we see Him, but there
+is no appearance that we should desire Him._"
+
+The relation of this verse to the preceding one was correctly seen by
+_Michaelis_: "The cause of the offence is this, that He does not rise
+or stand out like the cedar, but He grows up gradually," &c. The
+subject, the Servant of God, is easily inferred from [Hebrew: eliv] in
+ver. 15. This is the more admissible that ver. 1, too, indirectly
+refers to Him. He is the subject of the report in whose appearance the
+arm of the Lord has been revealed. The _sprout_, the twig, designates,
+even in itself, the poor condition; and, notwithstanding _Stier's_
+counter-remarks, it is the pointing to such a poor condition alone
+which suits the connection, and there is no reason why we should here
+already [Pg 278] supply "from a dry ground." A member of the royal
+house before its fall resembled, at his very origin, a proud tree, or,
+at least, a proud branch of such a tree. The sprout, here, supposes the
+stump, [Hebrew: gze]. in chap. xi. 8. [Hebrew: ivnq] elsewhere always
+signifies "suckling;" comp. here chap. xi. 8. Of the sprout, elsewhere,
+the feminine [Hebrew: ivnqt] is used. According to _Stier_, this
+deviation from the common use is here not a matter of accident.
+Supposing a double sense, he finds it an indication of the helpless
+infancy of the Redeemer, and in this a representation of His lowliness.
+The LXX.: [Greek: hos paidion]. The suffix in [Hebrew: lpniv] "before
+Him" refers to the immediately preceding [Hebrew: ihvh], not to the
+people. _Before Him_, the Lord--known to Him, watched by Him, standing
+under His protection, comp. Gen. xvii. 18; Job viii. 16. The lowliness
+here, and the contempt of men in ver. 3, form the contrast; He is low,
+but He will not remain so; for the eye of the Most High is directed
+towards Him. Before the eyes of men who are not able to penetrate to
+the substance through the appearance, He is concealed; but God beholds
+Him, beholds His concealed glory, beholds His high destination; and
+because He beholds, He also takes care, and prepares His transition
+from lowliness to glory. But the "before Him" does not by any means
+here form the main thought; it only gives a gentle and incidental
+hint.--The _root_ denotes here, as in chap. xi. 1, 10, the product of
+the root, that whereby it becomes visible, the sprout from the root. In
+reference to this parallel passage, _Stier_ strikingly remarks: "It is,
+by our modern interpreters, put aside as quietly as possible; for, with
+a powerful voice, it proclaims to us two truths: that the same Isaiah
+refers to his former prophecy,--and that this Servant of the Lord here
+is none other than the Messiah there." A twig which grows up from a dry
+place is insignificant and poor. Just as the Messiah is here, in
+respect to His state of humiliation, and specially in reference to His
+origin from the house of David, sunk into complete obscurity, compared
+to a weak, insignificant twig, so He is, in Ezek. xvii. 23, in
+reference to His state of glorification, compared to a lofty, splendid
+cedar tree, under which all the fowls of heaven dwell. The Jews, in
+opposition even to ver. 22 of Ezekiel, expected that He should appear
+so from the very beginning; and since He did not appear so, they [Pg
+279] despised Him. The [Hebrew: vnrahv] is, by most of the modern
+interpreters, in opposition to the accents, connected with the first
+member: "He had no form nor comeliness that _we should have seen Him_."
+But from internal reasons, this explanation must be rejected. "To see,"
+in the sense of "to perceive," would not be suitable. For, how could
+they have such views of the condition of the Servant of God, if they
+overlooked Him? But it is not possible to adduce any real demonstrative
+parallel passage in support of [Hebrew: rah] with the Accusat., without
+[Hebrew: b], ever having the signification, "to look at," "to consider
+with delight." The circumstance that the Future is used in the sense of
+the Present: "and we see Him," is explained from the Prophet's viewing
+it as present.--The statement that the Servant of God had no form, nor
+comeliness, nor appearance, must not be referred to His lowliness
+before His sufferings only; we must, on the contrary, perceive, in His
+sufferings and death, the completion of this condition; in the _Ecce
+Homo_, the full historical realization of it. _Calvin_ rightly points
+out that that which here, in the first instance, is said of the Head,
+is repeated upon the Church; He says: "This must not be understood of
+Christ's person only, who was despised by the world, and was at last
+given up to an ignominious death, but of His whole Kingdom which, in
+the eyes of men, had no form, nor comeliness, nor splendour."
+
+Ver. 3. "_Despised and most unworthy among men, a man of pains and an
+acquaintance of disease, and like one hiding His face from us,
+despised, and we esteemed Him not._"
+
+In the preceding verse, we are told what the Servant of God had _not_,
+viz., anything which could have attracted the natural man who had no
+conception of the inward glory, and as little of the cause why the
+Divine appears in the form of a Servant and a sufferer. Here we are
+told what He had, viz.: everything to _offend_ and _repulse_ him to
+whom the arm of the Lord had not been revealed,--the full measure of
+misery and the cross. Instead of "the most unworthy among men," the
+text literally translated has: "one ceasing from among men" ( [Hebrew:
+Hdl] in the signification "ceasing" in Ps. xxxix. 5), _i.e._, one who
+ceases to belong to men, to be a man, exactly corresponding to "from
+man," and "from the sons of men," in the sketch, ver. 14, and to: "I am
+a worm and no man," in Ps. xxii. [Pg 280] The explanation: "Forsaken by
+men, rejected of men," is opposed by the _usus loquendi_, and by these
+parallel passages.--"A man of pains"--one who, as it were, possesses
+pains as his property. There is a similar expression in Prov. xxix. 1:
+"A man of chastenings"--one who is often chastened. "An acquaintance of
+disease,"--one who is intimately acquainted with it, who has, as it
+were, entered into a covenant of friendship with it. The passive
+Participle has no other signification than this, Deut. i. 13, 15, and
+does not occur in the signification of the active Participle
+"knowing."--There is no reason for supposing that disease stands here
+_figuratively_. It comprehends also the pain arising from wounds, 1
+Kings xxii. 34; Jer. vi. 7, x. 19; and there is so much the greater
+reason for thinking of it here, that [Hebrew: hHli] in ver. 10,
+evidently refers to the [Hebrew: Hli] in this place. As an acquaintance
+of disease, the Lord especially showed himself in His _passion_. And
+then _every sorrow_ may be viewed as a disease; every sorrow has, to a
+certain degree, disease in its train. On Ps. vi., where sickness is
+represented as the consequence of hostile persecution, Luther remarks:
+"Where the heart is afflicted, the whole body is weary and bruised;
+while, on the other hand, where there is a joyful heart, the body is
+also so much the more active and strong." [Hebrew: hstir] always means
+"to hide;" the whole phrase occurs in chap. l. 6, in the signification
+"to hide the face." [Hebrew: mstr] is the Participle in _Hiphil_. In
+the singular, it is true, such a form is not found any where else; but,
+in the Plural, it is, Jer. xxix. 8. In favour of the interpretation:
+"Like one hiding His face from us," is the evident reference to the law
+in Lev. xiii. 45: "The leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall
+be rent and his head bare, _and the beard he shall have covered over_,
+and shall cry: Unclean, unclean,"--where that which the leper crieth
+forms the commentary upon the symbolical act of the covering. They
+covered themselves, as a sign of shame, as far as possible, in order to
+allow of breathing, up to the nose; hence the mention of the beard. In
+my Commentary on the Song of Solomon i. 7, it was proved that covering
+has every where the meaning of being put to shame--of being in a
+shameful condition. The leper was by the law condemned to be a living
+representation of _sin_. No horror was like that which was felt in his
+presence. _Hence_ [Pg 281] _it is the highest degree of humiliation and
+abasement which is expressed by the comparison with the leper, who must
+hide his face, whom God has marked._ It is the more natural to suppose
+this reference to the leper, that probably, the [Hebrew: Hdl aiwiM]
+likewise pointed to the leper. The leper was "one ceasing from men." In
+2 Kings xv. 5; 2 Chron. xxvi. 21, a house in which lepers dwell is
+called a "house of liberty," _i.e._, of separation from all human
+society; compare the expression "free among the dead," in Ps. lxxxviii.
+6. Lepers were considered as dead persons. Uzziah, while in his
+leprosy, was, according to the passage in Chronicles already cited, cut
+off from the house of the Lord, and forfeited his place there, where
+all the servants of the Lord dwell with Him. To leprosy, the term
+[Hebrew: ngve] in ver. 4 likewise points. _Beck's_ objection: "The
+point in question here is not that which the unfortunate man does but
+that which others do in reference to him," is based upon a
+misconception. Neither the one nor the other is spoken of The
+comparative [Hebrew: k] must not be overlooked. The comparison with the
+leper, the culminating point of all contempt, is highly suitable to the
+parallelism with [Hebrew: nbzh]. Ordinarily [Hebrew: mstr] is now
+understood as a _substantivum verbale_: "He was like hiding of the face
+before Him," _i.e._, like a thing or person before which or whom we
+hide our face, because we cannot bear its horrible and disgusting
+appearance. But with one before whom we hide our face, the Servant of
+God could not be compared; the comparison would, in that case, be
+weak.--[Hebrew: nbzh] is not the 1st pers. Fut. but Partic. Niph.,
+"despised."--The close of the verse returns to its beginning, after
+having been, in the middle, established and made good.
+
+The second subdivision from ver. 4 to ver. 7 furnishes us with the key
+to the sufferings of the Servant of God described in what precedes, by
+pointing to their _vicarious character_, to which (ver. 7) the conduct
+of the Servant of God under His sufferings corresponds.
+
+Ver. 4. "_But our diseases He bore, and our pains He took upon Him: and
+we esteemed Him plagued, smitten of God, and afflicted._"
+
+The words [Hebrew: Hli] and [Hebrew: mkab] of the preceding verse here
+appear again. He was laden with disease and pains; but these
+sufferings, the wages of sin, were not inflicted upon Him on account
+[Pg 282] of His own sins, but on account of our sins, so that the
+horror falls back upon ourselves, and is changed into loving admiration
+of Him. _Beck_ remarks: "Properly speaking, they had not become sick or
+unfortunate at all; this had _a priori_ been rendered impossible by the
+vicarious suffering of the Son of God; but since they deserved the
+sickness and calamity, the averting of it might be considered as a
+healing." But this view is altogether the result of embarrassment.
+Disease is the inseparable companion of sin. If the persons speaking
+are subject to the latter, the disease cannot be considered as an evil
+merely threatening them. If they speak of their diseases, we think, in
+the first instance, of sickness by which they have already been seized;
+and the less obvious sense ought to have been expressly indicated. In
+the same manner, the healing also suggests hurts already existing. But
+quite decisive is ver. 6, where the miserable condition clearly appears
+to have already taken place.--According to the opinion of several
+interpreters, by diseases, all inward and outward sufferings are
+figuratively designated; according to the opinion of others,
+_spiritual_ diseases, sins. But even from the relation of this verse to
+the preceding, it appears that here, in the first instance, diseases
+and pains, in the ordinary sense, are spoken of; just as the blind and
+deaf in chap. xxxv. are, in the first instance, they who are naturally
+blind and deaf.--Disease and pain here cannot be spoken of in a sense
+different from that in which it is spoken of there. Diseases, in the
+sense of _sins_, do not occur at all in the Old Testament. The
+circumstance that in the parallel passage, vers. 11 and 12, the bearing
+of the _transgressions_ and _sins_ is spoken of, does not prove
+anything. The Servant of God bears them also in their consequences, in
+their punishments, among which sickness and pains occupy a prominent
+place. Of the bearing of outward sufferings, [Hebrew: nwa Hli] occurs
+in Jer. x. 19 also. If the words are rightly understood, then at once,
+light falls upon the apostolic quotation in Matt. viii. 16, 17: [Greek:
+pantas tous kakos echontas etherapeusen, hopos plerothe to rhethen dia
+Esaiou tou prophetou legontos. autos tas astheneias hemon elabe kai tas
+nosous ebastase]; and this deserves a consideration so much the more
+careful, that the Evangelist here intentionally deviates from the
+Alexandrine version ( [Greek: houtos tas hamartias hemon pherei kai
+peri hemon odunatai]). In doing so, "we [Pg 283] do not give an
+external meaning to that which is to be understood spiritually;" but
+when the Saviour healed the sick, He fulfilled the prophecy before us
+in its most proper and obvious sense. And this fulfilment is even now
+going on. For him who stands in a living faith in Christ, sickness,
+pain, and, in general all sorrow, have lost their sting. But it has not
+yet appeared what we shall be, and we have still to expect the complete
+fulfilment. In the Kingdom of glory, sickness and pain shall have
+altogether disappeared.--Some interpreters would translate [Hebrew:
+nwa] by "to take away;" but even the parallel [Hebrew: sbl] is
+conclusive against such a view; and, farther, the ordinary use of
+[Hebrew: nwa] of the bearing of the punishment of sin, _e.g._, Ezek.
+xviii. 19; Num. xiv. 33; Lev. v. 1, xx. 17. But of conclusive weight is
+the connection with the preceding verse, where the Servant of God
+appears as the intimate acquaintance of sickness, as the man of pains.
+He has, accordingly, not only _put away_ our sicknesses and pains, but
+He has, as our substitute, _taken them upon Him_; He has healed us by
+His having himself become sick in our stead. This could be done only by
+His having, in the first instance, as a substitute, appropriated our
+_sins_, of which the sufferings are the consequence; compare 1 Peter
+ii. 24: [Greek: hos tas hamartias hemon autos anenenken en to somati
+autou epi to xulon.]--_Plagued_, _smitten of God_, _afflicted_, are
+expressions which were commonly used in reference to the visitation of
+sinful men. It is especially in the word _plagued_, which is
+intentionally placed first, that the reference to a self-deserved
+suffering is strongly expressed, compare Ps. lxxiii. 14: "For all the
+day long am I _plagued_, and my chastisement is new every morning." Of
+Uzziah, visited on account of his sin, it is said in 2 Kings xv. 5:
+"And the Lord inflicted a _plague_ upon the king, and he was a leper
+unto the day of his death." [Hebrew: nge] "plague" is in Lev. xiii., as
+it were, _nomen proprium_ for the leprosy, which in the law is so
+distinctly designated as a punishment of sin.--[Hebrew: hkh] too, is
+frequently used of the infliction of divine punishments and judgments.
+Num. xiv. 12; Deut. xxviii. 22. The people did not err in considering
+the suffering as a punishment of sin, but only in considering it as a
+punishment for the sins committed by the Servant of God himself.
+According to the view of both the Old and New Testament, every
+suffering is [Pg 284] punishment. The suffering of a perfect saint,
+however, involves a contradiction, unless it be vicarious. By his
+completely stepping out of the territory of sin, he must also step out
+of the territory of evil, which, according to the doctrine established
+at the very threshold of revelation, is the wages of sin, for otherwise
+God would not be holy and just. Hence, as regards the Servant of God,
+we have only the alternatives: either His sinlessness must be doubted,
+or the vicarious nature of His sufferings must be acknowledged. The
+persons speaking took up, at first, the former position; after their
+eyes had been opened, they chose the latter.
+
+Ver. 5, "_And He was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our
+iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and by His
+wounds we are healed._"
+
+[Hebrew: hva] "He" stands in front, in order emphatically to point out
+Him who suffered as a substitute, in contrast to those who had really
+deserved the punishment: "He, on account of our transgressions." There
+is no reason for deviating:, in the case of [Hebrew: Hll], from the
+original signification "to pierce," and adopting the general
+signification "to wound;" the LXX. [Greek: etraumatisthe]. _The
+chastisement of our peace_ is the chastisement whereby peace is
+acquired for us. Peace stands as an individualizing designation of
+salvation; in the world of contentions, peace is one of the highest
+blessings. Natural man is on all sides surrounded by enemies; [Greek:
+dikaiothentes ek pisteos eirenen echomen pros ton Theo dia tou kuriou
+hemon Iesou Christou], Rom. v. 1, and peace with God renders all other
+enemies innocuous, and at last removes them altogether. The peace is
+inseparable from the substitution. If the Servant of God has borne our
+sins, He has thereby, at the same time, acquired peace; for, just as He
+enters into our guilt, so we now enter into His reward. The justice of
+God has been satisfied through Him; and thus an open way has been
+prepared for His bestowing peace and salvation. The _chastisement_ can,
+according to the context, be only an actual one, only such as consists
+in the infliction of some _evil_. It is in misconception and narrowness
+of view that the explanation of the followers of _Menke_ originated:
+"The instruction for our peace is with Him." This explanation militates
+against the whole context, in which not the _doctrine_ but the
+_suffering_ of the Servant of God is spoken of; against the parallelism
+[Pg 285] with: "By His wounds we are healed;" against the [Hebrew:
+eliv], "upon Him," which, according to a comparison with: "He bore our
+disease, and took upon Him our pains," must indicate that the
+punishment lay upon the sufferer like a pressing _burden_. It is only
+from aversion to the doctrine of the vicarious satisfaction of Christ,
+that we can account for the fact, that that doctrine could be so
+generally received by that theological school. More candid are the
+rationalistic interpreters. Thus _Hitzig_ remarks: "_The chastisement
+of our peace_ is not a chastisement which would have been salutary for
+our morality, nor such as might serve for our salvation, but according
+to the parallelism, such as has served for our salvation, and has
+allowed us to come off safe and unhurt." _Stier_, too, endeavours to
+explain the "chastisement of our peace," in an artificial way.
+According to him, there is always implied in [Hebrew: mvsr] the
+tendency towards setting right and healing the chastised one himself;
+but wherever this word occurs, a retributive pain and destruction are
+never spoken of But, in opposition to this view, there is the fact that
+[Hebrew: mvsr] does not by any means rarely occur as signifying the
+punishments which are inflicted upon stiff-necked obduracy, and which
+bear a destructive character, and which, therefore, cannot be derived
+from the principle of correction, but from that of retribution only.
+Thus, _e.g._, in Prov. xv. 10: "Bad _chastisement_ shall be to those
+that forsake the way, and he that hateth chastisement shall die," on
+which _Michaelis_ remarks: "_In antanaclasi ad correptionem amicam et
+paternum, mortem et mala quaelibet inferens, in ira_," Ps. vi. 2. Of
+destructive punishment, too, the verb is used in Jer. ii. 19. But one
+does not at all see how the idea of "setting right" should be suitable
+here; for surely, as regards the Servant of God himself, the absolutely
+Righteous, the suffering here has the character of chastisement. It is
+not the mere suffering, but the chastisement, which is upon Him; but
+that necessarily requires that the punishment should proceed from the
+principle of _retribution_, and that the Servant of God stands forth as
+our Substitute.--[Hebrew: nrpa], Preter. Niph., hence "healing has been
+bestowed upon us;"--[Hebrew: rpa] with [Hebrew: l], in the
+signification "to bring healing," occurs also in chap. vi. 10, but
+nowhere else. The healing is an individualising designation of
+deliverance from the punishments of sin, called forth by the [Pg 286]
+circumstance that disease occupied so prominent a place among them, and
+had therefore been so prominently brought forward in what precedes. In
+harmony with the Apostolic quotation, the expression clearly shows that
+the punitive sufferings were already lying upon the persons speaking;
+that by the Substitute they were not by any means delivered from the
+future evils, but that the punishment, the inseparable companion of
+sin, already existed, and was taken away by Him.
+
+Ver. 6. "_All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one
+to his own way, and the Lord hath made the iniquities of us all to fall
+upon Him._"
+
+_Calvin_ remarks: "In order the more strongly to impress upon the
+hearts of men the benefits of Christ's death, the Prophet shews how
+necessary is that healing which was mentioned before. There is herd an
+elegant antithesis; for, in ourselves we are scattered, but, in Christ
+collected; by nature we go astray and are carried headlong to
+destruction,--in Christ we find the way in which we are led to the gate
+of salvation; our iniquities cover and oppress us,--but they are
+transferred to Christ by whom we are unburdened."--_All we_--in the
+first instance, members of the covenant-people,--not, however, as
+contrasted with the rest of mankind, but as partaking in the general
+human destiny.--_We have turned every one to his own way_; we walked
+through life solitary, forsaken, miserable, separated from God and the
+good Shepherd, and deprived of His pastoral care. According to
+_Hofmann_, the going astray designates the _liability_ to punishment,
+but not the misery of the speakers; and the words also: "We have
+turned," &c., mean, according to him, that they chose their own ways,
+but not that they walked sorrowful or miserable. But the ordinary use
+of the image militates against that view. In Ps. cxix. 176: "I go
+astray like a lost sheep, seek thy servant," the going astray is a
+figurative designation of being destitute of salvation. The misery of
+the condition is indicated by the image of the scattered flock, also in
+1 Kings xxii. 17: "I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills as sheep
+that have not a shepherd." _Michaelis_ pertinently remarks: "Nothing is
+so miserable as sheep without a shepherd,--a thing which Scripture so
+often repeats, Num. xxvii. 17," &c. As a commentary upon our passage,
+Ezek. xxxiv. 4-6 may serve; [Pg 287] and according to that passage we
+shall be compelled to think of their being destitute of the care of a
+shepherd: "And they are scattered, because there is no Shepherd; and
+they become meat to all the beasts of the field. My sheep wander on all
+the mountains, and on every high hill, and over the whole land my sheep
+are scattered, and there is none that careth for them, or seeketh
+them." The point of comparison is very distinctly stated in Matt. ix.
+36 also: [Greek: idon de tous ochlous esplanchnisthe peri auton, hoti
+esan eskulmenoi kai erhrimenoi hosei probata me echonta poimena.]
+Without doubt, turning to one's own ways is sinful, comp. chap. lvi.
+11; but here it is not so much the aspect of sin, as that of misery,
+which is noticed. As the chief reason of the sheep's wandering and
+going astray, the bad condition of the shepherd must be considered,
+comp. Jer. l. 6: "Perishing sheep were my people; their shepherds led
+them astray," John x. 8: [Greek: pantes hosoi pro emou elthon, kleptai
+eisi kai lestai.]--[Hebrew: pge] with [Hebrew: b] signifies "to hit;"
+hence _Hiphil_, "to cause to hit." The iniquities of the whole
+community _hit_ the Servant of God in their punishments; but according
+to the biblical view, their punishments can come upon Him only as such,
+only by His coming forward as a substitute for sinners, and not because
+He suffers for the guilt of others to which He remained a stranger. By
+this throwing the guilt upon the Servant of God, the condition of being
+without a shepherd is _done_ away with, the flock is gathered from its
+scattered condition. The wall of separation which was raised by its
+guilt, and which separated it from God, the fountain of salvation, is
+now removed by His substitution, and the words: "The Lord is my
+Shepherd," now become a truth, comp. John x. 4.
+
+Ver. 7. "_He was oppressed, and when He was plagued, He does not open
+His mouth, like a lamb which is brought to the slaughter, and as a
+sheep which is dumb before her shearers, and He does not open his
+mouth._"
+
+In these words, we have a description of the manner in which the
+Servant of God _bore_ such sufferings. It flows necessarily from the
+circumstance, that it was a vicarious suffering. The substitution
+implies that He took them upon Him spontaneously; and this has patience
+for its companion. First, the contents of ver. 6 are once more summed
+up in the word [Hebrew: ngw], "He was oppressed:" then, this condition
+of the Servant [Pg 288] of God is brought into connection with His
+_conduct_, which, only in this connection, appears in its full
+majesty.--[Hebrew: ngw] is the Preterite in _Niphal_, and not, as
+_Beck_ thinks, 1st pers. Fut. _Kal_. For the Future would be here
+unusual; the verb has elsewhere the Future in _o_; the suffix is
+wanting, and the sense which then arises suits only the untenable
+supposition that, in vers. 1-10, the _Gentiles_ are speaking. The
+_Niphal_ occurs in 1 Sam. xiii. 6, of Israel oppressed by the
+Philistines; and in 1 Sam. xiv. 24, of those borne down by heavy toil
+and fatigue. [Hebrew: ngw] and [Hebrew: nenh] "to be humbled,
+oppressed, abused," do not, in themselves essentially differ; it is
+only on account of the context, and the contrast implied in it, that
+the same condition is once more designated by a word which is nearly
+synonymous. The words "and He" separate [Hebrew: nenh] from what
+precedes, and connect it with what follows. The explanation: "He was
+oppressed, but He suffered patiently," has this opposed to it, that the
+two _Niphals_, following immediately upon one another, cannot here
+stand in a different meaning. The idea of patience would here not be a
+collateral, but the main idea, and hence, could not stand without a
+stronger designation.--In [Hebrew: iptH], the real Future has taken the
+place of the ideal Past; it shows that the preceding Preterites are to
+be considered as prophetical, and that, in point of fact, the suffering
+of the Servant of God is no less future than His glorification. The
+_lamb_ points back to Exod. xii. 3, and designates Christ as the true
+paschal lamb. With a reference to the verse under consideration, John
+the Baptist calls Christ the Lamb of God, John i. 29; comp. 1 Pet. i.
+18, 19; Acts viii. 32-35. But since it is not the vicarious character
+of Christ's sufferings which here, in the first instance, comes into
+consideration, but His patience under them, the lamb is associated with
+the female sheep, and that not in relation to her slayers, but to her
+shearers. The last words: "And He does not open His mouth," are not to
+be referred to the lamb, as some think, (even the circumstance that the
+preceding [Hebrew: rHl] is a feminine noun militates against this
+view), but, like the first: "He does not open His mouth," to the
+Servant of God. It is an expressive repetition, and one which is
+intended to direct attention to this feature; comp. the close of ver.
+3; Gen. xlix. 4: Judges v. 16. The fulfilment is shown by 1 Pet. ii.
+23: [Pg 289] [Greek: hos loidoroumenos ouk anteloidorei, paschon ouk
+epeilei, paredidou de to krinonti dikaios]; and likewise Matt. xxvii.
+12-14: [Greek: kai en to kategoreisthai auton hupo ton archiereon kai
+ton presbuteron ouen apekrinato. Tote legei auto ho Pilatos. ouk
+akoueis posasou katamarturousi; kai ouk apekrithe auto pros ouden hen
+rhema, hoste thaumazein ton hegemona lian.] Comp. xxvi. 62; Mark xv. 5;
+Luke xxiii. 9; John xix. 9.
+
+The third subdivision of the principal portion, vers. 8-10, describes
+_the reward of the Servant of God_, by expanding the words: "Kings
+shall shut their mouths on account of Him," in chap. lii. 15, and "He
+shall be exalted," in ver. 13.
+
+Ver. 8. "_From oppression and from judgment He was taken, and His
+generation who can think it out; for He was cut of out of the land of
+the living for the transgression of my people, whose the punishment._"
+
+God--such is the sense--takes Him to himself from heavy oppression, and
+He who apparently was destroyed without leaving a trace, receives an
+infinitely numerous generation (compare John xii. 32: [Greek: kago
+hean hupsotho ek tes ges pantas helkuso pros emauton]), as a deserved
+reward for having, by His violent death, atoned for the sins of His
+people, delivered them from destruction, and acquired them for His
+property.--[Hebrew: ecr] "oppression," as Ps. cvii. 39, properly,
+according to the signification of the verb: "Shutting up,"
+"restraining," "hindering." From what goes before, where the evils from
+which the Servant of God is here delivered are described more in
+detail, it appears that here we have not to think of a prison properly
+so called; for there, it is not a prison, but abuse and oppression
+which are spoken of.--[Hebrew: mwpT] is commonly referred to the
+judgment which the enemies of the Servant of God passed upon Him, The
+premised [Hebrew: ecr] then furnishes the distinct qualification of the
+judgment, shows that that which, in a formal point of view, presents
+itself as a judicial proceeding, is, in point of fact, heavy
+oppression. But, at the same time, [Hebrew: mwpT] serves as a
+limitation for [Hebrew: ecr]. We learn from it that the hatred of the
+enemies moved within the limits of judicial proceedings,--just as it
+happened in the history of Christ. But behind the human judgment, the
+_divine_ is concealed, Jer. i. 16; Ezek. v. 8; Ps. cxliii. 2. This is
+shown by what precedes, where the suffering of the Servant of God is so
+emphatically and repeatedly designated as the punishment of sin
+inflicted upon [Pg 290] Him by God.--[Hebrew: lqH] with [Hebrew: mN]
+"to be taken away from;" according to _Stier_: "taken away from
+suffering, being delivered from it by God's having taken Him to
+himself, to the land of eternal bliss." This view, according to which
+the words refer to the glorification of the Servant of God, has been
+adopted by the Church. It is adopted by the Vulgate: "_De angustia
+et judicio sublatus est_;" by _Jerome_, who says on this passage:
+"From tribulation and judgment He ascended, as a conqueror, to the
+Father;" and by _Michaelis_ who thus interprets it: "He was taken
+away, and received at the right hand of the Majesty." By several
+interpretations, the words are still referred to the state of
+humiliation of the Servant of God: "_Through_ oppression and judgment
+He was _dragged to execution_." But the Prophet has already, in ver. 3,
+finished the description of the mere sufferings of the Servant of
+God--vers. 4-7 exhibit the cause of His sufferings and His conduct
+under them; [Hebrew: lqH] cannot, by itself, signify "to be dragged to
+execution"--in that case, as in Prov. xxiv. 11, "to death" would have
+been added; [Hebrew: mN] must be taken in the signification, "from,"
+"out of," as in the subsequent [Hebrew: marC], compare 2 Kings iii. 9,
+where [Hebrew: lqH] with [Hebrew: mN] signifies "to take from." In the
+passage under consideration, as well as in those two passages which
+refer to the ascension of Elijah, there is a distinct allusion to Gen.
+v. 24, where it is said of Enoch: "And he was no more, for God had
+_taken_ him."--_And His generation who can think it out?_ [Hebrew:
+dvr], properly "circle," is not only the communion of those who are
+connected by co-existence, but also of those who are connected by
+disposition, be it good or bad.[6] Thus, the generation of the children
+of God in Ps. lxxiii. 15; the generation of the righteous, Ps. xiv. 5;
+the generation of the upright, in Ps. cxii. 2. Here, the generation of
+the Servant of God is the communion of those who are animated by His
+Spirit, filled with His life. This company will, after His death,
+increase to an infinite greatness. [Hebrew: wvH] and [Hebrew: wiH] "to
+meditate," is commonly connected with [Hebrew: b] of the object, but
+occurs also with [Pg 291] the simple Accusative, in the signification
+"to meditate upon something," in Ps. cxlv. 5. There is, as it appears,
+an allusion to the promise to Abraham, Gen. xiii. 16: "And I make thy
+seed as the dust of the earth, so that if a man can number the dust of
+the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered,"--a promise which
+received its complete fulfilment just by the Servant of God. The
+explanation which we have given was adopted by the LXX.: [Greek: ten
+genean autou tis diegesetai.] Next to it, comes the explanation: "Who
+can think out His _posterity_;" but against this, it is conclusive that
+[Hebrew: dvr] never occurs in the signification "posterity." The
+parallel passage in ver. 10: "He shall see seed," or "posterity," holds
+good even for our view; for since the posterity is a _spiritual_ one,
+it is substantially identical with _generation_ here. But it may, _a
+priori_, be expected that the same thing shall be designated from
+various aspects. If "generation" be taken in the signification
+"posterity," then the words: "He shall see seed" would be a mere
+repetition. The appropriateness of the sense which, according to our
+explanation, comes out, will become especially evident, if we consider
+that, in vers. 8-10, we have the carrying out of that which, in the
+sketch, was said of the respectful homage of the many nations and
+kings. A whole host of explanations assigns to [Hebrew: dvr]
+significations which cannot be vindicated. Thus, the translation of
+_Luther_: "Who shall disclose the length of His life?" that of
+_Hitzig_: His destiny; that of _Beck_: His importance and influence in
+the history of the world; that of _Knobel_: His dwelling place, _i.e._,
+His grave, who considered? The signification, "dwelling place," does
+not at all belong to [Hebrew: dvr]. In Isaiah xxxviii. 12, [Hebrew:
+dvr] are the cotemporaries from whom the dying man is taken away, and
+who are withdrawn from him: "My _generation_ is taken away, and removed
+from me like a shepherd's tent"--dying Hezekiah there laments.
+Inadmissible, likewise, is the explanation: "Who of His cotemporaries
+will consider, or considered, it" for [Hebrew: at], the sign of the
+Accusative, cannot stand before the _Nomin. Absol._ In Nehem. ix. 34,
+this use is by no means certain, and, at all events, we cannot draw any
+inference from the language of Nehemiah as to that of Isaiah. The
+Ellipses: "the true cause of His death," "the importance and fruit of
+His death," "the salvation lying behind it" (_Stier_), are very [Pg
+292] hard, and the sense which is purchased by such sacrifices is
+rather a common-place one, little suitable to this context, and to the
+relation to chap. lii. 15.--"_For He was cut off from the land of the
+living, for the transgression of my people, whose the punishment._" The
+reason is here stated why the Servant of God receives so glorious a
+reward; why, after He has been removed to God, a generation so
+infinitely great is granted to Him. _He has deserved this reward by His
+having suffered for the sins of His people, as their substitute._ The
+first clause must not be separated from the second: "for the
+transgression," &c. For it is not the circumstance, that the Servant of
+God suffered a violent death at all, but that for the sin of His people
+He took it upon Him, which is the ground of His glorification. [Hebrew:
+ngzr] "to be cut off" never occurs of a quiet, natural death; not even
+in the passage, quoted in support of this use of the word, viz., Psa.
+lxxxviii. 6; Lam. iii. 54, but always of a violent, premature death.
+The cognate [Hebrew: ngrz] also has, in Psa. xxxi. 23, the
+signification of extermination. [Hebrew: lmv], poetical form for
+[Hebrew: lhM], refers to the collective [Hebrew: eM]. Before it, the
+relative pronoun is to be understood: for the sin of my people, whose
+the punishment, _q.d._, whose property the punishment was, to whom it
+belonged. _Stier_ prefers to adopt the most violent interpretation
+rather than to conform and yield to this so simple sense, which, as he
+says, could be entertained only by that obsolete theory of substitution
+where one saves the other from suffering. Several interpreters take the
+suffix in [Hebrew: lmv] as a Singular: "on account of the transgression
+of my people, punishment was to Him." And passages, indeed, are not
+wanting where the supposition that [Hebrew: mv] designates the
+Singular, has some appearance of probability; but, upon a closer
+examination, this appearance everywhere vanishes.[7] Moreover, as we
+have already remarked, it is, on account of the sense, inadmissible to
+separate the two clauses.--By [Hebrew: emi] "my people," the hypothesis
+of the non-Messianic interpreters is set aside, that in [Pg 293] vers.
+1-10 the _Gentiles_ are speaking. It is a single people to which the
+speakers belong, the covenant-people, for whose benefit the atonement
+and substitution of the Servant of God were, _in the first instance_,
+intended (comp. [Greek: sosei ton laon hautou apo ton hamartion auton],
+Matth. i. 21) yea, were, to a certain degree, exclusively intended,
+inasmuch as the believing Gentiles were received into it as adopted
+children. It is a forced expedient to say: every single individual of
+the Gentiles, or of their princes, says that the Servant of God has
+suffered for the sin of His people, hence also for His own. And just as
+inadmissible is the supposition that a representative of the heathen
+world is speaking; the whole heathen world cannot be designated as a
+people.
+
+Ver. 9. "_And they gave Him His grave with the wicked, and with a rich
+in His death, because He had done no violence, neither was any deceit
+in His mouth._"
+
+[Hebrew: vitN] is intentionally without a definite Subject, _q.d._: it
+was given to Him, _Ewald_ Sec. 273a. The acting subject could not be at
+all more distinctly marked out, because there was a _double_ subject.
+Men fixed for Him the ignominious grave with criminals; by the
+providence of God, He received the honourable grave with a rich, and
+that for the sake of His innocent sufferings, as a prelude to the
+greater glorification which, as a reward, was to be bestowed upon Him,
+as an example of what is said in ver. 12: "He shall divide spoil with
+the strong." The _wicked_ who are buried apart from others, can be the
+real criminals only, the transgressors in ver. 12. Criminals received,
+among the Jews, an ignominious burial. Thus _Josephus_, Arch. iv. 8, Sec.
+6, says: "He who has blasphemed God shall, after having been stoned, be
+hung up for a day, and be buried quietly and without honour."
+_Maimonides_ (see _Iken_ on this passage in the Biblia Hagana ii. 2)
+says: "Those who have been executed by the court of justice are not by
+any means buried in the graves of their ancestors; but there are two
+graves appointed for them by the court of justice,--one for the stoned
+and burnt; the other for the decapitated and strangled." Just as the
+Prophet had, in the preceding verse, said that the Servant of God would
+die a violent death like a criminal, so he says here, that they had
+also fixed for Him a grave in common with executed criminals. _And with
+a rich_ [Pg 294] (they gave Him His grave) _in His death_: they gave
+Him His grave, first with the wicked; but, indeed, He received it with
+a rich, since God's providence was watching over the dead body of His
+Servant. [Hebrew: vitN], in so far as it refers to the first clause,
+receives its limitation by the second. Before their fulfilment, the
+words had the character of a holy riddle; but the fulfilment has solved
+this riddle. The designation of Joseph of Arimathea as [Greek:
+anthropos plousios] in Matt. xxvi. 57, is equivalent to an express
+quotation. Although it was by a special divine providence that the
+Singular was chosen, yet we may suppose that, in the first instance,
+the rich man here is contrasted with the wicked men, and is an ideal
+person, the personified idea of the species. _In His death_ is, in
+point of fact, equivalent to: "after He had died;" but,
+notwithstanding, there is no necessity for giving to the [Hebrew: b]
+the signification "after." Death rather denotes the _condition of
+death_; _in death_ is contrasted with: _in life_. Altogether in the
+same manner we find in Lev. xi. 31: "Whosoever doth touch them in their
+death," for, "after they have died." _Farther_--1 Kings xiii. 31: "In
+my death you shall bury me in the sepulchre." The Plural [Hebrew:
+mvtiM] "the deaths," "conditions of death," cannot be adduced as a
+proof that the subject of the prophecy must be a collective person;
+for, in that case, rather the Plural of the suffix would be required
+(Ps. lxxviii. 64 is a rare exception); and in Ezek. xxviii. 8, 10,
+death is likewise spoken of in the Plural. The Plural is formed after
+the analogy of [Hebrew: HiiM], for which reason it commends itself to
+explain [Hebrew: arC HiiM] in the preceding verse, "land of life,"
+instead of "land of the living." But the Plural can here the less
+occasion any difficulty, that it is not dying which is spoken of, but
+the continuing condition of death.--_Because He had done no violence_,
+&c. [Hebrew: el] very frequently denotes the cause upon which the
+effect depends, _e.g._, in 1 Kings xvi. 7; Ps. xliv. 23, lxix. 8; Jer.
+xv. 15; Job xxxiv. 6. The whole following clause is treated as a noun.
+Ordinarily, it is explained: Although, &c. But this use of [Hebrew: el]
+is quite isolated; it occurs only in two passages of the Book of Job,
+in x. 7 and xxxiv. 6. The former explanation is found in the Alexand.
+version: [Greek: hoti anomian ouk epoiese.] The innocence is designated
+negatively, and in an external manner ( [Hebrew: Hms] and [Hebrew:
+mrmh] are gross sins). The reason of this is [Pg 295] in the intention
+of His enemies, which is expressed in the preceding words, to give Him
+His grave with the wicked. Since He had not acted like them, God took
+care that He did not receive their ignominious burial, but an
+honourable one. In reference to the passage under consideration, it is
+said in 1 Pet. ii. 22: [Greek: hos amartian ouk epoiese oude heurethe
+dolos en to stomati autou]. Instead of "violence," Peter intentionally
+employs "sin."--_Hofmann_ has advanced the following arguments against
+the explanation which we have given. 1. "By what is this contrast
+(which, according to our explanation, is contained in the words: They
+gave Him His grave with the wicked, and with a rich man in His death)
+to be recognized in the text? There remains no trace of a contrast,
+unless it be contained in [Hebrew: rweiM] and [Hebrew: ewir]. Are these
+really two ideas so contradictory, that they alone are sufficient to
+bring into contrariety two clauses which have altogether the appearance
+of being intended for the same purpose?" But in this argument,
+_Hofmann_ overlooks the circumstance, that the wicked are specially
+_criminals_--for they alone had a peculiar grave--and that it is not
+the general relation of the wicked and rich to one another which comes
+into consideration, but especially the relation in which they stand to
+one another as regards the _burial_. If this be kept in view, it is at
+once evident that the contrariety is expressed with sufficient
+clearness. From Isa. xxii. 16; Job xxi. 32; Matt. xxvii. 57, it appears
+that the rich man, and the honourable grave, are closely connected with
+each other. Hence, it must have been by an opposite activity that to
+the Servant of God a grave was assigned with the wicked, and with a
+rich. 2. "To be rich is not in itself a sin which deserved an
+ignominious burial, far less received it, but on the other hand, to
+find his grave with a rich man is not an indemnification to the just
+for the disgrace of having died the death of a criminal." But the fact
+that the first Evangelist reports it so minutely (Matt. xxvii. 57-61)
+clearly enough shows the importance of the circumstance; comp. also how
+John, in chap. xix. 33 ff., points out the circumstance that Christ's
+legs were not broken, as were those of the malefactors. In the little,
+the great is prepared and prefigured. And although the burial with a
+rich man is, in itself, of no small importance when viewed as the first
+point where the exaltation [Pg 296] began--in the connection with the
+preceding and following verses, we cannot but look upon it as being
+symbolically significant and important. And how could it be otherwise,
+since the burial of the Servant of God with a rich man implies that the
+rich man himself has been gained for Him? It has, farther, been
+objected that Christ was not buried _with_ Joseph, but in his grave
+only, but in an ideal point of view _with_ has its full right. Comp.
+chap. xiv. 19, where it is said to the king of Babylon: "But thou art
+cast out of thy grave," although, bodily, he had not yet been in the
+grave; but he had a right to come like his ancestors; he had, in an
+ideal point of view, taken his place there.--_Beck_ says: "The orthodox
+expositors are strongly embarrassed with these words." That is indeed a
+remarkable interchange of positions. Embarrassment!--that is the sign
+of everything which unscriptural exegesis advances on this verse. It is
+concentrated in the [Hebrew: ewir]. The most varied conjectures and
+freaks are here so many symptoms of helpless embarrassment. According
+to the opinion of several interpreters, the rich man here stands in the
+sense of the ungodly. In this, even _Luther_ (marginal note: "rich man,
+one who in his doings founds himself on riches," _i.e._, an ungodly
+man), and _Calvin_ had preceded them. The assertion that the rich, can
+simply stand for the wicked, can neither be proved from Job xxvii. 19
+(for there, according to the context, the rich is equivalent to "he who
+is wicked, notwithstanding his riches"), nor from the word of the Lord
+in Matt. xix. 23: [Greek: duskolos plousios eiseleusetai eis ten
+basileian ton ouranon.] For that which, on a special occasion, the Lord
+here says of the rich, applies to the poor also. Poverty, not less than
+wealth, is encompassed with obstacles to conversion, which can be
+removed only by the omnipotence of divine grace. According to Matt.
+xiii. 22, the word is not only choked by the deceitfulness of riches,
+but is as much so by care also, the dangers of which are particularly
+set forth by our Lord in Matt. vi. 25 ff. In Prov. xxx. 8, 9 it is
+said: "Give me neither poverty nor riches, lest I be full and deny
+thee, and say: Where is the Lord? or lest I be poor and steal, and take
+the name of my God in vain." The dangers of riches are more frequently
+pointed out in Scripture than those of poverty; but this fact is
+accounted for by the circumstance, that riches are surrounded [Pg 297]
+with a glittering appearance, and that it is therefore necessary to
+warn those who are apt to choose them for their highest good. _Stier_
+rightly calls to mind the promise of earthly blessings to those who
+fear God. But the circumstance must not be overlooked that the rich
+comes here into consideration, chiefly as to his _burial_. The Prophet
+would then not only proceed from the idea that all rich people are
+wicked, but also would simply suppose that all the rich receive an
+ignominious burial. But of that, the parable of the rich man in Luke
+xvi. 22, knows nothing: [Greek: apethane de kai ho plousios kai
+etaphe], according to his riches; it is in hell only that he receives
+his reward. In opposition to _Gesenius_, _Hitzig_ remarks: "That
+transition of the signification is a fable." Following the example of
+_Martini_ he derives [Hebrew: ewir] from the Arabic. But in opposition
+to that, _Gesenius_ again remarks in the _Thesaurus_: "_Sed haud
+minoribus difficultatibus laborat ea ratio, qua improbitatis
+significatum voluerunt Martinius et Hitzigius, collata nimirum radice_
+[Hebrew: ewr] "_caespitavit_." _Tum enim haec radix nullam prorsum cum
+verbo_ [Hebrew: ewr] _necessitudinem habet, ita ut_ [Hebrew: ewir] _h.
+l._ [Greek: ap. leg.] _esset; tum caespitandi vis nusquam ad peccatum,
+licet ad fortunam adversam, translata est._" If, with words of such
+frequent occurrence, it were allowable to search in the dialects, the
+business of the expounder would be a very ungrateful one. Nor does the
+form, which is commonly passive, favour this interpretation. According
+to _Beck_, [Hebrew: ewir] is another form for [Hebrew: eriC]. Others
+would change the reading. _Ewald_ proposes [Hebrew: ewiq]; Boettcher,
+[Hebrew: ewi re]. Against all those conjectures, moreover, the
+circumstance militates, that, according to them, the verse would still
+belong to the humiliation of the Servant of God; whereas the
+description of the glorification had already begun in the preceding
+verse. For [Hebrew: bmvtiv] "in His death," _Gesenius_ and others
+propose to read [Hebrew: bmvtiv], to which they assign the
+signification "His tomb-hill." But, altogether apart from this
+arbitrary change of the vowels, there is opposed to this conjecture the
+circumstance, that [Hebrew: bmh] never occurs of the grave. According
+to _Gesenius_, [Hebrew: bmvt], in Ezek. xliii. means "tombs;" but the
+common signification "high places," must be retained there also. In a
+spiritual point of view the sanctuaries of the Lord had become "high
+places."
+
+Ver. 10. "_And the Lord was pleased painfully to crush_ [Pg 298] _Him:
+when His soul hath given restitution, He shall see seed, He shall
+prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper through
+His hand._"
+
+_And the Lord was pleased_--This pleasure of the Lord is not such an
+one as proceeds from caprice. The ground on which it rests has already
+been minutely exhibited in what precedes. By the vicarious influence of
+this suffering, peace is to be acquired for mankind; and since this
+object is based upon the divine nature, upon God's mercy, the choice of
+the means also, by which alone it could be attained (for, without a
+violation of the divine character, sin could not remain unpunished),
+must be traced to the divine character. _Here_ the ground on which the
+pleasure rests is stated in the words immediately following,--a
+connection which is clearly indicated by the obvious relation in which
+the [Hebrew: HpC ihvh] of the close stands to [Hebrew: ihvh HpC] of the
+beginning; so that the sense is: It was the pleasure, &c., and this for
+the purpose that, after having made an offering for sin, He should see
+seed, &c. Hence the pleasure of the Lord has this in view:--that the
+will of the Lord should be realized, His Servant glorified, and the
+salvation of mankind promoted. _Painfully to crush Him._ [Hebrew: Hlh]
+"to be sick," "to suffer pains." In this sense the _Niphal_ occurs in
+Amos vi. 6, and the participle [Hebrew: nHlh] in the signification
+"painful," "grievous," in Nah. iii. 19; Jer. xiv. 17, and other
+passages, In _Hiphil_ it means: "to make painful," Mic. vi. 13. The
+common explanation, "The Lord was pleased to crush Him, He has made Him
+sick," has this against it, that Copula and Suffix are wanting in
+[Hebrew: hHli], and that the word would come in unconnected, and in a
+very disagreeable manner. And then the passage in Micah, which we have
+quoted, decides against it.--_When His soul hath given restitution._
+There cannot be any doubt that, in a formal point of view, it is the
+soul which gives restitution. _Knobel's_ explanation: "His soul gives
+itself," is not countenanced by the _usus loquendi_; [Hebrew: wiM] is
+not a reflective verb. As little can we suppose with _Hofmann_ that
+[Hebrew: twiM] is the second person, and an address to Jehovah. In
+opposition to this view, there is not only the circumstance that
+Jehovah is spoken _of_ before and afterwards, but, in a material point
+of view, the circumstance also, that offerings for sin, and, generally,
+all sacrifices, were never offered up _by_ God, [Pg 299] but always
+_to_ God. The fact also, that according to the sequel, the Servant of
+God receives the reward for His meritorious work, proves that it is He
+who offers up the sacrifice. But, on the other hand, it is, in point of
+fact, the soul only which can be the _offering_, the _restitution_;
+for it could scarcely be imagined that, just here, that should be
+omitted on which everything mainly depends. It is sufficiently evident,
+from what precedes, _who_ it is that offers the restitution; what
+the restitution was, it was necessary distinctly to point out.
+_Farther_--In the case of sacrifices, it is just the soul upon which
+every thing  depends; so that if the soul be mentioned in a context
+which treats of sacrifices, it is, _a priori_, probable that it will be
+the object offered up. In Lev. xvii. 11, it is said: "For the soul of
+the flesh is in the blood, and I give it to you upon the altar, to
+atone for your souls, for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for
+the soul," viz., by the soul "_per animam, vi animae in eo sanguine
+constantis_" (_Gussetius_).[8] The soul, when thus considered as the
+passive object, is here therefore in a high degree in its proper place;
+and there can the less be any doubt of its occurring here in this
+sense, that it occurs twice more in vers. 11 and 12, of the natural
+psychical life of the Servant of God, which was given up to suffering
+and death. But, on the other hand, if the soul be considered as the
+active object, it stands here at all events rather idle,--a
+circumstance which is sufficiently apparent from the supposition of
+several interpreters, that [Hebrew: npw] "soul," stands here simply for
+the personal pronoun,--"His soul," for "He," a _usus loquendi_ which
+occurs in Arabic, but not in Hebrew. And, strictly speaking, the
+offering of the sacrifice does not belong to the soul, but to the
+spirit of the Servant of God, compare Heb. ix. 14, according to which
+passage, Christ [Greek: dia pneumatos aioniou heauton prosenenken
+amomon to Theo]; and on the subject of the difference between soul and
+spirit, compare my Commentary on Ps. iv. p. lxxxvii. But how will it
+now be possible to reconcile and harmonize [Pg 300] our two results,
+that, in a formal point of view, the soul is that which offers up, and,
+in a material point of view, that which is offered up? By the
+hypothesis that, _in a rhetorical way of speaking, that is here
+assigned to the soul as an action which, in point of fact, is done upon
+it._ All that is necessary is to translate: "If His soul puts or gives
+a trespass-offering;" for, "to put," stands here, as it does so
+frequently, in the sense of "to give," compare Ezek. xx. 28, where it
+is used in this sense in reference to sacrifice. But, in point of fact,
+this is equivalent to: "If it is made a trespass-offering," or, "If He,
+the Servant of God, offers it as a trespass-offering." It is analogous
+to this when, in Job xiv. 22, the soul of the deceased laments; and a
+cognate mode of representation prevails in Rev. vi. 9, where, to the
+souls of the slain, life is assigned for the sole purpose of their
+giving utterance to that which was the result of the thought regarding
+them, in combination with the circumstances of the time. To a certain
+degree analogous is also chap. lx. 7, where it is said of the
+sacrificial animals: "They ascend, for my pleasure, mine altar." The
+fact that it is in reality the soul which is offered up, is confirmed
+also by the remarkable reference to the passage before us in the
+discourses of our Lord. Our Lord says in John x. 12: [Greek: ego eimi
+ho poimen ho kalos. ho poimen ho kalos ten chuchen hautou tithesin
+huper ton probaton.] Ver. 15: [Greek: kai ten chuchen mou tithemi huper
+ton probaton.] Vers. 17, 18: [Greek: dia touto ho pater me agapa, hoti
+ego tithemi ten psuchen mou hina palin labo auten. Oudeis airei auten
+ap'emou, all'ego tithemi auten ap'emautou. exousian echo theinai
+auten, kai exousian echo palin labein auten.] In John xv. 13: [Greek:
+meizona tautes agapen oudeis echei hina tis ten psuchen autou the huper
+philon hautou.] The expression: "To put one's soul for some one," does
+not, independently and by itself, occur anywhere else in the New
+Testament; in John xiii. 37, 38, Peter takes the word out of the mouth
+of the Saviour, and in 1 John iii. 16, it is used in reference to those
+declarations of our Lord. The expression is nowhere met with in any
+profane writers, nor in the Hellenistic _usus loquendi_. The following
+reasons prove that it refers to the Old Testament, and especially to
+the passage under consideration. 1. Its Hebraizing character. _De
+Wette_ and _Luecke_ erroneously take [Greek: theinai] in the sense of
+laying down; but that is too negative. It is evident that the Hebraism
+"to put," instead of "to give," has been [Pg 301] transferred into
+Greek, as is proved by the synonymous [Greek: dounai ten psuchen
+hautou] in Mark x. 45; Matt. xx. 28.--2. The fact that the same
+uncommon expression occurs not fewer than five times in the same
+discourse of Christ, and that so intentionally and emphatically, is
+explicable only when it was thereby intended to point to an important
+fundamental passage of the Old Testament.--3. In the discourses of our
+Lord, the expression is, no less than in the passage before us, used of
+His sacrificial death.--If, then, it be established that those passages
+in which our Lord speaks of a _putting_ of His soul, refer to the
+passage under consideration, this must be acknowledged of those also in
+which He speaks of a _giving_ of His soul, as in Matt. xx. 28: [Greek:
+dounai ten psuchen hautou lutron anti pollon], where the [Greek:
+lutron] clearly points to the [Hebrew: awM] here. In all those
+utterances, the Saviour simply has reduced the words to what they
+signify, just as, in quoting the passage Zech. xiii. 7, in Matt. xxvi.
+31, He likewise drops the rhetorical figure, the address to the sword.
+He himself appears simply as He who offers up; the soul is that which
+is offered up.--[Hebrew: awM] is, in Numb. v. 5, called that of
+which some one has unjustly robbed another, and which he is bound
+to _repay_ to him. An essential feature of sin is the _robbing of
+God_ which is thereby committed, the debt thereby incurred, which
+implies the necessity of _recompence_. All sin-offerings are, in
+the Mosaic economy, at the same time debt-offerings; and this feature
+is very intentionally and emphatically pointed out in them. If,
+besides the sin-offerings, there is still established a kind of
+trespass-offerings, the [Hebrew: awM], for sins in which the idea of
+incurring a debt comes out with special prominence, this is done only
+with the view, that this feature, thus brought forward by itself and
+independently, may be so much the more deeply impressed, in order that,
+in the other sin-offerings too, it may be the more clearly perceived.
+Compare the investigation on the sin-offerings and trespass-offerings
+in my work on the _Genuineness of the Pentateuch_, ii. p. 174 ff. But
+the sin- and trespass-offerings of the Old Testament typically point to
+a true spiritual sin- and trespass-offering; and their chief object was
+to awaken in the people of God the consciousness of the necessity of
+substitution (compare my Book: _Die Opfer der Heil. Schrift_, Berlin
+1852). This antetypical sacrifice will be offered up by the true
+High-Priest. For the sins of the human race which [Pg 302] without
+compensation, cannot be forgiven, He furnishes the restitution which
+could not be paid by the sinners, and thereby works out the
+justification of the sinner before God.--To the trespass-offering here,
+all those passages of the New Testament point, in which Christ is
+spoken of as the sacrifice for our sins, especially 2 Cor. v. 21, where
+the apostle says that God made Christ to be [Greek: hamartia] for us,
+that in Him we might be made righteous before God; Rom. viii. 3,
+according to which God sent Christ [Greek: peri hamartias], as a
+sin-offering; Rom. iii. 25, where Christ is called [Greek:
+hilasterion], propitiation; 1 John ii. 2: [Greek: kai autos hilasmos
+esti peri ton hamartion hemon], iv. 10; Heb. ix. 14.--The [Hebrew: aM]
+at the beginning must not be explained by "_as_" a signification,
+which it never has; it has its ordinary signification "when," and the
+Future is to be understood as a real Future: the offering of the
+trespass-offering is the _condition_ of His seeing, &c., and, according
+to the context, indeed, the absolutely _necessary_ condition. The
+translation: "Even if" could proceed from one only who had not
+understood this context. It is not death in general, but sacrificial
+death, which is specially spoken of; and to such a death, which is a
+necessary foundation of the glorification, and especially the
+foundation of "He shall see seed," "when" only is suitable, and not
+"even if."--In the words: "He shall see seed, prolong His days," that
+is, in a higher sense, promised to this Servant of God, which, under
+the Old Testament, was considered as a distinguished divine blessing.
+The spiritual interpretation has the less difficulty, that it must
+necessarily be granted in the case of [Hebrew: awM], immediately
+preceding. Just in the same relation in which the sin-offering of the
+Servant of God stands to the sin-offering of the bullocks and goats,
+does His posterity, the length of His days, stand to the ordinary
+posterity and length of days. The _seed_ of the Servant of God,
+identical with His generation, in ver. 8, are just those for whom,
+according to the words immediately preceding, He offers His soul as a
+trespass-offering--the many who, according to ver. 12, are assigned to
+Him as His portion; who, according to chap. lii. 15, are to be
+sprinkled by Him; who, according to ver. 11, are to be justified by
+Him; they whose sins He has taken upon Him (ver. 5), and for whom He
+intercedes before God, ver. 12. Even in the Old Testament, the word
+"children" is frequently used in a spiritual [Pg 303] sense. In Gen.
+vi. 2, believers appear as the children of God. The Israelites are not
+unfrequently designated as sons of Jehovah. Those prophets who were
+endowed with specially rich gifts, were surrounded by a crowd of _sons_
+of the prophets. The wise man, too, looks upon his disciples as his
+spiritual sons, Prov. iv. 20, xix. 27; Eccles. xii. 12. In the New
+Testament, the Lord addresses the man sick of the palsy by [Greek:
+teknon]. Matt. ix. 2; and with special emphasis. His apostles as
+_little children_, [Greek: teknia eti mikron meth'humon eimi], John
+xiii. 33; and the Apostles, too, consider those who have been awakened
+by their ministry as their spiritual children, 1 Cor. iv. 17; 1 Tim. i.
+2; 1 Pet. v. 13. _The thought is this--that in the sacrificial death of
+the Servant of God there will be an animating power; that, just
+thereby, He will found His Church._ The words: "He shall prolong His
+days," allude, as it appears, to the promise which was given to David
+and his seed, comp. Ps. xxi 5: "He asked life of thee, and thou gavest
+it to him, even length of days for ever and ever;" 1 Sam. vii. 13: "I
+will establish the throne of His kingdom for ever," comp. ver. 16; Ps.
+lxxxix. 5, cxxxii. 12,--a promise which found its final fulfilment in
+Christ. But the long life here must not be viewed as _isolated_, but
+must be understood in close connection both with what precedes and what
+follows. It is the life of the Servant of God in communion with His
+seed, in carrying out the will of God. [Hebrew: HpC] never means
+"business," but always "pleasure;" and this signification, which occurs
+in chap. xliv. 28 also, is here the less to be given up, that the
+[Hebrew: HpC] here, at the close, evidently refers to the [Hebrew: HpC]
+at the beginning. By this reference, the reason is stated why it was
+the _pleasure_ of the Lord to crush Him. According to vers. 11 and 12,
+it is the pleasure of God that sinners should be justified through Him,
+on the foundation of His vicarious suffering; according to chap. xlii.
+and xlix., that Israel should be redeemed, and the Gentiles saved.
+While the pleasure of the Lord is prospering through His hand, he, at
+the same time, sees seed.
+
+In vers. 11 and 12, we have the closing words of the Lord.
+
+Ver. 11. "_On account of the sufferings of His soul He seeth, He is
+satisfied; by His knowledge He, the Righteous One, my Servant, shall
+justify the many, and He shall bear their iniquities._"
+
+[Pg 304]
+
+The [Hebrew: mN] in [Hebrew: meml] is "on account of." In ver. 10, to
+which the discourse of the Lord is, in the first instance, connected,
+the suffering likewise appears as the cause of the glorification. The
+Vulgate translates: "_Pro eo quod laboravit anima ejus_;" the LXX.
+rather feebly: [Greek: apo tou ponou tes psuches autou]. With [Hebrew:
+irah] the object is omitted, and that purposely, in order that the
+words of God may be immediately connected with ver. 10. We must supply:
+the fruits and rewards of His sufferings announced there (just as, in a
+manner quite similar, in chap. xlix. 7, "they shall see," refers to the
+preceding verse), specially that the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper
+through His hand,--which, in the sequel, is enlarged upon. The words:
+"He is satisfied," point out that the blissful consequences of the
+atoning suffering will take place in the highest fulness. [Hebrew:
+bdetv] must, according to the accents, be connected with the subsequent
+words. The knowledge does not belong to the Servant of God, in so far
+as it dwells in Him, but as it concerns Him; just as the [Greek: agape
+tou Theou] in Luke xi. 42, and in other passages does not mean the love
+which dwells in God, but the love which has God for its object. "By His
+knowledge" is thus equivalent to: by their knowing Him, getting
+acquainted with Him, This knowledge of the Servant of God according to
+His principal work, as it was described in what precedes, viz.,
+mediatorial office, or _faith_, is the subjective condition of
+justification. As the efficient cause of it, the vicarious suffering of
+the Servant of God was represented in the preceding context. It is just
+this, which is subjectively appropriated by the knowledge of the
+Servant of God, and which must be conceived of as essential and living.
+Thus _J. H. Michaelis_ says: _Per scientiam sui_ (_Clericus_:
+_Cognitione sui_), _non qua ipse cognoscit, sed qua vera fide et
+fiducia ipse tanquam propitiator cognoscitur._ The explanation: "By His
+knowledge (in the sense of understanding) or wisdom," gives a sense
+unsuitable to the context. In the whole prophecy, the Servant of God
+does not appear as a Teacher, but as a Redeemer; and the relation of
+[Hebrew: cdiq] to [Hebrew: hcdiq] shows that here, too, He is
+considered as such. To supply, as is done by some interpreters: "in
+which (knowledge) He perceived the only possible means of redemption
+and reconciliation, and gave practical effect to this knowledge," is,
+after all, too unnatural; the [Pg 305] discourse would in that case be
+so incomplete that we should have been shut up to conjectures. Others
+translate: "By His doctrine;" but [Hebrew: det] never means "doctrine."
+The explanation: "By His full, absolute knowledge of the divine
+counsel" (_Haevernick_), or, "by the absolute knowledge of God"
+(_Umbreit_), puts into the simple word, which only means "knowledge,"
+more than is implied in it. According to the parallelism with the
+subsequent words: "He shall bear their iniquities." and according to
+the context (for, in the whole section, the Servant of God is not
+described as a _Teacher_, but as a _Priest_, as He who, in order to
+expiate our sin, has offered himself up as a sacrifice), [Hebrew:
+hcdiq] must not be translated "to convert," but to "justify." In favour
+of this translation is also the construction with [Hebrew: l], which is
+to be accounted for from a modification of the signification: "to bring
+righteousness." But it is specially the position of [Hebrew: cdiq]
+which is decisive in favour of it. It is for the justification only
+that the personal righteousness of the Servant of God has that
+significant meaning which is, in this manner, assigned to it. Moreover,
+in the _usus loquendi_, the meaning _to justify_ only occurs. In it,
+the verb is used, chap. v. 23, l. 8; and there is no reason for
+deviating from it in the only passage which can be adduced in favour of
+the signification "to convert," viz., Dan. xii. 3: "And the wise,
+[Hebrew: mwkiliM], shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and
+_justify_ many as the stars, for ever and ever." In this passage, that
+is applied to believers which, in chap. liii., was ascribed to Christ.
+Even a certain strangeness in the style makes us suppose such a
+transference; and the fact, that Daniel had our passage specially in
+view, cannot be doubted, if we compare the [Hebrew: mwkiliM] of Daniel
+with the [Hebrew: iwkil] with which the prophecy under consideration
+opens (chap, lii, 13), and Daniel's: "justify many," with the passage
+before us. The justification, which in its full sense belongs to Christ
+the Head only, is by Daniel ascribed to the "wise," because they are
+the instruments through whom many attain justification; _Calvin_: _Quia
+causa sunt ministerialis justitiae et salutis multorum._ _Haevernick_
+refers, for a comparison, to 1 Tim. iv. 16: "For, in doing this, thou
+shalt save both thyself and them that hear thee." [Hebrew: ediq] must
+not be immediately connected with [Hebrew: ebdi]; for, in that case, it
+ought to have stood after it, and been qualified [Pg 306] by the
+article. On the contrary, [Hebrew: ediq] stands first, because it
+stands by itself and substantively: "The righteous One, My Servant." A
+similar construction occurs, Jer. iii., vii. 10: "And she does not turn
+unto me, the treacherous one, [Hebrew: bgirh], her sister Judah." By
+thus making [Hebrew: cdiq] prominent, and connecting it immediately
+with [Hebrew: hcdiq], it is intended to point out the close connection
+in which the righteousness of the Servant of God, who, although
+altogether innocent and sinless, ver. 9, yet suffered the punishment of
+sin, stands with the justification to be bestowed by Him. _Maurer_ thus
+pertinently expresses this: "To many, for righteous is my Servant,
+shall He procure righteousness." By these words thus the [Hebrew: izh],
+in chap. lii. 15, is explained; and the seal of the divine confirmation
+is impressed upon that which, in vers. 4-6, the believing Church had
+said, especially upon the words: "By His wounds we are healed," ver. 5.
+The "many" points back to chap. liii. 15, and forms the contrast not to
+_all_ (_Stier_: "Because He cannot, overturning all laws, save all by
+coercion, or arbitrary will,"--a limitation which would in this context
+be out of place), but to _few_: The one, the many, Rom. v. 15.--"And He
+shall bear their iniquities;" the iniquities and their punishment, as a
+heavy burden which the Servant of God lifts off from those who are
+groaning under their weight, and takes upon himself _Jerome_ says: "And
+He himself shall bear the iniquities which they could not bear, and by
+the weight of which they were borne down." _Calvin_ expresses himself
+thus: "A wonderful change indeed! Christ justifies men by giving them
+His righteousness, and in exchange. He takes upon Him their sins, that
+He may expiate them." In opposition to those who translate: "He _bore_
+their iniquities," (the Future might, in that case, he accounted for
+from the Prophet's viewing the whole transaction as present), even
+_Gesenius_ has remarked that the preceding and subsequent Futures all
+refer to the state of glorification. Even the parallelism with [Hebrew:
+icdiq] shows that we must translate as the LXX. do: [Greek: kai tas
+hamartias auton autos anoisei]. Moreover, the subject of discourse in
+the whole verse is not the _acquiring_ of the righteousness, which was
+done in the state of humiliation, but the _communication_ of it, as the
+subjective condition of which the knowledge of the Servant of God was
+mentioned in the preceding clause. [Pg 307] In the case of every one
+who, after the exaltation of the Servant of God, fulfils this
+condition, He takes upon Himself their sins, _i.e._, He causes His
+vicarious suffering to be imputed to them, and grants them pardon. The
+expression: "He shall bear their iniquities" is, in point of fact,
+identical with: "He shall _justify_ them." The Servant of God has borne
+the sin once for all; by the power of His substitution, effected by the
+shedding of His blood, He takes upon himself the sins of every
+individual who _knows_ Him. The "taking away" is implied in [Hebrew:
+vsbl] in so far only, as it is done by _bearing_. It was only because
+he was misled by his rationalistic tendencies, that _Gesenius_
+explains: "And He lightens the burden of their sins, _i.e._, by His
+doctrine He shall correct them, and thereby procure to them pardon." By
+such an explanation he contradicts himself, inasmuch as, in ver. 4, he
+referred the bearing of the diseases and pains to the vicarious
+satisfaction. It cannot, in any way, be said of the Teacher, that he
+takes upon himself iniquities.
+
+Ver. 12. "_Therefore will I give Him a portion in the many, and He
+shall divide the spoil with the strong, because He hath poured out His
+soul unto death and was numbered with the transgressors, and He beareth
+the sin of many, and for the transgressors He shall make
+intercession._"
+
+The first words are thus explained by many interpreters: "Therefore I
+will give Him mighty ones for His portion, and strong ones He shall
+divide as a spoil." But [Hebrew: Hlq] with [Hebrew: b] cannot mean
+simply "to allot," (although, indeed, this explanation is given by the
+LXX.; [Greek: dia touto autos kleronomesei pollous]; Vulg.: _ideo
+dispertiam ei plurimos_); it only signifies "to give a portion in," Job
+xxxix. 17. From the comparison with [Hebrew: rbiM] in ver. 11 and at
+the close of this verse, as well as from the reference to the _many
+nations_ in the sketch, ver. 15, it is evident that [Hebrew: rbiM]
+here, too, cannot mean "mighty ones," but "many." Even elsewhere, the
+signification "great ones," "mighty ones," appears oftentimes to be
+only forced upon [Hebrew: rbiM]. In Job xxxv. 9, the "many" are the
+many evil-doers; and in Job xxxii. 9, the utterance: "Not the _many_
+are wise," is explained from the circumstance, that the view given by
+Job's friends was that of the great mass. The fact that the [Hebrew:
+at] in the second clause is not the sign of the Accusative, but a
+Preposition, [Pg 308] is probable even from the circumstance, that the
+former [Hebrew: at] commonly stands before qualified nouns only; and,
+farther from the corresponding; "with the transgressors." But what is
+conclusive is, that the phrase [Hebrew: Hlq wll] always means "to
+divide spoil," never "to distribute as spoil," and that the phrase
+[Hebrew: Hlq wll at gaiM] "to divide spoil with the proud" occurs in
+Prov. xvi. 19. The reason of the use of this expression lies in the
+reference to ordinary victors and conquerors of the world, especially
+to Cyrus. By His sufferings and death, the Servant of God shall secure
+to himself the same successes as they do by sword and bow. Although
+participating in the government of the world, and dividing spoil are
+here ascribed to the Servant of God, yet the participation in worldly
+triumphs is not spoken of On the contrary, behind the _equality_ which
+has given rise to the secular-looking expression (the thought is merely
+this, that through Christ and His sacrificial death, the Kingdom of God
+enters into the rank of world-conquering powers), a contrast lies
+concealed,--as appears, 1. From what is stated, in the preceding
+verses, about the manner in which the Servant of God has attained to
+this glory. Worldly triumphs are not acquired by the deepest
+_humiliation_, by sufferings and death voluntarily undergone for the
+salvation of mankind. 2. From that which the Servant of God, in the
+state of glory, is to do to those who turn to Him. According to chap.
+lii. 15, He is to sprinkle them with His blood; and this sprinkling is
+there expressly stated as the reason of the reverential homage of the
+Gentile world. He is to justify them and to bear their sins, ver. 11,
+and to make intercession for them, ver. 12. All that does not apply to
+a worldly conqueror and ruler.--The merits of the Servant of God are
+then once more pointed out,--the merits by which He has acquired so
+exalted and all-important a position to himself, and, at the same time,
+to the Kingdom of God, of which He is the Head. "Because He hath poured
+out His soul unto death," [Hebrew: erh] in the _Niphal_, "to be poured
+out," means in _Piel_ "to pour out," Gen. xxiv. 20, and Ps. cxli. 8,
+where it is said of the soul: "Do not pour out my soul," just as here
+the _Hiphil_ is used. The term has been transferred to the _soul_ from
+the _blood_, in which is the soul. Gen. ix. 4: "Flesh with its soul
+(namely with its blood) you shall not eat." Ver. 5: "Your blood in [Pg
+309] which your souls." [Hebrew: nmnh], "He was numbered," is here,
+according to the context, equivalent to: He caused himself to be
+numbered; for it is only that which was undergone voluntarily which can
+be stated as the reason of the _reward_. This voluntary undergoing,
+however, is not implied in the word itself, but only in the connection
+with: "He hath poured out His soul;" for that signifies a voluntary
+act. The [Hebrew: pweiM] here, just as the [Hebrew: rweiM] in ver. 9,
+are not sinners, but criminals. This appears from the connection in
+which the being "numbered with the transgressors" stands with the
+"pouring out of the soul unto death." We can hence think of executed
+criminals only. The pure, innocent One was not only numbered with
+sinners, such as all men are, but He was numbered with _criminals_. It
+is in this sense also that our Lord understands the words, in His
+quotation of them in Luke xxii. 37: [Greek: lego gar humin, hoti heti
+touto to gegrammenon dei telesthenai en emoi, to. kai meta anomon
+elogisthe, kai gar ta peri emou telos echei]; Compare Matt. xxvi. 54,
+where the Lord strengthens His disciples against the offence of His
+being taken a prisoner, by saying, with a view to the passage before
+us: [Greek: pos oun plerothosin hai graphai, hoti houto dei genesthai];
+ver. 56, where, after having reproached the guards for having numbered
+Him with criminals: [Greek: hos epi lesten exelthete meta machairon kai
+xulon sullabein me], He says to them: [Greek: touto de holon gegonen
+hina plerothosin hai graphai ton propheton]. Mark, in chap. xv. 28,
+designates the fact that two robbers were crucified with Christ, as the
+most perfect fulfilment of our prophecy. It was in this fact that it
+came out most palpably, that Christ had been made like criminals. The
+rulers of the people caused two common criminals to be crucified with
+Him, just that they might declare that they put Him altogether among
+their number.--"And He beareth the sin of many, and for the
+transgressors He shall make intercession." By [Hebrew: vhva], it is
+indicated that the subsequent words are no more to be viewed as
+depending on [Hebrew: tHt awr].--[Hebrew: ipgie] must not, as is done
+by the LXX., be referred to the state of humiliation; for the Future in
+the preceding verses has reference to the exaltation. The parallel
+[Hebrew: nwa] must therefore be viewed as a _Praeteritum propheticum_.
+It corresponds with [Hebrew: isbl] in ver. 11, and, like it, does not
+designate something done but once by the Servant of God, but something
+which He does constantly. The intercession is [Pg 310] here brought
+into close connection with the bearing of the sin, by which Christ
+represents himself as being the true _sin-offering_ (comp. ver. 10,
+where He was designated as the true _trespass-offering_), and hence it
+is equivalent to: He will make intercession for sinners, by taking upon
+himself their sin,--of which the thief on the cross was the first
+instance. This close connection, and the deep meaning suggested by it,
+are overlooked and lost by those expositors who, in the intercession,
+think of prayer only. _The servant of God, on the contrary, makes
+intercession, by pleading before God His merit, as the ground of the
+acceptance of the transgressors, and of the pardon of their sins._ This
+is evident from the connection also in which: "For the transgressors He
+shall make intercession," stands with: "He was numbered with the
+transgressors." The vicarious suffering is thereby pointed out as the
+ground of the intercession. _Calvin_ says: "Under the Old Testament
+dispensation, the High-priest, who never went in without blood, made
+intercession for the people. What was there foreshadowed has been
+fulfilled in Christ. For, in the first place. He offered up the
+sacrifice of His body, and shed His blood, and thus suffered the
+punishment due to us. And, in the second place, in order that the
+expiation might profit us. He undertakes the office of an advocate, and
+makes intercession for all who, by faith, lay hold of this sacrifice."
+Comp. Rom. viii. 34: [Greek: hos kai entunchanei huper hemon]; Hebr.
+ix. 24, according to which passage Christ is entered into the holy
+places [Greek: nun emphanisthenai to prosopo tou Theou huper hemon]; 1
+John ii. 1: [Greek: parakleton echomen pros ton patera Iesoun Christon
+dikaion].
+
+
+                           * * * * * * * * * *
+
+
+We have hitherto expounded the passage before us without any regard to
+the difference of the interpretation as to the whole, and have supposed
+the reference to Christ to be the correct one. But it is still
+incumbent upon us: I. to give the history of the interpretation; II.
+to refute the arguments against the Messianic interpretation; III. to
+state the arguments in favour of it; and IV. to show that the
+non-Messianic interpretation is untenable.
+
+
+
+[Footnote 1: One needs only to consider passages such as this, to be
+enabled to distinguish between the ideal and real Present, and to be
+convinced of the utter futility of the chief argument against the
+genuineness of the second part, viz., that the Babylonish exile appears
+as present. "Proceeding from the certainty of deliverance"--so _Hitzig_
+remarks--"the Prophet here _beholds_ in spirit that going on, to which,
+in chap. xl. 9, he exhorts." If the Prophet beholds at all in the
+spirit, why should he not see in spirit the misery also?]
+
+[Footnote 2: _Simonis. Onom._: [Hebrew: izih], _quem aspergat_, _i.e._,
+_purificet et expiet Domimus_; _Gesenius_: _quod vix aliter explicari
+potest quam_: _quem consperget_, _i.e._, _expiabit Jehova._ _Fuerst_
+gives a different derivation; but it at once shows itself to be
+untenable.]
+
+[Footnote 3: In order to defend this explanation, interpreters have
+referred to the LXX: [Greek: houto thaumasontai ethne polla ep'auto];
+but even _Martini_ remarks: "From a dark passage, they have tried, by
+ingenious conjecturing, to bring out any sense whatsoever."]
+
+[Footnote 4: Thus _Theodoret_ says: "For they who did not receive the
+prophetic promises and announcements, but served idols, shall, through
+the messengers of the truth, see the power of the promised One, and
+perceive His greatness." _Jerome_: "The rulers of the world, who had
+not the Law and the Prophets, and to whom no prophecies concerning Him
+were given, even they shall see and perceive. By the comparison with
+them, the hardness of the Jews is reproved, who, although they saw and
+heard, yet verified Isaiah's prophecy against them." _Calvin_: "The
+Jews had, through the Law and the Prophets, heard something of Christ,
+but to the Gentiles He was altogether unknown. Hence it follows that
+these words properly refer to the Gentiles."]
+
+[Footnote 5: According to _Knobel_, the author is supposed to speak, in
+chap. liii. 1, in his own name and that of the other prophets; in vers.
+2-6, in the name of the whole people; in vers. 7-10, in his own name.
+An explanation which is compelled to resort to such changes, without
+their being in any way clearly and distinctly intimated, pronounces its
+own condemnation.]
+
+[Footnote 6: _Gesenius_: _Neglecta actatis notione saepe est genus
+hominum, in bonam partem--in malam partem_;--and in reference to the
+passage under consideration: _Genus ejus, Servi Jehovae, sunt homines
+qui iisdem cum illo studiis tenentur._ In the same manner it is
+explained by _Maurer_, who refers to Ps. xiv. 5, xxiv. 6.]
+
+[Footnote 7: The double [Hebrew: lmv] in Deut. xxxiii. 2 refers to
+Israel, not to God. In reference to the [Hebrew: lmv] in Is. xliv. 15,
+_J. H. Michaelis_ remarks: _iis talibus diis._ ver. 7. But the suffix
+rather refers to the trees, ver. 14; comp. [Hebrew: mhM] in ver. 15. If
+construed thus, the sense is much more expressive. In Job xxii. 2,
+[Hebrew: mwkil] is used collectively. In Ps. xi. 7, the plural suffix
+is to be explained from the richness and fulness of the Divine Being.
+These are all the passages which _Ewald_ quotes in Sec. 247 d.]
+
+[Footnote 8: Thus _Baehr_, _Symbolik_, ii. S. 207, says: It is not the
+material elements of the blood which make it a means of expiation, but
+it is the [Hebrew: npw] which is connected with it, which is in it,
+whose instrument and bearer it is, which gives to it atoning power. The
+[Hebrew: npw] is thus the centre around which, in the last instance,
+everything moves. This is especially confirmed by the circumstance,
+that the object of the expiation to be effected by the [Hebrew: npw] in
+the sacrificial blood, is, according to this passage, the [Hebrew: npw]
+of him who offers up the sacrifice.]
+
+
+
+[Pg 311]
+
+
+
+                    I. HISTORY OF THE INTERPRETATION.
+
+
+                           A. WITH THE JEWS.
+
+1. There cannot be any doubt that, in those earlier times, when the
+Jews were still more firmly attached to the tradition of their
+Fathers,--when the carnal disposition had not yet become so entirely
+prevalent among them,--and when controversy with the Christians had not
+made them so narrow-minded in their Exegesis, the Messianic explanation
+was pretty generally received, at least by the better portion of the
+people. This is admitted even by those later interpreters who pervert
+the prophecy, _e.g._, _Abenezra_, _Jarchi_, _Abarbanel_, _Moses
+Nachmanides_. _Gesenius_ also says: "It was only the later Jews who
+abandoned this interpretation,--no doubt, in consequence of their
+controversies with the Christians." We shall here collect, from the
+existing Jewish writings, the principal passages in which this
+interpretation occurs. The whole translation of the Chaldee Paraphrast,
+_Jonathan_, notwithstanding the many perversions in which he indulges,
+refers the prophecy to Christ. He paraphrases the very first clause:
+[Hebrew: ha iclH ebdi mwiha] "behold my Servant Messiah shall prosper."
+The _Medrash Tanchuma_, an old commentary on the Pentateuch (ed.
+Cracov. f. 53, c. 3, l. 7), remarks on the words: [Hebrew: hnh iwkil
+ebdi] (ed. Cracov. f. 53, c. 3, l. 7): [Hebrew: hmwiH irvM vgbh vnwa
+mavd vriM mN abrhM vnwa mmwh vgdh mN mlaki hwrt zh mlK] ("this is the
+King Messiah who is high and lifted up, and very exalted, more exalted
+than Abraham, elevated above Moses, higher than the ministering
+angels"). This passage is remarkable for this reason also, that it
+contains the doctrine of the exaltation of the Messiah above all
+created beings, and even above the angels themselves, and, hence, the
+doctrine of His divinity,--a doctrine contested by the later Jews.
+Still more remarkable is a passage from the very old book _Pesikta_,
+cited in the treatise _Abkath Rokhel_ ([Hebrew: abqt rvkl], printed
+separately at Venice in 1597, and reprinted in _Hulsii Theologia
+Judaica_, where [Pg 312] this passage occurs p. 309): "When God created
+His world He stretched out His hand under the throne of His glory, and
+brought forth the soul of the Messiah. He said to Him: 'Wilt thou heal
+and redeem my sons after 6000 years?'He answered Him: 'I will.'Then
+God said to Him: 'Wilt thou then also bear the punishment in order to
+blot out their sins, as it is written: '_But he bore our diseases_'
+(chap. liii. 4)? And He answered Him: I will joyfully bear them." In
+this passage, as well as in several others which will be afterwards
+cited, the doctrine of the vicarious sufferings of the Messiah is
+contained, and derived from Is. liii., although the later Jews rejected
+this doctrine. In a similar manner, Rabbi _Moses Haddarshan_ expresses
+himself on Gen. i. 3 (Latin in _Galatinus_, _De Arcanis Cath. ver._ p.
+329; in the original in _Raimund Martini Pug. Fid._ fol. 333; comp.
+_Wolf_, _Bibl. Hebr._ i. p. 818): "Jehovah said: Messiah, thou my
+righteous One, those who are concealed with thee will be such that
+their sins will bring a heavy yoke upon thee.--The Messiah answered:
+Lord of the universe, I cheerfully take upon myself all those plagues
+and sufferings; and immediately the Messiah, out of love, took upon
+himself all those plagues and sufferings, as is written in Is. liii.:
+He was abused and oppressed." Compare another passage, in which ver. 5
+is referred to the Messiah, in _Raim. Martin_, fol. iv. 30. In the
+Talmud (_Gemara_, _tract. Sanhedrim_, chap. xi.), it is said of the
+Messiah: "He sits before the gates of the city of Rome among the sick
+and the leprous" (according to ver. 3). To the question: What is the
+name of the Messiah, it is answered: He is called [Hebrew: Hivvra]
+"_the leper_," and, in proof, ver. 4 is quoted according to the
+erroneous interpretation of [Hebrew: ngve] by _leprosus_,--an
+interpretation which is met with in _Jerome_ also.--In the work
+_Rabboth_ (a commentary on the Pentateuch and the five _Megilloth_,
+which, as to its principal portions, is very old, although much
+interpolated at later periods, and which, according to the statements
+of the Jews, was composed about the year of our Lord 300, comp. _Wolf_,
+I. c. II., p. 1423, sqq. in commentary on Ruth ii. 14 [p. 46, _ed.
+Cracov._]), the fifth verse is quoted, and referred to the sufferings
+of the Messiah.--In the _Medrash Tillim_ (an allegorical commentary on
+the Psalms, printed at Venice in 1546), it is said in Ps. ii. 7, (fol.
+4): "The things of King Messiah and His mysteries are announced [Pg
+313] in the Law, the Prophets, and the Hagiographa. In the Prophets,
+_e.g._, in the passage Is. lii. 13, and xlii. 1; in the Hagiographa,
+_e.g._, Ps. cx. and Dan. vii. 13." In the book _Chasidim_ (a collection
+of moral tales, printed at Venice and Basle in 1581) p. 60, the
+following story is to be found: "There was, among the Jews, a pious
+man, who in summer made his bed among fleas, and in winter put his feet
+into cold water; and when it froze, his feet froze at the same time.
+When asked why he did so, he answered, that he too must make some
+little expiation, since the Messiah bears the sin of Israel ([Hebrew:
+mwiH svbl evnvt iwral])." The ancient explanation is, from among the
+later interpreters, assented to by _Rabbi Alschech_ (his commentary on
+Is. liii. is given entire in _Hulsii Theologia Judaica_, p. 321 sqq.).
+He says: "Upon the testimony of tradition, our old Rabbins have
+unanimously admitted that King Messiah is here the subject of
+discourse. For the same reason, we, in harmony with them, conclude that
+King David, _i.e._, the Messiah, must be considered as the subject of
+this prophecy,--a view which is indeed quite obvious." We shall see,
+however, subsequently, that he adheres to the right explanation only in
+the first three verses, and afterwards abandons it. But passages
+especially remarkable are found in the cabbalistic book _Sohar_. It is
+true that the age of the book is very uncertain; but it cannot be
+proved to have been composed under Christian influence. We shall here
+quote only some of the principal passages. (_Sohar_, ed. Amstelod. p.
+ii. fol. 212; ed. _Solisbac._ p. ii. f. 85; _Sommeri_ theol. _Sohar_ p.
+94.) "When the Messiah is told of the misery of Israel in their
+captivity, and that they are themselves the cause of it, because they
+had not cared for, nor sought after the knowledge of their Lord, He
+weeps aloud over their sins; and for this reason it is written in
+Scripture (Isa. liii. 5): He was wounded for our transgressions, He was
+smitten for our iniquities."--"In the garden of Eden there is an
+apartment which is called the sick chamber. The Messiah goes into this
+apartment, and summons all the diseases, all the pains, and all the
+chastisements of Israel to come upon Him, and they all come upon Him.
+And unless He would take them away from Israel, and lay them upon
+himself, no man would be able to bear the chastisements of Israel,
+which are inflicted upon them on account of the Law, as it is [Pg 314]
+written: But He took upon himself our sicknesses," &c. In another
+passage (_Sohar_, _ed. Amstelod_ p. iii. f. 218; _Solisbac._ iii. f.
+88; _Sommeri theol. Sohar_ p. 89; _Auszuege aus dem Buche Sohar, mit
+Deutscher Uebersetzung_, Berlin 52, S. 32), it is said: "When God
+wishes to give to the world a means of healing. He smites one of the
+pious among them, and for his sake He gives healing to the whole world.
+Where, in Scripture, do we find this confirmed? In Isa. liii. 5, where
+it is said: He was wounded for our transgressions. He was crushed for
+our sins."
+
+What has been said will be a sufficient proof that the ancient Jews,
+following tradition, referred the passage to the Messiah; and, as it
+appears from the majority of the passages quoted, referred it indeed to
+the suffering Messiah. But it would really have been a strange
+phenomenon, if this interpretation had remained the prevailing one
+among the Jews. According to the declaration of the Apostle, the Cross
+of Christ is to the Jews a stumbling-block, and to the Greeks
+foolishness. The idea of a suffering and expiating Messiah was
+repugnant to the carnally minded Jews. And the reason why it was
+repugnant to them is, that they did not possess that which alone makes
+that doctrine acceptable, viz., the knowledge of sin, and the
+consciousness of the need of salvation,--because, not knowing the
+holiness of God, and being ignorant of the import of the Law, they
+imagined that through their own strength, by the works of the Law, they
+could be justified before God. What they wished for was only an outward
+deliverance from their misery and their oppressors, not an internal
+deliverance from sin. For this reason, they looked exclusively to those
+passages of the Old Testament in which the Messiah in glory is
+announced; and those passages they interpreted in a carnal manner. In
+addition to this, there were other reasons which could not fail to
+render them averse to refer this passage to the suffering Messiah. As
+they could not compare the prophecy with the fulfilment,--the deep
+abasement of the Messiah which is here announced, the contempt which He
+endures, His violent death, appeared to them irreconcileable with those
+passages in which nothing of the kind is mentioned, but, on the
+contrary, the glorified Messiah only is foretold. They had too little
+knowledge of the nature [Pg 315] of prophetic vision to enable them to
+perceive that the prophecies are connected with the circumstances of
+the time, and, therefore, exhibit a one-sided character,--that they
+consist of separate fragments which must be put together in order that
+a complete representation of the subject may be obtained. They imagined
+that because, in some passages, the Messiah is at once brought before
+us in glory, just because He, in this way, represented Himself to the
+prophets. He must also appear at once in glory. And, lastly, by their
+controversy with Christians, they were led to seek for other
+explanations. As long as they understood the passage as referring to a
+suffering Messiah, they could not deny that there existed the closest
+agreement between the prophecy and the history of Christ. Now since the
+Christians, in their controversies with the Jews, always proceeded from
+the passages, which by _Hulsius_ is pertinently called a _carnificina
+Judaeorum_, and always returned to it,--since they saw what impression
+was, in numerous cases, produced by the controversy of the Christians
+founded upon this passage, nothing was more natural, than that they
+should endeavour to discover an expedient for remedying this evil. And
+the discovery of such an expedient was the more easy to them, the more
+that, in general, they were destitute of a sense of truth, and
+especially of exegetical skill, so that they could not see any reason
+for rejecting an interpretation on the ground of its being forced and
+unnatural.
+
+In proof of what we have said, we here briefly present the arguments
+with which _Abarbanel_ opposes the explanation of a suffering and
+expiating divine Messiah. In the first place, by the absurd remark that
+the ancient teachers did not intend to give a literal, but an
+allegorical explanation, he seeks to invalidate the authority of the
+tradition on which the later Jewish interpreters laid so great a
+stress, whensoever and wheresoever it agrees with their own
+inclination; and, at the same time, he advances the assertion that they
+referred the first four verses only to the Messiah,--an assertion which
+the passages quoted by us show to be utterly erroneous. Then, after
+having combatted the doctrine of original sin, he continues: "Suppose
+even that there exists such a thing as original sin,--when God, whose
+power is infinite, was willing to pardon, was His hand too short to
+redeem (Isa. l. 2), so [Pg 316] that, on this account, He was obliged
+to take flesh, and to impose chastisements upon himself? And even
+although I were to grant that it was necessary that a single individual
+of the human race should bear this punishment, in order to make
+satisfaction for all, it would, at all events, have been at least more
+appropriate that some one from among ourselves, some wise man or
+prophet, had taken upon him the punishment, than that God himself
+should have done so. For, supposing even that He became incarnate,
+He would not be like one of us.--It is altogether impossible and
+self-contradictory that God should assume a body; for God is the first
+cause, infinite, and omnipotent. He cannot, therefore, assume flesh,
+and subsist as a finite being, and take upon himself man's punishment,
+of which nothing whatsoever is written in Scripture.--If the prophecy
+referred to the Messiah, it must refer either to the Messiah ben
+Joseph, or the Messiah ben David (compare the Treatises at the close of
+this work). The former will perish in the beginning of his wars;
+neither that which is said of the exaltation, nor that which is said of
+the humiliation of the Servant of God applies to him; much less can the
+latter be intended." (There then follows a quotation of several
+passages treating of the exalted Messiah.)
+
+That it was nevertheless difficult for the carnally-minded among the
+Jews to reject the tradition, is seen from the paraphrase of
+_Jonathan_. This forms a middle link between the ancient
+interpretation--which was retained, even at a later period, by the
+better portion of the nation--and the recent interpretation. _Jonathan_
+(see his paraphrase, among others, in _Lowth's_ comment, edited by
+_Koppe_, on the passage; and in _Hulsii Theol. Judaica_) acknowledges
+the tradition, in so far, that he refers the whole prophecy to the
+Messiah. On the other hand, he endeavours to satisfy his repugnance to
+the doctrine of a suffering and expiating Messiah, by referring,
+through the most violent perversions and most arbitrary interpolations,
+to the state of glory, every thing which is here said of the state of
+humiliation. A trace of the right interpretation may yet perhaps be
+found in ver. 12, where _Jonathan_ says that the Messiah will give
+_His_ soul unto death; but it may be that thereby he understands
+merely the intrepid courage with which the Messiah will expose himself
+to all [Pg 317] dangers, in the conflict with the enemies of the
+covenant-people.
+
+This mode of dealing with the text, however, could satisfy only a few.
+They, therefore, went farther, and sought for an entirely different
+subject of the prophecy. How very little they were themselves convinced
+of the soundness of their interpretation, and satisfied with its
+results, may be seen from the example of _Abarbanel_, who advances two
+explanations which differ totally, viz., one referring it to the Jewish
+people, and the other to king Josiah, and then allows his readers to
+make their choice betwixt the two. It is in truth only, that there is
+unanimity and certainty; error is always accompanied by disagreement
+and uncertainty. This will appear from the following enumeration of the
+various interpretations of this passage, which, at a subsequent period,
+were current among the Jews. (The principal non-Messianic
+interpretations of this passage are found in the Rabbinical Bibles, and
+also in _Hulsius_, _l.c._, p. 339, both in the original and
+translation.) The interpreters may be divided into two main classes: 1.
+Those who by [Hebrew: ebd ihvh] understand some collective body; and,
+2. Those who refer the prophecy to a single individual. The first class
+again falls into two subdivisions, (_a_), those who make the whole
+Jewish people the subject, in contrast to the Gentiles; and (_b_) those
+who make the better portion of the Jewish people the subject, in
+contrast to the ungodly portion. These views, and their supporters, we
+shall now proceed to submit to a closer examination.
+
+1. (_a._) Among the non-Messianic interpreters, the most prevalent
+opinion is, that the Jewish people are the subject of the prophecy.
+This opinion is found at an early period. At this we need not be
+surprised, as the cause which produced the deviation from the Messianic
+interpretation existed at a period equally early. When _Origen_ was
+making use of this passage against some learned Jews, they answered:
+that "that which here was prophesied of one, referred to the whole
+people, and was fulfilled by their dispersion." This explanation is
+followed by _R. Salomo Jarchi_, _Abenezra_, _Kimchi_, _Abarbanel_,
+_Lipmann_ ([Hebrew: spr ncHvN], fol. 131). The main features of this
+view are the following: The prophecy is supposed to describe the misery
+of the people in their present exile, the firmness with [Pg 318] which
+they bear it for the glory of God, and resist every temptation to
+forsake His law and worship; and the prosperity, power, and glory which
+shall be bestowed upon them at the time of the redemption. In vers.
+1-10, the Gentiles are supposed to be introduced as speaking, and
+making a humble and penitent confession that hitherto they had adopted
+an erroneous opinion of the people of God, and had unjustly despised
+them on account of their sufferings, inasmuch as their glory now shows,
+that it was not for the punishment of their sins that these sufferings
+were inflicted upon them. Some of these interpreters, _e.g._,
+_Abenezra_ and _Rabbi Lipmann_, understand, indeed, by the [Hebrew: ebd
+ihvh], the pious portion only of the people who remained faithful to
+Jehovah; but this makes no material difference, inasmuch as they, too,
+contrast the [Hebrew: ebd ihvh] with the heathen nations, and not with
+the ungodly, or less righteous portion of the nation, as is done by the
+interpreters of the following class.
+
+(_b_). Others consider the appellation [Hebrew: ebd ihvh] as a
+collective designation of the pious, and find in this section the idea
+of a kind of vicarious satisfaction made by them for the ungodly. Those
+interpreters come nearer the true explanation, in so far as they do
+not, like those of the preceding class, set aside the doctrine of
+vicarious satisfaction, either by a figurative explanation, or, like
+_Kimchi_, by the absurd remark, that this doctrine is an error put into
+the mouth of the Gentiles. On the other hand, they depart from the true
+explanation, in so far that they generalize that which belongs to a
+definite subject, and that, flattering the pride of the natural man,
+they ascribe to mere man what belongs only to the God-man. Most
+distinctly was this view expressed by the Commentator on the book
+[Hebrew: eiN ieqb] or [Hebrew: eiN iwral], which has been very
+frequently printed, and which contains all sorts of tales from the
+Talmud. He says: "It is right to suppose that the whole section
+contains a prophecy regarding the righteous ones who are visited by
+sufferings." He then makes two classes of righteous men:--those who in
+general must endure many sufferings and much misery: and those who are
+publicly executed, as _Rabbi Akiba_ and others. He supposes that the
+Prophet shows the dignity of both of these classes of righteous men, to
+both of which the name of a Servant of God is justly due. A similar
+opinion is held by _Rabbi_ [Pg 319] _Alshech_. As we have already seen,
+he refers only chap. lii. 13-15 to the Messiah, and to His great glory
+acquired by His great sufferings. Then the Prophet speaks, as he
+supposes, in the name of all Israel, approves of what God had said, and
+confesses that, by this declaration of God regarding the sufferings of
+the Messiah, they have received light regarding the sufferings of the
+godly in general. They perceive it to be erroneous and rash to infer
+guilt from suffering; and, henceforth, when they see a righteous man
+suffering, they will think of no other reason, than that he bears their
+diseases, and that his chastisements are for their salvation. The
+Servant of God is thus supposed to be as it were, a personification of
+the righteous ones.--A similar view probably lies at the foundation of
+those passages of the Talmud, where some portions of the prophecy under
+consideration are referred to Moses, and others to _Rabbi Akiba_, who
+is revered as a martyr by the Jews. It does not appear that the
+prophecy was confined to Moses or Akiba; but it was referred to them,
+only in so far as they belonged to the collective body which is
+supposed to be the subject of it.
+
+2. That view which makes a single individual other than the Messiah the
+subject of the prophecy, has found, with the Jews, comparatively the
+fewest defenders. We have already seen, that, besides the explanation
+which makes the Jewish people the subject, _Abarbanel_ advances still
+another, which refers it to king Josiah. _Rabbi Saadias Haggaon_
+explained the whole section of Jeremiah.
+
+Notwithstanding all these efforts, however, the Rabbins have not
+succeeded in entirely supplanting the right explanation, and in thus
+divesting the passage of all that is dangerous to their system. Among
+the Cabbalistical Jews, it is even still the prevailing one. In
+numerous cases, it was just this chapter which formed, to proselytes
+from Judaism, the first foundation of their conviction of the truth of
+Christianity.
+
+
+          B. HISTORY OF THE INTERPRETATION WITH THE CHRISTIANS.
+
+Among Christians, the interpretation has taken nearly the same course
+as among the Jews. Similar causes have produced [Pg 320] similar
+effects in both cases. By both, the true explanation was relinquished,
+when the prevailing tendencies had become opposed to its results. And
+if we descend to particulars, we shall find a great resemblance even
+between the modes of interpretation proposed by both.
+
+1. Even, _a priori_, we could not but suppose otherwise than that the
+Christian Church, as long as she possessed Christ, found Him here also,
+where He is so clearly and distinctly set before our eyes,--that as
+long as she in general still acknowledged the authority of Christ, and
+of the Apostles, she could not but, here too, follow their distinct,
+often-repeated testimony. And so, indeed, do we find it to be. With the
+exception of a certain Silesian, called _Seidel_--who, given up to
+total unbelief, asserted that the Messiah had never yet come, nor would
+ever come, (comp. _Jac. Martini l._ 3, _de tribus Elohim_, p. 592)--and
+of _Grotius_, both of whom supposed Jeremiah to be the subject, no one
+in the Christian Church has, for seventeen centuries, ventured to call
+in question the Messianic interpretation. On the contrary, this passage
+was always considered to be the most distinct and glorious of all the
+Messianic prophecies. Out of the great mass of testimonies, we shall
+quote a few. _Augustine_, _De Civitate Dei_, i. 18, c. 29, says:
+"Isaiah has not only reproved the people for their iniquity, and
+instructed them in righteousness, and foretold to the people calamities
+impending over them in the Future; but he has also a greater number of
+predictions, than the other prophets, concerning Christ and the Church,
+_i.e._, concerning the King, and the Kingdom established by Him; so
+that some interpreters would rather call him an Evangelist than a
+Prophet." In proof of this assertion, he then quotes the passage under
+consideration, and closes with the words: "Surely that may suffice!
+There are in those words some things too which require explanation; but
+I think that things which are so clear should compel even enemies,
+against their will, to understand them." In a similar manner he
+expresses himself in: _De consensu Evangelistarum_ l. i. c. 31.
+_Theodoret_ remarks on this passage (_opp. ed. Hal._ t. ii. p. 358):
+"The Prophet represents to us, in this passage, the whole course of His
+(Christ's) humiliation unto death. Most wonderful is the power of the
+Holy Spirit. For that which was to take place after many generations.
+He showed [Pg 321] to the holy prophets in such a manner that they did
+not merely hear Him declare these things, but saw them." In a similar
+manner, _Justin_, _Irenaeus_, _Cyril_ of Alexandria, and _Jerome_,
+express themselves. From the Churches of the Reformation, we shall here
+quote the testimonies of two of their founders only. _Zwingle_, in
+_Annot. ad h. l._ (opp. t. iii. Tur. 1544, fol. 292) says: "That which
+now follows is so clear a testimony of Christ, that I do not know
+whether, anywhere in Scripture, there could be found anything more
+consistent, or that anything could be more distinctly said. For it is
+quite in vain that the obstinacy and perversity of the Jews have tried
+it from all sides." _Luther_ remarks on the passage: "And, no doubt,
+there is not, in all the Old Testament Scriptures, a clearer text or
+prophecy, both of the suffering and the resurrection of Christ, than in
+this chapter. Wherefore it is but right that it should be well known to
+all Christians, yea should be committed to memory, that thereby we may
+strengthen our faith, and defend it, chiefly against the stiff-necked
+Jews who deny their only promised Christ, solely on account of the
+offence of His cross."
+
+It was reserved to the last quarter of the last century to be the first
+to reject the Messianic interpretation. _At a time when Naturalism
+exercised its sway, it could no longer be retained._[1] For, if
+this passage contains a Messianic prophecy at all, its contents
+offer so striking an agreement with the history of Christ, that its
+origin cannot at all be accounted for in the natural way. Expedients
+were, therefore, sought for; and these were so much the more easily
+found, that the Jews had, in this matter, already opened up the way.
+All that was necessary, was only to appropriate their arguments and
+counter-arguments, and to invest them with the semblance of solidity by
+means of a learned apparatus.
+
+The non-Messianic interpretation among Christians, like those among the
+Jews, may be divided into two main classes: 1. Those which are founded
+upon the supposition that a collective [Pg 322] body is the subject of
+the prophecy; and 2, those which, by the Servant of God, understand any
+other single individual except the Messiah. The first class, again,
+falls into several sub-divisions: (_a._), those interpretations which
+refer the prophecy to the whole Jewish people; (_b._), those which
+refer it to the Jewish people in the abstract; (_c._), those which
+refer it to the pious portion of the Jewish people; (_d._), those which
+refer it to the order of the priests; (_e._), those which refer it to
+the order of the prophets.
+
+1. (_a._) Comparatively the greatest number of non-Messianic
+interpreters make the whole Jewish people the subject of the prophecy.
+This hypothesis is adopted, among others, by _Doederlein_, (in the
+preface and annotations, in the third edition of Isaiah, but in such a
+manner that he still wavers betwixt this and the Messianic
+interpretation, which formerly he had defended with great zeal); by
+_Schuster_ (in a special treatise, Goettingen 1794); by _Stephani_
+(_Gedanken ueber die Entstehung u. Ausbildung der Idee von inem
+Messias_, _Nuernberg_ 1787); by the author of the letters on Isaiah
+liii., in the 6th vol. of _Eichhorn's Bibliothek_; by _Eichhorn_ (in
+his exposition of the Prophets); by _Rosenmueller_ (in the second
+edition of his Commentary, leaving to others the interpretation which
+referred the prophecy to the prophetic order, although he himself had
+first recommended it), and many others. The last who defend it are
+_Hitzig_, _Hendewerk_, and _Koester_ (_de Serv. Jeh._ Kiel, 38).
+Substantially, it has remained the same as we have seen it among the
+Jews. The only difference is, that these expositors understand, by the
+sufferings of the Servant of God, the sufferings of the Jewish people
+in the Babylonish captivity; while the Jewish interpreters understand
+thereby the sufferings of the Jewish people in their present exile.
+They, too, suppose that, from vers. 1 to 10, the Gentile nations are
+introduced as speaking, and make the penitent confession that they have
+formed an erroneous opinion of Israel, and now see that its suffering's
+are not the punishment of its own sins, but that it had suffered as a
+substitute for their sins.
+
+(_b._) The hypothesis which makes the Jewish people in the abstract--in
+antithesis to its single members--the subject of this prophecy, was
+discovered by _Eckermann_, _theol. Beitraege_, [Pg 323] Bd. i. H. i. S.
+192 ff. According to _Ewald_, the prophecy refers to "Israel according
+to its true idea." According to _Bleek_, the Servant of God is a
+"designation of the whole people, but not of the people in its actual
+reality, but as it existed in the imagination of the author,--the ideal
+of the people."
+
+(_c._) The hypothesis, that the pious portion of the Jewish people--in
+contrast to the ungodly--are the subject, has been defended especially
+by _Paulus_ (_Memorabilien_, Bd. 3, S. 175-192, and _Clavis_ on
+Isaiah). His view was adopted by _Ammon_ (_Christologie_, S. 108 ff.).
+The principal features of this view are the following:--It was not on
+account of their own sins that the godly portion of the nation were
+punished and carried into captivity along with the ungodly, but on
+account of the ungodly who, however, by apostatising from the religion
+of Jehovah, knew how to obtain a better fate. The ungodly drew from it
+the inference that the hope of the godly, that Jehovah would come to
+their help, had been in vain. But when the captivity came to an end,
+and the godly returned, they saw that they had been mistaken, and that
+the hope of the godly was well founded. They, therefore, full of
+repentance, deeply lament that they had not long ago repented of their
+sins. This view is adopted also by _Von Coelln_ in his _Biblische
+Theologie_; by _Thenius_ in _Wiener's Zeitschrift_, ii. 1; by _Maurer_
+and _Knobel_. The latter says: "Those who were zealous adherents of the
+Theocracy had a difficult position among their own people, and had to
+suffer most from foreign tyrants." The true worshippers of Jehovah were
+given up to mockery and scorn, to persecution and the grossest abuse,
+and were in a miserable and horrible condition, unworthy of men and
+almost inhuman. The punishments for sin had to be endured chiefly by
+those who did not deserve them. Thus the view easily arose that the
+godly suffered in substitution for the whole people.
+
+(_d._) The hypothesis which makes the priestly order the subject, has
+been defended by the author of: _Ausfuehrliche Erklaerung der saemmtlichen
+Weissagungen des A. T._ 1801.
+
+(_e._) The hypothesis which makes the collective body of the prophets
+the subject, was first advanced by _Rosenmueller_ in the treatise:
+_Leiden und Hoffnungen der Propheten Jehovas_, [Pg 324] in _Gablers
+Neuestes theol. Journal_, vol. ii. S. 4, p. 333 ff. From him it came as
+a legacy to _De Wette_ (_de morte Jes. Chr. expiatoria_, p. 28 sqq.),
+and to _Gesenius_. According to _Schenkel_ (_Studien und Kritiken_ 36)
+"the prophetic order was the quiet, hidden blossom, which early storms
+broke." According to _Umbreit_ the Servant of God is the collective
+body of the prophets, or the prophetic order, which is here plainly
+represented as the sacrificial beast (!) taking upon itself the sins of
+the people. He finds it "rather strange that the Prophet who, in chap.
+lxvi. 3 (of course according to a false interpretation), plainly
+rejects sacrifice altogether, should speak of the shedding of the blood
+of a man, and, moreover, of a pure, sinless man, in the room of the
+guilty." The manner in which _Umbreit_ seeks to gain a transition to
+the Messianic interpretation, although not in the sense held by the
+Christian Church, has been pointed out by us on a former occasion, in
+the remarks on chap. xlii. _Hofmann_ (_Schriftbeweis_, ii. 1 S. 89 ff.)
+has got up a mixture composed of these explanations which refer the
+prophecy to the people, to the godly, to the prophetic order, and, if
+one will, of that also which refers it to the Messiah. He says: "The
+people as a people are called to be the servant of God; but they do not
+fulfil their vocation as a congregation of the faithful; and it is,
+therefore, the work of the prophets to restore that congregation, and
+hence also the fulfilment of its vocation.--Prophetism itself is
+represented not in its present condition only, when it exists in a
+number of messengers and witnesses of Jehovah, in the first instance in
+Isaiah himself, but also in the final result, into which the fulfilment
+of its vocation will lead, when the Servant of Jehovah unites in His
+person the offices of a proclaimer of the impending work of salvation,
+and of its Mediator, and, from the shame and suffering attached to His
+vocation as a witness, passes over into the glory of the salvation
+realised in Him." In order to render such a mixture possible,
+everything is tried in order to remove the vicarious character of the
+sufferings of the Servant of God, since that character is peculiar to
+Christ, and excludes every comparison. "Of a priestly self-sacrifice of
+the Servant of God"--says _Hofmann_, S. 101, 2--"I cannot find
+anything. The assertion that the words [Hebrew: izh gviM], denote a
+priestly work, no longer requires a refutation. His [Pg 325] vocation
+is to be the mediator of a revelation of God in words; and although the
+fulfilment of this vocation brings death upon Him, without His
+endeavouring to escape, this is not a proof nor a part of His priestly
+vocation. In just the same case is the assertion that the Messiah
+appears here as a King also." As long as we proceed from the
+supposition that the Prophet predicts truth, we are, by that very
+supposition, forbidden to distribute the property of the one among the
+many; but that is thus violently set aside. The Rationalistic
+interpreters have in this respect an easier task. They allow the
+substitution to stand; but they consider it as a vain fancy. The fact
+that _Hofmann_ does not recoil from even the most violent
+interpretations, in order to remove the exclusive reference to Christ,
+appears, _e.g._, from his remark, S. 132, that "the chastisement of our
+peace" designates an actual chastisement, which convinces them of their
+sin, and of the earnestness of divine holiness, and thus serves for
+their salvation. Surely _Gesenius_ and _Hitzig's_ explanations are far
+more unbiassed.
+
+2. Among the interpretations which refer the prophecy to a single
+individual other than the Messiah, scarcely any one has found another
+defender than its own author. They are of importance only in so far, as
+they show that most decidedly does the prophecy make the impression,
+that its subject is a real person, not a personification; and, farther,
+that it could not by any means be an exegetical interest which induced
+rationalism to reject the interpretation which referred it to Christ.
+The persons that have been guessed at are the following: King Uzziah,
+(_Augusti_), King Hezekiah, (_Konynenburg_ and _Bahrdt_), the Prophet
+Isaiah himself, (_Staeudlin_), an unknown prophet supposed to have been
+killed by the Jews in the captivity (an anonymous author in _Henke's
+Magazin_, Bd. i. H. 2), the royal house of David, which suffered
+innocently when the children of the unhappy king Zedekiah were killed
+at the command of Nebuchadnezzar (_Bolten_ on Acts viii. 33), the
+Maccabees (an anonymous writer in the _Theologische Nachrichten_, 1821,
+S. 79 ff.) Even at this present time, this kind of explanation is not
+altogether obsolete. _Schenkel_ thinks that "the chapter under
+consideration may, perhaps, belong to the period of the real Isaiah,
+whose language equals that of the description of the Servant of God now
+[Pg 326] under consideration, in conciseness and harshness, and may
+have been originally a Psalm of consolation in sufferings, which was
+composed with a view to the hopeful progeny of some pious man or
+prophet innocently killed, and which was rewritten and interpreted by
+the author of the book, and embodied in it." _Ewald_ (Proph. ii. S.
+407) says: "Farther, the description of the Servant of God is here
+altogether very strange, especially v. 8 f., inasmuch as,
+notwithstanding all the liveliness with which the author of the book
+conceives of Him, He is nowhere else so much and so obviously viewed as
+an historical person, as a single individual of the Past. How little
+soever the author may have intended it, it was very obvious that the
+later generations imagined that they would here find the historical
+Messiah. We are therefore of opinion, that the author here inserted a
+passage, which appeared to him to be suitable, from an older book where
+really a single martyr was spoken of.--It is not likely that the modern
+controversy on chap. liii. will ever cease as long as this truth is not
+acknowledged;--a truth which quite spontaneously suggested itself, and
+impressed itself more and more strongly upon my mind." These are, no
+doubt, assertions which cannot be maintained, and are yet of interest,
+in so far as they show, how much even those who refuse to acknowledge
+it are annoyed by a two-fold truth, viz., that Isaiah is the author of
+the prophecy, and that it refers to a personal Messiah.
+
+At all times, however, that explanation which refers the prophecy
+to Christ has found able defenders; and at no period has the
+anti-Messianic explanation obtained absolute sway. Among the authors of
+complete Commentaries on Isaiah, the Messianic explanation was defended
+by _Dathe_, _Doederlein_ (who, however, wavers in the last edition of
+his translation), _Hensler_, _Lowth_, _Kocher_, _Koppe_, _J. D.
+Michaelis_, _v. d. Palm_, _Schmieder_. In addition to these we may
+mention: _Storr_, _dissertatio qua Jes. liii. illustratur_, Tuebingen,
+1790; _Hansi Comment. in Jes. liii._, Rostock 1791 (this work has
+considerably promoted the interpretation, although its author often
+shows himself to be biassed by the views of the time, and especially,
+in the interest of Neology, seeks to do away with the doctrine of
+satisfaction); _Krueger_, _Comment. de Jes. liii., interpret_; _Jahn_,
+_Append. ad Hermen. fasc ii._; _Steudel_, [Pg 327] _Observ. ad Jes.
+liii._, _Tuebingen_ 1825, 26; _Sack_, in the _Apologetik_; _Reinke_,
+_exegesis in Jes. liii._, Muenster 1836; _Tholuck_, in his work: _Das A.
+T. in N. T._; _Haevernick_, in the lectures on the Theology of the Old
+Testament; _Stier_, in the Comment. on the second part of Isaiah.
+
+
+
+[Footnote 1: The author of the article: _Ueber die Mess. Zeiten_ in
+_Eichhorn's Bibliothek d. bibl. Literatur_, Bd. 6, p. 655, confesses
+quite candidly, that the Messianic interpretation would soon find
+general approbation among Bible expositors, had they not, in recent
+times, obtained the conviction, "that the prophets do not foretel any
+thing of future things, except what they know and anticipate without
+special divine inspiration."]
+
+
+                           * * * * * * * * * *
+
+
+
+
+         II. THE ARGUMENTS AGAINST THE MESSIANIC INTERPRETATION.
+
+
+The arguments against the Messianic interpretation cannot be designated
+in any other way than as _insignificant_. There is not one among them
+which could be of any weight to him who is able to judge. It is
+asserted that the Messiah is nowhere else designated as the Servant of
+God. Even if this were the fact, it would not prove anything. But this
+name is assigned to the Messiah in Zech. iii. 8--a passage which
+interpreters are unanimous in referring to the Messiah--where the Lord
+calls the Messiah His Servant _Zemach_, and which the Chaldee
+Paraphrast explains by [Hebrew: mwiHa vitgli] "_Messiam et
+revelabitur_;" farther, in Ezek. xxxiv. 23, 24, not to mention Is.
+xlii. 1, xlix. 3, 6, l. 10.--It is farther asserted that in the
+Messianic interpretation everything is viewed as _future_; but that
+this is inadmissible for grammatical and philological reasons. The
+suffering, contempt, and death of the Servant of God are here,
+throughout, represented as past, since in chap. liii. 1-10, all the
+verbs are in the Preterite. It is the glorification only which appears
+as future, and is expressed in the Future tense. The writer, therefore,
+occupies a position between the sufferings and the glorification, and
+the latter is still impending. But the stand-point of the Prophet is
+not an actual, but a supposed one,--not a real, but an ideal one. In
+order to distinguish between condition and consequence,--in order to
+put sufferings and glorification in the proper relation, he takes his
+stand between the sufferings and the glorification of the Servant of
+God, and from that position, that appears to him as being already past
+which, in reality, was [Pg 328] still future. It is only an interpreter
+so thoroughly prosaic as _Knobel_ who can advance the assertion: "No
+prophet occupies, in prophecy, another stand-point than that which in
+reality be occupies." In this, _e.g._, _Hitzig_ does not by any means
+assent to him; for be (_Hitzig_) remarks on chap. lii. 7: "Proceeding
+from the certainty of the salvation, the Prophet sees, in the Spirit,
+that already coming to pass which, in chap. xl. 9, he called upon them
+to do." And the same expositor farther remarks on Jer. vi. 24-26: "This
+is a statement of how people would then speak, and, thereby, a
+description of the circumstances of that time." But in our remarks on
+chap. xi. and in the introduction to the second part, we have already
+proved that the prophets very frequently occupy an ideal stand-point,
+and that such is the case here, the Prophet has himself expressly
+intimated. In some places, he has passed from the prophetical
+stand-point to the historical, and uses the Future even when he speaks
+of the sufferings,--a thing which appears to have been done
+involuntarily, but which, in reality, is done intentionally. Thus there
+occurs [Hebrew: iptH] in ver. 7, [Hebrew: twiM] in ver. 10, and,
+according to the explanations of _Gesenius_ and others, also [Hebrew:
+ipgie] in ver. 12 while, on the other hand, he sometimes speaks of the
+glorification in the Preterite.[1] Compare [Hebrew: lqH] in ver. 8,
+[Hebrew: nwa] in ver. 12. This affords a sure proof that we are here
+altogether on an ideal territory. The ancient translators too have not
+understood the Preterites as a designation of the real Past, and
+frequently render them by Futures. Thus the LXX. ver. 14: [Greek:
+ekstesontai--adoxesei]; _Aqui._ and _Theod._, ver. 2, [Greek:
+anabesetai].--It is farther asserted, that the idea of a suffering and
+expiating Messiah is foreign to the Old Testament, and stands in
+contradiction even to its prevailing views of the Messiah. But this
+objection cannot be of any weight; nor can it prove anything, as long
+as, in the Church of Christ, the authority of Christ is still
+acknowledged, who Himself declares that His whole suffering had been
+foretold in the books of the Old Testament, and explained to His
+disciples the prophecies concerning it. Even the fact, that at [Pg 329]
+the time when Christ appeared the knowledge of a suffering Messiah was
+undeniably possessed by the more enlightened, proves that the matter
+stands differently. This knowledge is shown not only by the Baptist,
+but also by Simeon, Luke ii. 34, 35. An assertion to the contrary can
+proceed only from the erroneous opinion, that every single Messianic
+prophecy exhibits the whole view of the Messiah, whereas, indeed, the
+Messianic announcements bear throughout a fragmentary, incidental
+character,--a mode of representation which is generally prevalent in
+Scripture, and by which Scripture is distinguished from a system of
+doctrines. But even if there had existed an appearance of such a
+contradiction, it would long ago have been removed by the fulfilment.
+But even the appearance of a contradiction is here inadmissible,
+inasmuch as the Servant of God is here not only represented as
+suffering and expiating, but, at the same time, as an object of
+reverence to the whole Gentile world; and the _ground_ of this
+reverence is His suffering and expiation. As regards the other passages
+of the Old Testament where a suffering Messiah is mentioned, we must
+distinguish between the Messiah simply suffering, and the Messiah
+suffering as a substitute. The latter, indeed, we meet with in this
+passage only. But to make up for this isolated mention, the
+representation here is so full and exhaustive, so entirely excludes
+all misunderstanding, except that which is bent upon misunderstanding,
+or which is the result of evil disposition, is so affecting and so
+indelibly impressive, is indeed so exactly in the tone of doctrinal
+theology, and therefore different from the ordinary treatment, which is
+always incidental, and requires to be supplemented from other passages,
+that this single isolated representation, which sounds through the
+whole of the New Testament, is quite sufficient for the Church. The
+suffering and dying Messiah, on the other hand, we meet with frequently
+in other passages of the Old Testament also, although, indeed, not so
+frequently as the Messiah in glory. In this light He is brought before
+us, _e.g._, in chap. xlix. 50; in Dan. ix.; in Zech. ix. 9, 10, xi. 12,
+13. The fact that the humiliation of Christ would precede His
+exaltation is distinctly pointed out in the first part of Isaiah also,
+in chap. xi. 1,--a passage which contains, in a germ, all that, in the
+second part, [Pg 330] is more fully stated regarding the suffering
+Messiah, and which has many striking points of contact specially with
+chap. liii. And just so it is with Isaiah's contemporary, Micah, who,
+in chap. v. 1 (2), makes the Messiah proceed, not from Jerusalem, the
+seat of the Davidic family after it was raised to the royal dignity,
+but from Bethlehem, where Jesse, the ancestor, lived as a peasant,--as
+a proof that the Messiah would proceed from the family of David sank
+back into the obscurity of private life. This knowledge, that the
+Messiah should proceed from the altogether abased house of David,--a
+knowledge which appears as early as in Amos, and which pervades the
+whole of prophecy--touches very closely upon the knowledge of His
+sufferings. Lowliness of origin, and exaltation of destination, can
+hardly be reconciled without severe conflicts. But it is _a priori_
+impossible, that the idea of the suffering Messiah should be wanting in
+the Old Testament. Since, in the Old Testament, throughout,
+righteousness and suffering in this world of sin are represented as
+being indissolubly connected, the Messiah, being [Greek: kat'exochen]
+the Righteous One, must necessarily appear also as He who suffers in
+the highest degree. If that were not the case, the Messiah would be
+totally disconnected from all His types, especially from David, who,
+through the severest sufferings, attained to glory, and who in his
+Psalms, everywhere considers this course as the normal one, both in the
+Psalms which refer to the suffering righteous in general, and in those
+which especially refer to his family reaching their highest elevation
+in the Messiah; compare my Commentary on the Psalms, Vol. iv., p. lxxx.
+ff.
+
+
+
+[Footnote 1: The same thing occurs also in the parallel passages, chap.
+xlix. 9, on which _Gesenius_ was constrained to remark: "As the
+deliverance was still impending, the Preterites cannot well be
+understood in any other way than as Futures."]
+
+
+                           * * * * * * * * * *
+
+
+
+
+      III. THE ARGUMENTS IN FAVOUR OF THE MESSIANIC INTERPRETATION.
+
+
+Even the fact that this is among the Jews the original interpretation,
+which was given up from their evil disposition only, makes us
+favourably inclined towards it. The authority of tradition is here of
+so much the greater consequence, the more that the Messianic
+interpretation was opposed to the disposition [Pg 331] of the people.
+How deeply rooted was this interpretation, appears even from the
+declaration of John the Baptist, John i. 29: [Greek: ide ho amnos tou
+Theou ho airon ten hamartian tou kosmou]. There cannot be any doubt
+that, in this declaration, he points to the prophecy under
+consideration, inasmuch as this passage is the first in Holy Scripture
+in which the sin-bearing lamb is spoken of in a spiritual sense.
+_Bengel_, following the example of _Erasmus_, remarks, in reference to
+the article before [Greek: amnos]: "The article looks back to the
+prophecy which was given concerning Him under this figure, in Is. liii.
+7." As regards [Greek: Theou], compare ver. 10: "It pleased the Lord
+painfully to crush Him," and ver. 2: "Before Him;" as regards [Greek:
+ho airon], &c. comp. ver. 4, rendered by the LXX.: [Greek: houtos tas
+hamartias hemon pherei]; comp. ver. 11.
+
+An external argument of still greater weight is the testimony of the
+New Testament. Above all, it is the declarations of our Lord himself
+which here come into consideration. In Luke xxii. 37, He says that the
+prophecies concerning Him were drawing near their perfect fulfilment
+([Greek: ta peri emou telos echei]), comp. Matt. xxvi. 51, and that
+therefore the declaration: "And He was reckoned among the
+transgressors" must be fulfilled in Him. In Mark ix. 12, the Lord asks:
+[Greek: pos gegraptai epi ton huion tou anthropou, hina polla pathe kai
+exoudenothe], with a reference to "from man," and "from the sons of
+man" in lii. 14,--to "He had no form nor comeliness" in ver. 2,--to
+"despised," [Hebrew: nbzh], which, by _Symmachus_ and _Theodotian_ is
+rendered by [Greek: exoudenomenos], in ver. 3. In the Gospel of John,
+the Lord emphatically and repeatedly points out, that the words: "When
+His soul hath given restitution," are written concerning Him; compare
+remarks on ver. 10. After these distinct quotations and references, we
+shall be obliged to think chiefly of our passage, in Luke xxiv. 25-27,
+44-46 also. The opponents themselves grant that, if in any passage of
+the Old Testament the doctrine of a suffering and atoning Messiah is
+contained, it is in the passage under review. The circumstance also,
+that the disciples of the Lord refer, on every occasion, and with such
+confidence, the passage to the Lord, likewise proves that Christ
+especially interpreted it of His sufferings and exaltation. Of Matt.
+viii. 17, and Mark xv. 28, we have already spoken. John, in chap. xii.
+37, 38, and Paul in Rom. x. 16, [Pg 332] find a fulfilment of chap.
+liii. 1 in the unbelief of the Jews. In Acts viii. 28-35, Philip, on
+the question of the eunuch from Ethiopia, as to whom the prophecy
+referred, explained it of Christ. After the example of _De Wette_,
+_Gesenius_ lays special stress on the circumstance, that the passage
+was never quoted in reference to the atoning death of Christ. But
+Peter, when speaking of the vicarious satisfaction of Christ, makes a
+literal use of the principal passages of the prophecy under
+consideration, 1 Pet. ii. 21-25; and it is, in general, quite the usual
+way of the New Testament to support its statements by our passage,
+whensoever the discourse falls upon this subject; comp. _e.g._, besides
+the texts quoted at ver. 10, Mark ix. 12; Rom. iv. 25; 1 Cor. xv. 3; 2
+Cor. v. 21; 1 John iii. 5; Pet. i. 19; Rev. v. 6, xiii. 8. Even
+_Gesenius_ himself acknowledges elsewhere, that we have here the text
+for the whole Apostolic preaching on the atoning death of Jesus. "Most
+Hebrew readers"--so he says, Th. iii. S. 191--"who were so familiar
+with the ideas of sacrifice and substitution, could not by any means
+understand the passage in any other way; and there is no doubt that the
+whole apostolic notion of the atoning death of Christ is chiefly based
+upon this passage." The circumstance, that the reference to this
+passage appears commonly only in the form of an allusion, and not of
+express quotation, proves only so much the more clearly, that its
+reference to the atoning death of Christ was a point absolutely settled
+in the ancient Church.
+
+In favour of the Messianic interpretation are not only the passages
+from the second part, chap. xlii., &c., but also, from the first part,
+the passage chap. xi. 1, which so remarkably agrees with chap. liii. 2,
+that both must be referred to the same subject.
+
+To these external reasons, the internal must be added. The Christian
+Church--the best judge--has at all times recognised in this prophecy
+the faithful and wonderfully accurate image of her Lord and Saviour in
+His atoning sufferings and the glory following upon them, in His
+innocence and righteousness, in His meekness and silent patience (the
+New Testament, in speaking of them, frequently points back to our
+passage), and in the burial with a rich man, ver. 9. The most
+characteristic feature is the atoning character of the suffering of the
+[Pg 333] Servant of God, and of the shedding of His blood. Several
+interpreters have endeavoured to explain away this feature which they
+dislike. _Kimchi_ says: "One must not imagine that the case really
+stands thus, that in Israel the captivity actually bears the sins and
+diseases of the heathens (for that would be opposed to the justice of
+God), but that the Gentiles at that time, when seeing the glorious
+deliverance of Israel, would thus judge concerning it." A futile
+evasion! It is not the Gentiles who speak in chap. liii. 1-10, but the
+believing Church. Every sincere reader will at once feel, that it is
+not the foolish fancies of others which the Prophet communicates in
+these verses, but the divine truth made known to him. The doctrine of
+the substitution, the Prophet, moreover, states in his own name, by
+saying, "He shall sprinkle many nations;" and so likewise in the name
+of God, in chap. liii. 11, 12. According to _Martini_, _De Wette_, and
+others, the expressions are to be understood figuratively, and the
+contents and substance to be this only, that those severe calamities
+which that divine minister would have to sustain would be useful and
+salutary to His compatriots. But the fact that the same doctrine
+constantly returns under the most varied expressions, is decidedly in
+favour of the literal interpretation. Thus, it is said in chap. lii.
+15, that the Servant of God should sprinkle many nations; in liii. 4,
+that He bore our diseases and took upon Him our pains; in ver. 5, that
+He was pierced for our transgressions; in ver. 8, that He bore the
+punishment which the people ought to have borne; in ver. 10, that He
+offered his soul as a sin-offering; in ver. 11, that by His
+righteousness many should be justified; in ver. 12, that He bore the
+sins of many, and poured out His soul unto death, and that He could
+make intercession for transgressors, because He was numbered with them.
+To this it may still be added that in chap. lii. 15 ([Hebrew: izh]),
+liii. 10 ([Hebrew: awM]), and ver. 12: "He bears the sins of many,"
+(compare Levit. xvi. 21, 22; _Michaelis_: "_Ut typice hircus pro
+Israelitis_") the Servant of God appears as the antitype of the Old
+Testament sin-offerings in which, as has been proved (compare my
+pamphlet: _Die Opfer der heil. Schrift_, S. 12 ff.), the idea of
+substitution in the doctrine of the Old Testament finds its foundation.
+There cannot be the least doubt, that the Prophet could not express
+himself more clearly, strongly, [Pg 334] and distinctly, if his
+intention was to state the doctrine of substitution; and those who
+undertake to explain it away, would not, by so doing, leave any thing
+firm and certain in Scripture. _Rosenmueller_ (_Gabler's_ Journal, ii.
+S. 365), _Gesenius_, _Hitzig_ have indeed candidly confessed that the
+passage contained the doctrine of vicarious satisfaction, after
+_Alshech_ had, among the Jews, given the honour to truth.
+
+
+
+
+          IV. EXAMINATION OF THE NON-MESSIANIC INTERPRETATIONS.
+
+
+Passing over mere whims, three explanations present themselves which
+require a closer examination, viz.--(1), that which makes the whole
+Jewish people the subject; (2), that which refers it to the godly
+portion of the Jewish people; and (3), that which refers it to the
+collective body of the Prophets. The following reasons militate against
+all the three interpretations simultaneously.
+
+1. According to them, the contents of the section in question present
+themselves as a mere _fancy_; and its principal thought, the vicarious
+suffering of the Servant of God is an absurdity. According to them, the
+prophets can no longer be considered as godly men who spake as they
+were moved by the Holy Spirit; and their name [Hebrew: nbia], by which
+they claimed divine inspiration, is a mere pretence. And this
+reflection is, at the same time, cast upon the Lord, who, throughout,
+treats these visionaries as organs of immediate divine communications.
+
+2. According to all the three explanations, the subject is not a real
+person, but an ideal one, a personified collective. But not one sure
+analogous instance can be quoted in favour of a personification carried
+on through a whole section, without the slightest intimation, that it
+is not a single individual who is spoken of. In ver. 3, the subject is
+called [Hebrew: aiw]; in vers. 10 and 12 a soul is ascribed to Him;
+grave and death are used so as to imply a subject in the Singular.
+Scripture never leaves any thing to be guessed. If we had an allegory
+before us, distinct hints as to the interpretation would certainly [Pg
+335] not be wanting. It is, _e.g._, quite different in those passages
+where the Prophet designates Israel by the name of the Servant of the
+Lord. In them, all uncertainty is prevented by the addition of the
+names of Jacob and Israel, xli. 8, 9; xliv. 1, 2, 21; xlv. 4; xlviii.
+20; and in them, moreover, the Prophet uses the Plural by the side of
+the Singular, to intimate that the Servant of the Lord is an ideal
+person, a collective, _e.g._, xlii. 24, 25; xlviii. 20, 21; xliii.
+10-14.
+
+3. The first condition of the vicarious satisfaction which, according
+to our prophecy, is to be performed by the Servant of God, is,
+according to ver. 9 ("Because He had done no violence, neither was any
+deceit in His mouth"), but more especially still, according to ver. 11
+("He, the righteous one, my Servant, shall justify the many") the
+absolute righteousness of the suffering subject. He who is himself
+sinful cannot undergo punishment for the sins of others. He is, on the
+contrary, visited for his own sins, both as a righteous retribution,
+and for sanctification. Of such an one that would indeed be true which,
+according to the second clause of ver. 4, was only erroneously supposed
+in reference to the Servant of God. All the three interpretations,
+however, are unable to prove that this condition existed. All the three
+interpretations move on the purely human territory; but on that,
+absolute righteousness is not to be found. At the very threshold of
+Holy Writ, in Gen. ii. and 3, compare v. 3, the doctrine of the
+universal sinfulness of mankind meets us; and how deep a knowledge of
+sin pervades the Old Testament, is proved by passages such as Gen. vi.
+5, viii. 21; Job xiv. 4, xv. 14-16; Ps. xiv., li. 7; Prov. xx. 9. That
+is not a soil on which ideas of substitution could thrive.--The
+doctrine of a substitution by men is indeed nowhere else found in the
+Old Testament; and _Gesenius_, who (l. c., S. 189) endeavoured to prove
+that "it is very general" has not adduced any arguments which are
+tenable or even plausible. The guilt of the fathers is visited upon the
+children, only when the latter walk in the steps of their fathers, and
+the latter are first punished; comp. _Genuineness and Authenticity of
+the Pentateuch_, Vol. ii. p. 446 ff. The same holds true in reference
+to 2 Sam. xxi. 1-14, The evil spirit which filled Saul, pervaded his
+family, at the same time, as we here see in the instance of Michal. It
+was probably in the [Pg 336] interest of his family, and with their
+concurrence, that the wicked deed had been perpetrated. (_Michaelis_
+says: "In order that he might appropriate their goods to himself and to
+_his family_, under the pretext of a pious zeal for Judah and Israel.")
+As Saul himself was already overtaken by the divine judgment, the crime
+was punished in the family who were accomplices. In 2 Sam. xxiv. the
+people do not suffer as substitutes for the sin, which David had
+committed in numbering the people; but the spirit of pride which had
+incited the king to number the people, was widely spread among them.
+But the fact, that the king himself was punished in his subjects, is
+brought out by his beseeching the Lord, in 2 Sam. xxiv. 17, that He
+might rather visit the sin directly upon himself The sin of David and
+Bathsheba is not atoned for by the death of the child (2 Sam. xii.
+15-18), for David had already obtained pardon, ver. 13. It is not the
+child which suffers, but David, whose repentance was to be deepened by
+this visitation. In the fact, that the whole army must suffer for what
+Achan has committed (Josh. vii. 1), a distinct intimation is implied,
+that the criminal does not stand alone, but that, to a certain degree,
+the whole community was implicated in his guilt. Substitution is quite
+out of the question, inasmuch as Achan himself, with his whole family
+and posterity, was burnt. Least of all, finally, can Dan. xi. 35 come
+into consideration. According to _Gesenius_, it is there said: "And
+they of understanding shall fall, in order to purge, purify, and make
+white those (the others)." But [Hebrew: bhM] refers rather to the
+[Hebrew: mwkiliM] themselves. Thus, nowhere in the Old Testament, is
+even the slightest trace found of a satisfaction to be accomplished by
+man for man; nor can it be found there, because, from its very
+commencement. Scripture most emphatically declares: [Greek: pantas
+huph'hamartian einai], Rom. iii. 9.
+
+The explanation, which makes the _Jewish people_ the subject, has
+already been overthrown by the parallel passages, before arriving: at
+the section under consideration. "Even so far back as chap. xlii. 1,
+difficulties are met with," remarks _Beck_. "How is it possible that
+the people who, in ver. 19 of that chapter, are described as blind and
+deaf, should here appear as being altogether penetrated by the Spirit,
+so as to become the teachers of the Gentiles?" "Chap. xlix. is a true
+[Pg 337] cross for the interpreters." "Finally, the section, chap. l.,
+_Hitzig_ himself is obliged to explain as referring to the Prophet; and
+thus this interpretation forfeits the boast of most strictly holding
+fast the unity of this notion."
+
+But still more decisively is the interpretation overthrown by the
+contents of the section under discussion. The Servant of God has,
+according to it, voluntarily taken upon Himself His sufferings
+(according to ver. 10, He offers himself as a sacrifice for sin;
+according to ver. 12, He is crowned with glory because He has poured
+out His soul unto death). Himself sinless, He bears the sins of others,
+vers. 4-6, 9. His sufferings are the means by which the justification
+of many is effected. He suffers quietly and patiently, ver. 7. Not one
+of these four signs can be vindicated for the people of Israel. (a).
+The Jews did not go voluntarily into the Babylonish exile, but were
+dragged into it by force. (b). The Jewish people were not without sin
+in suffering; but they suffered, in the captivity, the punishment of
+their own sins. Their being carried away had been foretold by Moses as
+a punitive judgment. Lev. xxvi. 14 ff.; Deut. xxviii. 15 ff. xxix. 19
+ff., and as such it is announced by all the prophets also. In the
+second part, Isaiah frequently reminds Judah that they shall be cast
+into captivity by divine justice, and be delivered from it by divine
+mercy only; comp. chaps. lvi.-lix., especially chap. lix. 2: "Your
+iniquities separate between you and your God, and your sins hide His
+face from you that He doth not hear. For your hands are defiled with
+blood, and your fingers with iniquity, your lips speak lies, and your
+tongue meditates perverseness. Their feet run to evil, and they make
+haste to shed innocent blood, their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity,
+wasting and destruction are in their paths. The way of peace they know
+not, and there is no right in their paths; they pervert their paths;
+whosoever goeth therein doth not know peace. Apostacy and denying the
+Lord, and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt,
+conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood." Comp. chap.
+xlii. 24: "Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers? Did
+not the Lord, He against whom we have sinned, and in whose ways they
+would not walk, neither were they obedient unto His law." Farther, [Pg
+338] chap. xliii. 26, 27, where the detailed proof that Israel's merits
+could not be the cause of their deliverance, inasmuch as they did not
+exist at all, is, by the Prophet, wound up by the words: "Put me in
+remembrance, let us plead together, declare then that thou mayest be
+justified. Thy first father hath sinned, and thy mediators have
+transgressed against me. Therefore I profane the princes of the
+sanctuary, and give Jacob to the destruction, and Israel to
+reproaches." It is solely to the mercy of God that, according to chap.
+xlviii. 11, Israel owes deliverance from the severe suffering into
+which they fell in the way of their sins. One may confidently assert
+there is not a single page in the whole book, which does not offer a
+striking refutation of this view. And most miserable are the expedients
+to which, in the face of such facts, the defenders of this view betake
+themselves. _Rosenmueller_ was of opinion, that the Prophet introduced
+those Gentiles only as speaking, who, by this flattery, wished to gain
+the favour of the Jews,--without considering that it is just in the
+words of the Lord, in ver. 11, that the absolute righteousness of the
+Servant of God is most strongly expressed. _Hitzig_ is of opinion, that
+the people had indeed suffered for their sins; but that the punishment
+had been greater than their sins, and that by this surplus the Gentiles
+were benefited. But the Prophet expressly contradicts such a gross
+view. He repeatedly declares that the punishment was still mitigated by
+mercy; that, in the way of their works, Israel would have found total
+destruction. Thus, _e.g._, chap. xlviii. 9: "For my name's sake will I
+be long-suffering, and for my praise will I moderate mine anger unto
+thee, that I cut thee not off;" chap. i. 9: "Except the Lord of Hosts
+had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom; we
+should have been like unto Gomorrah." In order to be fully convinced
+how much this view of Israel, enforced upon the godly men of the Old
+Testament, is in contradiction to their own view, the prayer of Ezra
+may still be compared in Neh. ix., especially ver. 20 ff.--(c.) The
+sufferings of the Jewish people cannot be vicarious, because they are
+destitute of the very first condition of substitution, viz.,
+sinlessness and righteousness. That even _Hitzig_ does not venture to
+claim for them. But how can an ungodly man, even supposing that his
+punishment is too severe, justify others [Pg 339] by a righteousness of
+his which does not exist? _Finally_--The fourth sign, patience, so
+little belongs to the Jewish people, that it is one of the main tasks
+of our Prophet himself to oppose their murmuring impatience; comp.
+_e.g._, chap. xlv. 9 ff.
+
+Against the hypothesis that the people are the subject of the prophecy,
+there is the circumstance that it carries along with it the unnatural
+supposition that, in chap. liii. 1-10, the heathens are introduced as
+speaking. Decisive against this supposition are specially the
+designation [Hebrew: emi] in ver. 8, and the most forced explanation to
+which it compels us, in some verses, especially ver. 2.
+
+The interpretation which considers the godly portion of the people to
+be the subject of the prophecy, is overthrown by the fact that,
+according to the view of Scripture, even those who, in the ordinary
+sense, are righteous, are unable to render a vicarious satisfaction for
+others. For such, absolute righteousness is required. But the
+"righteous ones" are begotten by sinful seed (Ps. li.), and they have
+need daily to pray that God would pardon their secret sins, Ps. xix.
+13; they themselves live only by the pardoning mercy of God, and cannot
+think of atoning for others, Ps. xxxii. Even for believers, the
+captivity is, according to chap. xlii., the merited punishment of their
+sins. In that passage, the greatness of the mercy of God is pointed
+out, who grants a twofold salvation for sins, while infinite punishment
+should be their natural consequence. It is not to a single portion of
+the people, but to the whole, that, in the passages formerly quoted,
+every share in effecting deliverance and salvation is denied. How
+little an absolute righteousness existed in the elect, sufficiently
+appears from the fact, that, in the second part, it forms a main object
+of the Prophet to oppose their want of courage, their despair and
+distrust of God. _Farther_--The ungodly could not by any means consider
+the sufferings of the righteous ones as vicarious, because they
+themselves suffered as much; and as little could they despise the godly
+on account of their sufferings. It is a mere invention, destitute of
+every historical foundation, to assert that it was especially the
+God-fearing who had to suffer so grievously in the captivity. On the
+contrary, their fear of God gained for them the respect of the
+Gentiles; and among [Pg 340] their own people also, whose sinful
+disposition was broken by the punishment, they occupied an honourable
+position. Ezekiel we commonly find surrounded by the elders of the
+people, listening to his words; and Daniel, Esther, and Mordecai, Ezra,
+and Nehemiah, richly furnished with the goods of this world, enjoyed
+high esteem in the Gentile world. The fact that the supporters of this
+hypothesis are compelled to have recourse to such an unhistorical
+fiction, which has been carried to the extreme, especially by _Knobel_,
+sufficiently proves it to be untenable.
+
+In opposition to the interpretation which refers the prophecy to the
+collective body of the Prophets, _Hitzig_ very justly remarks: "The
+supposition that, by the Servant of God, the prophetic order is to be
+understood, is destitute of all foundation and probability." In
+commenting on chap. xlii. we remarked, that there are no analogous
+cases at all in favour of such a personification of the prophetic
+order. Moreover, the defenders of this view commonly deny, at the same
+time, the genuineness of the second part. From this stand-point it
+becomes still more evident, how untenable this hypothesis is. A
+prophetic order can, least of all, be spoken of during the time of the
+Babylonish captivity. With the captivity, Prophetism began to die out.
+Jeremiah in Jerusalem, and Ezekiel among the exiled, already stood very
+much isolated. Jeremiah, during the last days of the Jewish state,
+stands out everywhere as a single individual, opposed to the whole mass
+of the false prophets. "There is no more any prophet," is, at the time
+of the destruction by the Chaldeans, the lamentation of the author of
+Ps. lxxiv. in ver. 9. According to an unanimous tradition (comp. 1
+Maccab. ix. 27, iv. 46, xiv. 41, and the passages from the Talmud and
+other Jewish writings in _Knibbe's_ history of the Prophets, S. 347
+ff., and in _Joh. Smithi Dissert. de Prophetis_, in the Appendix to
+_Clericus'_ Commentary on the Prophets, chap. xii.), Haggai, Zechariah,
+and Malachi were the last of the prophets, and according to the
+historical books and their own prophecies, the only prophets of their
+time. How, now, were it possible that the Prophet should speak of a
+great corporation of the prophets, who become not only the founders and
+rulers of the new state, but who are to enlighten all the other nations
+of the earth with the light of the time religion, [Pg 341] and
+incorporate them into the church of God? Of all that is characteristic
+of the vocation of the prophets, nothing is found here; while, on the
+other hand, almost everything which is said of the Servant of God is in
+opposition to the vocation and destination of the prophets. That which
+here, above everything, comes into consideration is the _vicarious
+satisfaction_. Chap. vi., where the Prophet when, after having
+administered the prophetic office for several years, he beheld the
+Lord, exclaims: "Woe is unto me for I am undone, because I am a man of
+unclean lips, and dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips," is
+sufficient to show how far the thoughts of such a vicarious
+satisfaction were from the prophets. Such is surely not the ground from
+which the delusion of being substitutes for others can grow up. All
+those who entertained such a delusion, such as _Gichtel_, _Bourignon_,
+_Guyon_, were misled into it by proudly shutting their eyes to their
+own sinfulness. It would surely be abasing the prophets without any
+cause, if we were to assign to them that delusion. Moreover, the hopes
+which here, according to these interpreters, are uttered in reference
+to the prophetic order, contradict its idea, and institution. A
+prophetic pride would here come out, such as is not equalled by
+priestly pride in all history. _Schenkel_, no doubt, is right in
+remarking against the interpretation which makes the Jewish people the
+subject of the prophecy,--an interpretation of which _Hitzig_ is the
+representative: "Is it to believed that the prophets, whose object all
+along it was to suppress the moral pride of the people, should wantonly
+have awakened it by such a thought?" But _Hitzig_ is equally in the
+right when, in opposition to _Schenkel_ and others who refer this
+prediction to the prophetic order, he remarks: "It is quite obvious,
+how very unsuitable it would be to limit the hitherto wretched
+condition and the future glory of the people to the prophets, as if
+they alone, as true [Greek: katakurieuontes ton kleron], constituted
+the people." According to this hypothesis, the prophets are supposed to
+flatter themselves with the hope that they would be the rulers of
+the state again flourishing, and would celebrate worldly triumphs.
+Altogether apart from the folly of this hope, it was entirely opposed
+to the destiny of the prophetic order. By divine institution, the
+dominion in the Kingdom of God had for ever been given over to
+David [Pg 342] and his family. By usurping it, the prophets would
+have rebelled against God, whose lights they were called to
+uphold.--_Farther_, As the principal sphere of the ministry of the
+Servant of God, the heathen world here appears. But with it, the
+prophets have, nowhere else, any thing to do; their mission is
+everywhere to Israel only.--The sufferings which the prophets had to
+endure during the captivity, were not different from those of the
+people. Every proof, yea, even every probability, is wanting that,
+during the time of the captivity, the prophets--and history mentions
+and knows only Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel--were pre-eminently
+afflicted. On the contrary, they occupy an honourable position.
+Jeremiah receives, after the capture of Jerusalem, proofs of esteem
+from Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel is entrusted with the highest public
+offices. Ezekiel is held in honour by his compatriots. How then could
+the people despise the prophets on account of their sufferings? How
+could they imagine that they had been smitten by God? How could they
+afterwards conceive the idea that the sufferings of the prophets had a
+vicarious character?--To what quarter soever we look, impossibilities
+present themselves; and if, moreover, we also look at the parallel
+passages, we must indeed wonder, that a hypothesis altogether so
+untenable should ever have been listened to.
+
+
+
+
+                            CHAPTER LV. 1-5.
+
+
+The Lord exhorts those who are anxious to be saved, to appropriate the
+blessings of salvation which are so liberally offered, and which,
+although bestowed without money and price, can alone truly satisfy the
+soul, vers. 1 and 2. For He is to make with them a covenant of
+everlasting duration, in which the eternal mercy promised to the family
+of David is to be realized, ver. 3. David--such is the salvation in
+store for the Church--is to be a witness, prince, and lawgiver of all
+the Gentiles who, with joyful readiness, shall unite themselves to
+Israel.
+
+[Pg 343]
+
+Ver. 1. "_Ho, all ye that thirst, come ye to the water, and ye that
+have no silver, come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk
+without silver and without price._"
+
+The discourse is addressed to the members of the Church pining away in
+misery. By the water, salvation is denoted, as is not unfrequently the
+case, comp. chap. xii. 3: "And with joy ye shall draw water out of the
+wells of salvation," xliv. 3; Ps. lxxxvii. 7, lxxxiv. 7, cvii. 35. The
+thirsty one is he who stands in need of salvation. To the words: "Ho,
+all ye that thirst, come ye to the water," the Lord refers in John vii.
+37: [Greek: ean tis dipsa erchestho pros me kai pineto], where the
+[Greek: pros me] had been added from ver. 3. It is to be observed that
+Christ there appropriates to himself what Jehovah is here speaking.
+_Michaelis_ says: "Christ, in consequence of the highest identity,
+makes the words of the Father His own." There is an evident reference
+to the same words in Rev. xxi. 6 also: [Greek: ego to dipsonti doso ek
+tes peges tou hudatos tes zoes dorean]. Similarly in Rev. xxii. 17:
+[Greek: kai ho dipson erchestho, ho thelon labeto hudor zoes dorean].
+In a somewhat more distant relation to the words before us, but yet
+undeniably depending upon them, is John iv. 10: [Greek: su an etesas
+auton kai edoken an soi hudor zon]. Vers. 13, 14: [Greek: pas ho pinon
+ek tou hudatos toutou dipsesei palin. hos d'an pie ek tou hudatos, hou
+ego doso auto ou me dipsese eis ton aiona]. And so does, in another
+aspect. Matt. xi. 28: [Greek: deute pros me hoi kopiontes kai
+pephortismenoi kago anapauso humas], which, however, has still nearer
+points of resemblance to ver. 3; for [Greek: deute pros me] corresponds
+to [Hebrew: lkv ali] in that verse; the words [Greek: kago anapauso
+humas], to: "Your soul shall live" there, but yet in such a way that
+there is, at the same time, a reference to Jer. vi. 16; the [Greek:
+kopiontes kai pephortismenoi] are the thirsty ones in the verse before
+us. It is remarkable to see how important this unassuming declaration
+was to our Lord, and how much He had it at heart. We are thereby
+urgently called upon, by means of deep and earnest study and
+meditation, to arrive at the full meaning of the Old Testament, which
+is everywhere connected with the New Testament, not only by the strong
+and firm ties of express quotations, but also by the nicest and most
+tender threads of gentle allusions. Even Matt. v. 6: [Greek: makarioi
+hoi peinontes kai dipsontes ten dikaiosunen] comes into a close
+relation to our passage, as soon as it is recognized that [Greek:
+dikaiosunen] is not the subjective righteousness [Pg 344] which is
+excluded from that context, but rather righteousness as a gift of God,
+the actual justification, such as takes place in the bestowal of
+salvation; so that, hence, the righteousness there corresponds with the
+_water_ here. The subsequent "eat" furnishes the foundation for the
+fact, that the need of and desire for salvation, is designated by
+_hunger_ also,--"_Come ye, buy and eat._" [Hebrew: wbr] "to break," is
+used of the appeasing of thirst (comp. Ps. civ. 11), and hunger (comp.
+Gen. xlii. 19); and corn is called [Hebrew: wbr] for this reason that
+it breaks the hunger. The verb never means "to buy" in general, but
+only such a buying as affords the means of appeasing hunger and thirst.
+Nor does it, in itself, stand in any relation to corn, except in so far
+only as the latter is a chief moans of appeasing hunger. This we see
+not only from Ps. civ. 11, but also from that which here immediately
+follows, where it is used of the buying of wine and milk. The buying of
+necessary provisions is commonly designated by the _Kal_; the selling
+by the _Hiphil_. In Gen. xli. 26, the selling too is designated by the
+_Kal_. He who causes that one can break or appease, may himself also be
+designated as he who breaks or appeases. This verb, so very peculiar,
+and the noun [Hebrew: wbr], occur in a certain accumulation, in the
+history of Joseph only; elsewhere, their occurrence is sporadic only.
+It is then to the hunger of Israel in ancient times, and to its being
+appeased by Joseph, that the double [Hebrew: wbrv] alludes; and from
+this circumstance also the fact is to be explained, that it is first
+used in reference to food; comp. [Hebrew: wbrv vaklv] in our verse,
+with [Hebrew: wbr akl] in Gen. xlii. 7-10. Christ is the true Joseph,
+who puts an end to the hunger and thirst of the people of God, by
+offering true food and true drink.--The word "eat" suggests substantial
+food, bread in contrast to the drink by which it is surrounded on both
+sides; compare John vi. 35: [Greek: ego eimi ho artos tes zoes. ho
+erchomenos pros me ou me peinase] [Hebrew: wbrv] [Greek: kai ho
+pisteuon eis eme ou me dipsese popote]. Ver. 55: [Greek: he gar
+sarx mou alethos esti brosis, kai to hima mou alethos esti posis]. From
+the sequel (comp. vers. 6, 7), it appears that the thrice repeated
+_coming_ and the _buying_ are accomplished by true repentance, the
+[Greek: metanoia], which is the indispensable condition of the
+participation in the salvation. In John vi. 35, the words: [Greek: ho
+erchomenos pros me] are explained by: [Greek: ho pisteuon eis eme].
+Faith is the soul of repentance.--The circumstance that the [Pg 345]
+buying is done without money, intimates that the blessings of salvation
+are a pure gift of divine grace. These blessings of salvation are first
+designated by water; afterwards, by _wine_ and _milk_,--thus
+approximating to those passages in which the blessings of the Kingdom
+of Christ appear under the image of a rich repast, to which the members
+of the Kingdom are invited as guests, Ps. xxii. 26-30; Matt. viii. 11,
+xxii. 2; Luke xiv. 16; Rev. xix. 9.--Some Rationalistic interpreters
+understand, by the offered blessings, the salutary admonitions of the
+Prophet; but decisive against these are vers. 3 and 11, according to
+which it is not present, but future blessings, not words, but real
+things which are spoken of, viz., the salvation which is to be brought
+through Christ. What that is which constitutes the substance of this
+salvation, we learn from chap. liii. It is the redemption and
+reconciliation by the Servant of God. Yet we must not, after the manner
+of several ancient interpreters, limit ourselves to the "evangelical
+righteousness." On the contrary, the whole fulness of the salvation in
+Christ is comprehended in it; and according to vers. 4 and 5, this
+includes the dominion over the world by the Kingdom of God,--its
+dominion over the Gentile world, and the investiture of its members
+with the full liberty and glory of the children of God.
+
+Ver. 2. "_Wherefore do ye weigh money for that which is not bread, and
+your labour for that which satisfieth not? Hearken, hearken unto me,
+and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in
+fatness._"
+
+From ver. 3, we see that it is not the Prophet, but the Lord who
+speaks. "That which is not bread," and "that which satisfieth not," is
+something which outwardly has the appearance of good and nutritious
+food, and to obtain which the hungry ones therefore strive, and exert
+themselves with all their might, but which afterwards shows itself to
+be food in appearance only, and which has not the power of satisfying.
+"That which is not bread," is, in the first instance, the imagined
+salvation which they sought to obtain from idols for much money. This
+appears from the intentional literal reference to chap. xlvi. 6, where
+the Prophet reproves the folly of those who, in the face of the living
+God, "lavish gold out of the bag, and _weigh silver_ in the balance,
+and hire a goldsmith, [Pg 346] that he make it a god, work also and
+fall down." With perfect justice _Stier_ remarks: "Notwithstanding the
+connection with, and allusion to, the circumstances of that time, the
+word of the Prophet is to be understood in a general, spiritual way, as
+a melancholy, bitter lamentation over the general misery, and man's
+deep-rooted perverseness in running with effort and exertion, after
+that which is pernicious to the soul, and in serving some Baal better
+than Jehovah." "Fatness" occurs as a figurative designation of the
+glorious gifts of God, in Ps. xxxvi. 9 also.
+
+Ver. 3. "_Incline your ears and come unto me, hear and your soul shall
+live, and I will grant to you an everlasting covenant, the constant
+mercies of David._"
+
+The introductory words allude, in a graceful manner, to two Messianic
+psalms, and remind us of the fact, that the prophecy before us moves on
+the same ground as these psalms. On "incline your ear, and come unto
+me, hear," comp. Ps. xlv. 11: "Hear, O daughter, and see, and _incline
+thine ear_ (from the fundamental passage, the Singular is here
+retained), and forget thy people and thy father's house." On "your soul
+shall live," comp. Ps. xxii. 27: "The meek shall eat and be satisfied,
+they shall praise the Lord that seek Him, _your heart shall live for
+ever_." Analogous are the references to Ps. lxxii. in chap. xi. The
+soul _dies_ in care and grief In the words: "I will grant to you," &c.,
+there follow the glad tidings which are to heal the dying hearts.
+[Hebrew: krt brit] is used of God, even where no reciprocal agreement
+takes place, but where He simply confers grace; because every grace
+which He bestows imposes, at the same time, an obligation, and may
+hence be considered as a covenant. The onesidedness is, in such a case,
+indicated by the construction with [Hebrew: l], comp. chap. lxi. 8:
+"And I give them their reward in truth, and I make (grant) to them an
+everlasting covenant," Jer. xxxii. 40; Ezek. xxxiv. 25; Ps. lxxxix. 4.
+Since _to make a covenant_ is here identical with _granting mercy_,
+[Hebrew: akrth] may also be connected with the subsequent "the constant
+mercies of David," and there is no necessity for supposing a Zeugma.
+The everlasting covenant here, is the new covenant in Jer. xxxi. 31-34;
+for the words "I _will_ make" show that, here too, a new covenant is
+spoken of. The substance of the covenant to be made is expressed in the
+words: [Pg 347] "The constant mercies of David," &c. By "David," many
+interpreters here understand the descendant of David, the Messiah, who,
+in other passages also, _e.g._, Jer. xxx. 9, bears the name of His
+type. Even _Abenezra_ refers to the fact that, in ver. 4, the Messiah
+is necessarily required as the subject. The _constant_ mercies of David
+are, according to this view--in parallelism with the "everlasting
+covenant"--the mercies constantly continuing, in contrast to the merely
+transitory mercies, such as had been those of the first David.
+According to the opinion of other interpreters, David designates here,
+as in Hos. iii. 5, the family of David who, in Ps. xviii., and in a
+series of other psalms, speaks in the name of his whole family. As
+regards the sense, this explanation arrives at the same result. For,
+according to it, the Messiah is He in whom the Davidic house attains to
+its fall destiny, the channel through which the mercies of David flow
+in upon the Church. For the latter interpretation, however, is decisive
+the evident reference to the divine promise to David, in 2 Sam. vii.,
+especially vers. 15, 16: "And my mercy shall not depart from him (thy
+race) ... and constant ([Hebrew: namN]) is thine house, and thy kingdom
+for ever before thee, thy throne shall be firm for ever;" compare Ps.
+lxxxix. 29: "My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and my covenant
+is constant in him." Ps. lxxxix. 2, 50: "Lord, where are thy former
+mercies which thou swarest unto David in thy truth?" likewise suggest
+that, by David, not simply Christ is to be understood, but the Davidic
+family. The constant mercies of David are, accordingly, the mercies
+which have been sworn to the Davidic house as _constant_, which,
+therefore, can never rest until Christ has appeared with His
+everlasting Kingdom, in which they find their true and full
+realization. In the expectation of the Messiah from the house of David,
+the prophecy under consideration goes hand in hand with chap. xi. 1,
+where the Messiah appears as a twig which proceeds from the cut-down
+tree of Jesse; and with chap. ix. 6, according to which He sits on the
+throne of David. This passage alone is fully sufficient against those
+(_Ewald_, _Umbreit_, and others) who advance the strange assertion,
+that the Prophet had altogether given up the idea of a Messiah from the
+house of David, and had distributed His property between Cyrus and the
+prophetic order, [Pg 348] or the pious portion of the people. It is of
+the greatest importance for the explanation of those passages which
+treat of the Servant of God, and forms a point of union for the
+Messianic passages of the first and second part. The passage before us
+is quoted in Acts xiii. 34: [Greek: hoti de anestesen auton ek nekron,
+meketi mellonta hupostrephein eis diaphthoran houtos, eireken. hoti
+doso humin ta hosia Dabid ta pista]. [Greek: hOsia Dabid], _sancta
+Davidis_, are the sacred, inviolable, inalienably guaranteed mercies
+and blessings which have been promised to the house of David. As
+certainly as these must be granted, so certainly Christ, who was to
+bring them, could not remain in the power of death.
+
+Ver. 4. "_Behold, I give him for a witness to the people, for a prince
+and lawgiver of the people._"
+
+Here, and in ver. 5, we have the expansion of the mercies of David.
+Their greatness and glory appear from the circumstance that, around his
+scion, the whole heathen world, which hitherto was hostile and
+pernicious to the Church of God, will gather. The Suffix in [Hebrew:
+nttiv] can refer only to David, or the family of David. From the
+connection with chap. liii., it appears that it is in his descendant,
+the righteous One, to whom the heathen and their kings do homage, that
+David will attain to the dignity here announced. [Hebrew: ed] has no
+other signification than "witness." Every true doctrine bears the
+character of a witness. The teacher sent by God does not teach on his
+own authority, [Greek: a me eoraken embateuon], but only witnesses what
+he has seen and heard. With a reference to, and in explanation of the
+passage before us, Christ says to Pilate, in John xviii. 37: "For this
+end was I born, and for this cause I came into the world, that I should
+bear _witness_ unto the truth." And the passages, Rev. i. 5: "And from
+Jesus Christ who is the faithful witness," and Rev. iii. 14: "These
+things says the Amen, the faithful and true witness," likewise point
+back to the passage before us; compare farther, John iii. 11, 32, 33.
+In John xviii. 37, Rev. i. 5, His being a witness is, just as in the
+passage before us, connected with His being a King; so that the
+reference to this passage cannot be at all doubtful. It is
+intentionally that [Hebrew: ed] is put at the head. It is intended to
+intimate that the future dominion of the Davidic dynasty over the
+heathen world shall be essentially different from that which, in former
+times, it exercised [Pg 349] over some neighbouring people. It is not
+based upon the power of arms, but upon the power of truth. He in whom
+the Davidic dynasty is to centre shall connect the prophetic with the
+regal office; just as already, in the prophecy of the Shiloh, in Gen.
+xlix. 10, the prophetic office is concealed behind the royal. The
+contrast to the first David can the less be doubtful, that, while
+[Hebrew: ed] is never applied to him, it is just the subsequent
+[Hebrew: ngid] which, in a series of passages, is ascribed to him. In 2
+Sam. vi. 21, David himself says that the Lord appointed him to be
+_ruler_ over the people of the Lord, over Israel; in 2 Sam. vii. 8,
+Nathan says: "I took thee from the sheep-cot to be _ruler_ over my
+people, over Israel;" comp. 1 Sam. xxv. 30; 2 Sam. v. 5. In those
+passages, however, David is always spoken of as a ruler over Israel; so
+that even as regards the [Hebrew: ngid], the second David, the prince
+of the _people_, is not only placed on a level with the first David,
+but is elevate d above him. For the dominion by force which David
+exercised over some heathen nations, [Hebrew: ngid] was the less
+appropriate designation, inasmuch as it designates the ruler as the
+chief of his people.
+
+Ver. 5. "_Behold, thou shall call a nation that thou knowest not, and
+nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee, because of the Lord thy
+God, and of the Holy One of Israel, for He adorneth thee._"
+
+The words here are addressed to the true Israel, to the exclusion of
+those souls who are cut off from among their people, compare Ps.
+lxxiii. 1, where Israel and those that are of a clean heart go hand in
+hand,--and, in substance, they also were addressed in vers. 1 and 2.
+For the thirsty ones, who are there called upon to partake of the
+blessings so liberally offered by the Lord, are just the members of the
+Church. In connection with that glorification of David, the Church
+shall invite nations from a great distance, who were hitherto unknown
+to it, to its communion; and those nations who hitherto scarcely knew
+by name the Church of God shall joyfully and willingly comply with the
+invitation; comp. chap. ii. 2. This great change proceeds from the
+Lord, the Almighty and Holy One, who, as the protector and Covenant-God
+of His Church, has resolved to glorify it; for _He adorneth thee_. This
+glorification consists, according to chap. iv. 2, in the appearance of
+[Pg 350] Christ, the immediate consequence of which is the conversion
+of the heathen world.
+
+We must now review that exposition by which Rationalism has endeavoured
+to deprive our passage of its Messianic import,--an attempt in which
+_Grotius_ led the way. _Gesenius_, whom _Hitzig_, _Maurer_, _Ewald_,
+and _Knobel_ follow, translates in vers. 3 and 4: "That I may make with
+you an everlasting covenant, may show to you constant mercies, as once
+to David. Behold, I have made him a ruler of the nations, a prince and
+lawgiver of the nations," and refers both of the verses to the first
+David. In ver. 5, then, the mercy is to follow which, in some future
+time, God will bestow upon the whole people, as gloriously as once upon
+the single David. But this explanation proves itself to be, in every
+aspect, untenable.[1]
+
+We are the less entitled to put "mercies _like_ David's" instead of
+"the mercies of David," that these mercies are, elsewhere also,
+mentioned in reference to the eternal dominion promised to David for
+his family; comp. Ps. lxxxix. 2, 50. With the epithet, "constant,"
+these interpreters do not know what to do. Apart from the promise of
+the eternal dominion of his house, no constant mercies can, in the case
+of David, be pointed out which would be equally bestowed upon the
+people, and upon him. Moreover, [Hebrew: namniM] distinctly points back
+to 2 Sam. vii. Ver. 4 forms, according to this explanation, "a
+historical reminiscence, most unsuitable in the flow of a prophetic
+discourse" (_Umbreit_). But what in itself is quite conclusive is the
+circumstance, that the first David could not by any possibility be
+designated as the _witness_ of the Gentile nations. It indeed sounds
+rather _naive_ that _Knobel_, after having endeavoured to explain
+[Hebrew: ed] of the "opening up of the law," feels himself obliged to
+add: "The word does not, however, occur anywhere else in this
+signification." Nor could David, without farther limitation, be
+designated as "the prince and lawgiver of the _peoples_;" and that so
+much the more [Pg 351] that, in ver. 5, there is an invitation to the
+Gentile world, and that, in ver. 4, too, the Gentile world, in the
+widest sense, is to be thought of.
+
+After the promise, there follows, in vers. 6-13, the admonition to
+repentance based upon it. Repent ye, for the Kingdom of heaven is at
+hand, vers. 6, 7. Do not doubt that the Kingdom of heaven is at hand,
+because it does not seem probable to you. For the counsels of God go
+beyond all the thoughts of men; and, therefore. He and His work must
+not be judged by a human measure, vers. 8, 9. With Him, word and deed
+are inseparably connected, vers. 10, 11. This will be manifested in
+your redemption and glorification, vers. 12, 13.
+
+
+
+[Footnote 1: _Vitringa_ already remarked in opposition to it: "This
+exposition is rather far fetched, and is the weakest of all that can be
+advanced. I add, that the constancy of the promises given to David does
+not appear, if we exclude the Kingdom of the Messiah. But are any other
+promises of constant and eternal blessings, such as are here promised,
+to be thought of?"]
+
+
+
+
+                      THE PROPHECY--CHAP. LXI. 1-3.
+
+
+As in chaps. xlix. and l., so here, the Servant of God is introduced as
+speaking, and announces to the Church what a glorious office the Lord
+had bestowed upon Him, namely, to deliver them from the misery in which
+they had hitherto been lying, and to work a wonderful change in their
+condition. In vers. 4-9, the Prophet takes the word, and describes the
+salvation to be bestowed by the Servant of God. In vers. 10 and 11, the
+Church appears, and expresses her joy and gratitude.
+
+According to the Jewish and Rationalistic interpreters, the Prophet
+himself is supposed to be speaking in vers. 1-3. That opinion was last
+expressed by _Knobel_: "The author places before his promises a
+remembrance of his vocation as a preacher of consolation." In favour of
+the Messianic interpretation, in which our Lord himself preceded His
+Church (Luke iv. 17-19), are conclusive, not only the parallel
+passages, but also the contents of the prophecy itself, which go far
+beyond the prophetic territory, and the human territory generally. The
+speaker designates himself as He who is called, not merely to announce
+the highest blessings to the Church, [Pg 352] but actually to grant
+them. He does not represent himself as a mere Evangelist, but rather as
+a Saviour.
+
+Ver. 1. "_The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is upon me, because the Lord
+hath anointed me to preach glad tidings unto the meek; He hath sent me
+to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and
+opening to them that are bound._"
+
+On the words: "The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is upon me," compare
+chap. xi. 2, xlii. 1. [Hebrew: ieN] always means "because of" The whole
+succeeding clause stands instead of a noun, so that, in substance,
+"because of" is equivalent to "because;" but it never can mean
+"therefore." Nor would the latter signification afford a good sense.
+The verb [Hebrew: mwH] must, in that case, be subjected to arbitrary
+explanations. The anointing, whether it occurs as a symbolical action
+really carried out, or as a mere figure, is always a designation of the
+gifts of the Holy Spirit; compare 1 Sam. x. 1, xvi. 13, 14, and remarks
+on Dan. ix. 24. Since, then, the anointing is identical with the
+bestowal of the Spirit, the words: "because the Lord hath anointed me"
+must not be isolated, but must be understood in close connection with
+the subsequent words; so that the sense is: And He hath, for this
+reason, endowed me with His Spirit, in order that I may preach good
+tidings, &c. The [Hebrew: enviM] are the [Greek: praeis] in Matt. v. 5;
+[Hebrew: eni] and [Hebrew: env] are never confounded with one another.
+The LXX., whom Luke follows, have [Greek: ptochois]. This rendering
+does not differ so much from the original text as to make it appear
+expedient to give up the version at that time received. In the world of
+sin, the meek are, at the same time, those who are suffering; and the
+glad tidings which imply a contrast to their misery, show that, here
+especially, the meek are to be conceived of as sufferers. The [Hebrew:
+enviM], in contrast to the wicked, appear, in chap. xi. also, as the
+people of the Messiah.--"The binding up"--_Stier_ remarks--"already
+passes over into the actual bestowal of that which is announced." The
+term [Hebrew: qra drvr] is taken from the Jubilee year, which was a
+year of general deliverance for all those who, on account of debts, had
+become slaves; compare Lev. xxv. 10: "And ye shall hallow the fiftieth
+year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land for all the inhabitants
+thereof; it shall be a jubilee year unto you, and ye [Pg 353] shall
+return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man
+unto his family." Such a great year of liberty is both to be proclaimed
+and to be brought about by the Servant of God. For He does not announce
+any thing which He does not, at the same time, grant, as is clearly
+shown by ver. 3. His saying is based upon His being and nature; He
+delivers from the service of the world, and brings into the glorious
+liberty of the children of God.--Most of the modern interpreters agree
+with the ancient versions in declaring it to be wrong to divide the
+word [Hebrew: pqHqvH], although this writing is found in most of the
+manuscripts. The word is, "by its form of reduplication, the most
+emphatic term for the most complete opening," and designates, "opening,
+unclosing of every kind, of the eyes, ears, and heart, of every barrier
+and tie from within, or from without." The LXX., proceeding upon the
+fact that [Hebrew: pqH] occurs, with especial frequency, of the opening
+of the eyes, translate: [Greek: kai tuphlois anablepsin]. Luke does not
+wish to set aside this version, because it gives one feature of the
+sense; and partly also because of the close resemblance to the parallel
+passage, chap. xlii. 7, which, in this way, was brought in and
+connected with the passage under consideration. But since outward
+deliverance and redemption are, in the first instance, to be thought
+of, when opening to the captives is spoken of, be, in order to complete
+the sense, adds: [Greek: aposteilai tethrausmenous en aphesei],
+borrowing the expression from the Alexand. Vers. itself in chap. lviii.
+6.
+
+Ver. 2. "_To proclaim a year of acceptance to the Lord, and a day of
+vengeance to our God, to comfort all that mourn._"
+
+"A year ... to the Lord" is a year when the Lord shows himself gracious
+and merciful to His people; compare chap. xlix. 8. The words farther
+still allude to the Jubilee year; and it is in consequence of this
+allusion, that we can account for its being a _year_ instead of a
+_time_, indefinitely. In that year, a complete _restitutio in integrum_
+took place. It was, for all in misery, a year of mercy, a type of the
+times of refreshing (Acts iii. 19) which the Lord grants to His Church,
+after it has been exercised by the Cross. Hand in hand with the year of
+mercy goes the day of vengeance. When the Lord shows mercy to the meek,
+and to them that mourn, this shall, at the same time, be accompanied by
+a manifestation of anger [Pg 354] against the enemies of God, and of
+His Church. The one cannot be thought of without the other. The mercy
+of the Lord towards His people is, among other things also, manifested
+in His sitting in judgment upon His and their enemies, upon the proud
+world which afflicts and oppresses them. It is only in this respect
+that the vengeance here comes into consideration; and it is for this
+reason also, that the first feature at once reappears in the third
+verse. The Lord, in quoting the verse, limits himself to the first
+clause, "His first coming into the world was in the form of meekness,"
+and, therefore, in the meantime, the bright side only is brought out.
+
+Ver. 3. "_To put upon them that mourn in Zion,--to give them a crown
+for ashes, oil of joy for mourning, garment of praise for a spirit of
+heaviness; and they shall be called terebinths of righteousness,
+planting of the Lord for glorifying._"
+
+It is in this verse that it comes clearly out, that the speaker is not
+merely to announce the mercy of God, but, at the same time, to bestow
+it; that the announcement is not an empty one, but one which brings
+along with it that which is promised; that it is not a Prophet or
+Evangelist who speaks, but the Saviour. Such a change cannot be
+effected by merely _announcing_ it. Everywhere, in the second part, it
+is brought about, not by words, but by deeds. How were it possible that
+by mere words, as long as the reality stood in glaring contrast to
+them, the believers could become terebinths of righteousness, a
+glorious planting of the Lord?--The connection of the two verbs
+[Hebrew: wvM] and [Hebrew: ntN] is to be accounted for from the
+circumstance, that the pronoun suited the first noun only--the ornament
+for the head. It is only when [Hebrew: wvM] is understood in the sense,
+"to put upon," or, "to put on," that there is a sufficient reason for
+adding [Hebrew: ntN]; but that is not the case when it is taken in the
+signification "to grant," "to appoint." [Hebrew: par] "crown," and
+[Hebrew: apr] "ashes," are connected with one another, because mourners
+were accustomed to strew ashes on their heads. The expression "oil of
+joy," which is to be explained from the custom of people anointing
+themselves with oil in cases of joy, is taken from Ps. xlv. 8. As the
+Messiah there appears as the possessor of the oil of joy, so, here, He
+appears as the bestower. In chap. lv. 3, there is [Pg 355] likewise an
+allusion to Ps. xlv., and along with it, to Ps. xxii. The "spirit of
+heaviness" refers to chap. xlii. 3. The fact that, instead of it, they
+receive "garments of praise," intimates that they shall be altogether
+clothed with praise, songs of praise for the divine goodness which
+manifested itself in them; on the garments as symbols of the condition,
+compare remarks on Rev. vii. 14. The "righteousness" which is
+appropriate to the spiritual terebinths, is the actual justification,
+which the Lord grants to His people at the appearance of the Messiah.
+There is in it an allusion to the planting of paradise; God now
+prepares for himself a new paradisaical plantation, consisting of
+living trees.
+
+[Pg 356]
+
+
+
+
+                         THE PROPHET ZEPHANIAH.
+
+
+By the inscription, the Prophet's origin is, in a way rather uncommon,
+traced back to his fourth ancestor, Hezekiah,--no doubt the king. He
+appeared as a prophet under the reign of Josiah--before the time,
+however, at which the reforms of that king had attained their
+completion, which took place in the 18th year of his reign--and, hence,
+prophesied, like his predecessor Habakkuk, in the view of the Chaldean
+catastrophe. The prophecy begins with threatening judgment upon the
+sinners, and closes with announcing salvation to the believers,--a
+circumstance which proves that it forms one whole. The threatening is
+distinguished from that of Habakkuk by the circumstance, that it has
+more of a general comprehensive character, and does not, as is done in
+Habakkuk, view the Chaldean catastrophe as a particular historical
+event. It is not an incidental circumstance, that the Chaldeans are not
+expressly mentioned by Zephaniah, as is done by Habakkuk, and was done
+by Isaiah. The Prophet can, therefore, have had them in view as being,
+_in the first instance_ only, the instruments of Divine punishment.
+
+The prophecy begins, in chap. i. 2, 3, with announcing the judgment
+impending over the whole world. Then, the Prophet shows how it
+manifests itself in Judah; first, in general outlines, vers. 4-7; then,
+in detail, vers. 8-18. In close connection, this is followed by a call
+to repent, in chap. ii. 1-3. This call is founded on the fearful
+character of the impending judgment which, according to vers. 4-15,
+will be inflicted not only upon Judah, but also upon the world, and
+will especially bring destruction upon all the neighbouring nations: in
+the [Pg 357] West, upon the Philistines; in the East, upon Ammon and
+Moab; in the South, on Cush; in the North, upon Nineveh, upon whose
+destruction the Prophet especially dwells, since, up to that time, it
+had been the bearer of the world's power.
+
+In chap. iii., in the first instance, the threatening against Judah is
+resumed. Apostate Jerusalem, corrupt in its head and members,
+irresistibly hastens on towards judgment. But, notwithstanding, "the
+afflicted and poor people of the land" shall not despair. On the
+contrary, as salvation cannot proceed from the midst of the people,
+they are to put their trust in the Lord. By His judgments (viz., those
+declared in chap. ii., which at last shall bring forth the peaceable
+fruits of righteousness, compare Isa. xxvi. 9: "For when thy judgments
+are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness")
+will He break the pride of the Gentile world, and bring about their
+conversion,--and the converted Gentile world will bring back to
+Jerusalem the scattered Congregation. Being purified and justified, it
+will then enjoy the full mercy of the Lord.
+
+The principal passage is chap. iii. 8-13.
+
+Ver. 8. "_Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the Lord, until the day that
+I rise up to the prey; for my right is_ (_i.e._, the exercise of my
+right consists in this) _to gather the nations, and to assemble the
+kingdoms, to pour out upon them mine indignation, all the heat of mine
+anger; for all the earth shall be devoured by the fire of my jealousy._
+Ver. 9. _For then will I turn unto the nations a clean lip, that they
+may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve Him with one
+shoulder._ Ver. 10. _From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia shall they
+bring my suppliants, the daughter of my dispersed for a meat-offering
+to me._ Ver. 11. _In that day shall thou not be ashamed for all thy
+doings wherein thou hast transgressed against me; for then will I take
+away out of the midst of thee them that proudly rejoice in thee, and
+thou shall no more be haughty on mine holy mountain._ Ver. 12. _And I
+leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they trust
+in the name of the Lord._ Ver. 13. _The remnant of Israel shall not do
+iniquity nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in
+their mouth; for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them
+afraid._"
+
+[Pg 358]
+
+Zephaniah, who opens the series of the prophets who are preeminently
+dependent upon other prophets, just as Habakkuk closes the series of
+those pre-eminently independent, leans, in this section, chiefly upon
+Isaiah; and it is from this circumstance that it appears, that the
+person of the Messiah, although not appearing here, stands in the
+background and forms the invisible centre.
+
+"_Therefore_" ver. 8: Since the salvation cannot proceed from the midst
+of the people, inasmuch as, in the way of their works, they receive
+nothing but destructive punishment. On the words: "Wait ye upon me,"
+compare Hab. ii. 3. "The day that the Lord rises up to the prey" is the
+time when He will begin His great triumphal march against the Gentile
+world. With the words: "For my right," &c., a new argument for the call
+"Wait ye upon me," commences. But this does not by any means close with
+the 8th verse, but goes on to the end of ver. 10. First: Wait, for I
+will judge the nations. It is not without meaning that, as regards your
+hope, I refer you to the judgment upon the Gentiles; for, in
+consequence of this judgment, their conversion will take place, and a
+consequence of their conversion is, that they bring back to Zion her
+scattered members. In the thought, that the judgments upon the Gentile
+world will break their hardness of heart, and prepare them for their
+conversion, Zephaniah follows Isaiah, who, _e.g._ in chap. xix.,
+exemplifies it in the case of Egypt, and in chap. xxiii. in that of
+Tyre. The bruised reed and the faintly burning wick is not merely a
+designation of the single individuals who have been endowed with the
+right disposition for the kingdom of God, but of whole nations. "The
+clean lip" in ver. 9 forms the contrast to the unclean lips in Is. vi.
+With unclean lips they had, in the time of the long-suffering of God,
+invoked their idols, Ps. xvi. 4. On the words: "To serve Him with one
+shoulder," comp. Is. xix. 23: "And Egypt serves with Asshur." The
+words: "From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia," in ver. 10, rest on Is.
+xviii. 1. In both of the passages, Ethiopia is the type of the whole
+Gentile world to be converted in future. In Is. xviii. Ethiopia offers
+itself and all which it has to the Lord; here it brings the scattered
+members of the community of the Israelitish people to the Kingdom of
+God. [Hebrew: etr] always means "to supplicate," [Pg 359] never "to
+burn incense." Ezek. viii. 11 must thus be translated: "Every man, his
+censer in his hand, and the _supplication_ of the cloud of incense went
+up;" compare remarks on Rev. v. 8. The dispersed members of the Church
+_supplicate_ that the Lord would again receive them into His communion
+(compare Hos. xiv. 3; Jer. xxxi. 9, 18; Zech. xii. 10); and these
+supplications cannot remain without an answer, since they from whom
+they proceed stand in a close relation to the Lord. "The daughter of my
+dispersed" is the daughter or communion, consisting of the dispersed of
+the Lord, just as in the phrase "the daughter of the Chaldeans," the
+Chaldeans themselves are the daughter or virgin. The designation, in
+itself, plainly suggests the dispersed members of the old Congregation,
+inasmuch as they only can be designated as the dispersed of the Lord.
+To this, moreover, must be added the reference to Deut. iv. 27: "And
+the Lord _disperses_ you among the nations;" xxviii. 64: "And the Lord
+_disperses_ thee among all the nations from the one end of the earth
+even unto the other,"--an announcement which, at the time of Zephaniah,
+had already been fulfilled upon the ten tribes, and the fulfilment of
+which was soon to commence upon Judah. It is only when the members of
+the old Congregation are understood by the suppliants and dispersed,
+that the call, "Wait ye upon me" is here established and confirmed. The
+offering of the meat-offering signifies, in the symbolism of the Mosaic
+law, diligence in good works, such as is to be peculiar to the
+redeemed. A single manifestation of it is the missionary zeal which is
+here shown by the converted Gentiles.
+
+In harmony with the Song of Solomon, Isaiah announces in several
+passages, that the converted Gentiles shall, at some future period,
+labour for the restoration of Israel; compare the remarks on Is. xi.
+12. Zephaniah here specially refers to the remarkable passage, Is.
+lxvi. 18-21, which we must here subject to a somewhat closer
+examination: Ver. 18. "And I ... their works and their thoughts; _the
+time cometh to gather_ all Gentiles and tongues, and they come and
+_see_ my glory." The first hemistich still belongs to the threatening.
+The holy God and unholy men, the unholy members of the Church to which
+the Lord spake: "Ye shall be holy, for I am holy," and their sinful
+thoughts and words are simply placed beside one another, [Pg 360]
+other, and it is left to every one to draw from it the inference as to
+the fate awaiting them. "I and their works"--what an immense contrast,
+a contrast which must be adjusted by the judgment! With the
+threatening, the Prophet then connects, by a suitable contrast to the
+rejection of a great part of the covenant-people, the calling of the
+Gentiles. The glory of the Lord, which the Gentiles see, is His glory
+which, up to that time, was concealed, but is now manifested; compare
+Is. xl. 5, lx. 2, lii. 10, liii. 1. Ver. 19. "And I set a sign among
+them, and send from among them escaped ones unto the nations, to
+Tarshish, &c., to the isles afar off that have not heard my fame,
+neither have seen my glory, and they declare my glory among the
+Gentiles,"--The suffix in [Hebrew: bhM] can refer to those only from
+among the nations and tongues who have come and seen the glory of God.
+They are sent out to bring the message of the living God, the message
+of salvation to those also who hitherto have not come. By the
+demonstration of the Spirit and power, they are marked out as blessed
+of the Lord, as His servants, separated from the world given up to
+destruction. Just as the wicked, the servants of the prince of this
+world, have their _mark_, Gen. iv. 50, so have the servants of God
+theirs also, which may be recognised by all who are well disposed. It
+is only by one's own fault, and at one's own risk, that the sign is not
+understood. The fact that "unto the nations" forms the beginning, and
+the "isles afar off"--isles in the sea of the world, kingdoms--the
+close, shows that the single names, Tarshish, &c., are only
+individualizations. In the following verse, too, all the heathens
+are spoken of Ver. 20: "And they bring, out of all nations, your
+brethren for a meat-offering unto the Lord, upon horses, &c., to
+my holy mountain to Jerusalem, as the children of Israel bring the
+meat-offering in a clean vessel unto the house of the Lord." It is in
+this verse that it clearly appears, that Zephaniah depends upon it; and
+it is by the offering of the spiritual meat-offering that his
+dependence is recognized. The subject in "they bring" is the Gentiles,
+to whom the message of salvation has been brought. They, having
+themselves attained salvation, offer to the Lord, as a meat-offering,
+the former members of His Kingdom who were separated from it. It is
+they, not the Gentiles who have become believers, who in the second [Pg
+361] part of Isaiah, are throughout designated as the _brethren_.
+Salvation is first to pass from Israel to the Gentiles, and shall then,
+from them, return to Israel. The two verses before us thus contain a
+sanction for the mission among the heathens and among Israel. Vers. 18
+and 19 divide the conversion of the Gentiles into two main stations; it
+is only when the Church has arrived at the second, that the missionary
+work among Israel will fully thrive and prosper. To the _clean vessel_
+in which the outward sacrifice was offered, correspond the faith and
+love with which they, who were formerly heathens, offer the spiritual
+meat-offering. Ver. 21: "And of them also will I take for Levitical
+priests, saith the Lord." Of them, _i.e._, of those who formerly were
+heathens; for it is to them that, in the words preceding, a priestly
+function, viz., the offering of the meat-offering, is assigned. Of them
+_also_; not merely from among the old covenant-people, to whom, under
+the former dispensation, the priestly office was limited. The fact that
+the priests are designated as Levitical priests, is intended to keep
+out the thought that the point in question related only to priests in a
+lower sense, beside whom the Levitical priesthood, attached to natural
+descent, would continue to exist in full vigour. Priests with full
+dignities and rights are here so much the more required, that,
+according to what precedes, the point in question does not refer merely
+to a personal relation to the Lord, to immediate access to the throne
+of grace, but to the priestly office proper.
+
+Vers. 11-13 describe the internal condition of the redeemed Church of
+the future,--a condition so different from the present one. The
+expression, "they that proudly rejoice in them," is from Is. xiii. 3.
+[Hebrew: ki] in ver. 13 is to be accounted for from the fact, that
+wherever there exists the blessing promised by the Law of God (Lev.
+xxvi. 6) to faithfulness, faithfulness itself must exist.
+
+In ver. 14 ff., the Jerusalem of the future is addressed; compare the
+expression, "at that time," ver. 20.
+
+[Pg 362]
+
+
+
+
+
+                         THE PROPHET JEREMIAH.
+
+
+
+
+                      GENERAL PRELIMINARY REMARKS.
+
+
+In Malachi iii. 1, the Lord promises that He would send His messenger
+who should prepare the way before _Him_, who was to come to His temple,
+judging and punishing; vers. 23, 24 (iv. 5, 6): that before the coming
+of His great and dreadful day, before He smites the land with a curse,
+He would send another Elijah, who should bring back the heart of the
+fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their
+fathers. Even before this prophecy was expressed in words, it had
+_actually_ been given in the existence of Jeremiah, who, during the
+whole long period of forty-one years, before the destruction, announced
+the judgments of the Lord,--who, with burning zeal and ardent love to
+the people, preached repentance,--and who, even after the destruction,
+sought the small remnant that had been left, and was anxious to secure
+it against the new day of the Lord, which, by its obstinate
+impenitence, it was drawing down upon itself. It is this typical
+relation of Jeremiah to John the Baptist and Christ, of which the
+Jewish tradition had an anticipation, although it misunderstood and
+expressed it in a gross, outward manner, by teaching that, at the end
+of days, Jeremiah would again appear on earth,--it is this, which
+invests with a peculiar charm the contemplation of his ministry, and
+the study of his prophecies.
+
+The name of the Prophet is to be explained from Exod. xv. 1, from which
+it is probably taken. It signifies "The Lord throws." He who bore it
+was consecrated to that God who with an almighty hand throws to the
+ground all His enemies. From chap. i. 10: "See, I set thee to-day over
+the nations [Pg 363] and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull
+down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant," it appears
+that it was by a dispensation of divine providence, that the Prophet
+bore this name with full right, and that the character of his mission
+is thereby designated. The judging and destructive activity which the
+Prophet, as an instrument of God, is to exercise, is here not only
+placed at the commencement, but four appellations are also devoted to
+it, whilst only two are devoted to his healing and planting activity.
+As the object of the _throwing_, we have to conceive, not of the
+unfaithful covenant-people only. This appears from the mention of the
+_nations and kingdoms_ here, and farther, from ver. 14, where the Lord
+says to the Prophet: "Out of the North the evil breaks forth upon all
+the inhabitants of the earth." To be the herald of the judgment to be
+executed upon the whole world by the Chaldeans, was so much the destiny
+of the Prophet, that, in chap. i. 3, the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in
+which this judgment was brought to a close, as far as Judah was
+concerned, is mentioned as the closing point of his ministry. The
+Prophet, as is reported by the book itself, still continued his
+ministry even among the remnant of the people; but that is lost sight
+of The "carrying away of Jerusalem" is treated as the great closing
+point; just as, in a manner altogether similar, it is, in the case of
+Daniel, in chap. i. 21, the year of Israel's deliverance, although,
+according to chap. x. 1, his prophetic ministry extended beyond that
+period.
+
+Jeremiah was called to his office when still a youth, in the 13th year
+of king Josiah, and hence one year after the first reformation of this
+king, who, as early as in the 16th year of his life, and the 8th of his
+reign, which lasted 31 years, began to seek the Lord. A king such as
+he, unto whom no king before him was like, who turned to the Lord with
+all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, (2 Kings
+xxiii. 25), in the midst of an evil and adulterous generation, is a
+remarkable phenomenon, as little conceivable from natural causes as the
+existence of Melchizedec without father, without descent--isolated from
+all natural development--in the midst of the Canaanites who, with rapid
+strides and irresistibly, hastened on to the completion of their sin.
+His existence has the same root as that of Jeremiah,--a fact which
+becomes the [Pg 364] more evident when we take into consideration the
+connection of the Regal and Prophetical offices in Christ for the
+salvation of the people hastening anew to its destruction, and the
+faithfulness of the Covenant-God, and His long-suffering which makes
+every effort to lead the apostate children to repentance. The zeal of
+both, of Josiah and Jeremiah,--although supported by manifold
+assistance from other quarters, as _e.g._ by the prophetess Huldah and
+the prophet Zephaniah--was unable to stem the tide of prevailing
+corruption, and, hence, to stop the tide of the divine judgments. The
+corruption was so deeply rooted, that only single individuals could be
+saved, like brands from the burning. It had made fearful progress under
+the protracted reign of Manasseh, whose disposition must be regarded as
+a product of the spirit of the time then prevailing, of which he must
+not be considered as the creator, but as the representative only, 2
+Kings xxiii. 26, 27, xxiv. 3, 4. The scanty fruits of his late
+conversion had been again entirely consumed under the short reign of
+his wicked son Amon; it had indeed so little of a comprehensive or
+lasting influence, that the author of the Book of Kings thought himself
+entitled altogether to pass it over. It was even difficult to put
+limits to outward idolatry; and how imperfectly he succeeded in this,
+is seen from the prophecies of Jeremiah uttered after the reformation.
+And even where he was successful in his efforts; even where an emotion
+was manifested, a wish to return to the living fountain which they had
+forsaken, even there, the corruption soon broke forth again, only in a
+different form. With deep grief, Jeremiah reprovingly reminds the
+people of this, whose righteousness was like the morning dew, in chap.
+iii. 4, 5: "Hast thou not but lately called me: My Father, friend of my
+youth, thou? Will He reserve His anger for ever, will He keep it to the
+end? Behold, thus thou spakest, and soon thou didst the evil, didst
+accomplish"--an _accomplishment_ quite different from that of the
+ancestor. Gen. xxxii. 29. Since the disease had not been healed, but
+had only been driven out from one part of the diseased organism, the
+foolish inclination to idolatry was followed by as foolish a confidence
+in the miserable righteousness by works, in the divine election,--the
+offering up of sacrifices, &c., being considered as the sole condition
+of its validity. "Trust ye not in lying words"--so [Pg 365] the Prophet
+is obliged to admonish them in chap. vii. 4--"saying, The temple of the
+Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are they" (the
+people imagined that they could not be destroyed, because the Lord had,
+according to their opinion, for ever established His residence among
+them; compare 1 Cor. iii. 17; 1 Tim. iii. 15). "Thou sayest, I am
+innocent; His anger hath entirely turned from me; behold I plead with
+thee, because thou sayest: I have not sinned," chap. ii. 35. "To what
+purpose shall there come for me incense from Sheba, and sweet cane, the
+goodly, from a far country? Your burnt-offerings are not acceptable,
+nor your sacrifices pleasant unto me," chap. vi. 20. Towards the end of
+Josiah's reign, the approaching judgment of God upon Judah became more
+perceptible. The former Asiatic dominion of the Assyrians passed over
+entirely to the Chaldeans, whose fresh and youthful strength so much
+the more threatened Judah with destruction, that from the Assyrians
+they had inherited the enmity to Egypt, on account of which Judah
+obtained great importance in their eyes. According to the announcement
+of the prophets generally, and of Jeremiah especially, who, at his very
+vocation, had it assigned to him as his main task to announce the
+calamity from the North, it was by the Chaldeans that the deadly stroke
+should be inflicted upon the people implicated in the conflicts of
+these hostile powers; but it was the Egyptians who inflicted upon them
+the first severe wound. Josiah fell in the battle with Pharaoh Necho.
+The people, conscious of guilt, were, by his death, filled with a
+fearful expectation of the things that were to come. They had
+forebodings that they were now standing at the boundary line where
+grace and anger separate (compare remarks on Zech. xii. 11); and these
+forebodings were soon converted into bitter certainty by experience.
+Jehoiakim ascended the throne, after Jehoahaz or Shall um, had, after a
+short reign, been carried away by the Egyptians. He stood to his father
+Josiah in just the same relation as did the people to God, in reference
+to the mercy which He had offered to them in Josiah. A more glaring
+contrast (see its exhibition in chap. xxii.) can hardly be imagined.
+Throughout, Jehoiakim shows himself to be entirely destitute not only
+of love to God, but also of the fear of God; he furnishes the complete
+image of a king whom God had given in anger. He [Pg 366] is a
+blood-thirsty tyrant, an exasperated enemy to truth. At the beginning
+of his reign, some influence of Josiah's spirit is still seen. The
+priests and false prophets, rightly understanding the signs of the
+time, came forward with the manifestation of their long restrained
+hatred against Jeremiah, in whom they hate their own conscience. They
+bring against him a charge of life and death, because he had prophesied
+destruction to the city and temple; but the rulers of the people acquit
+him, chap. xxvi. This influence, however, soon ceased. The king became
+the centre around whom gathered all that was ungodly, which, under
+Josiah, had timorously withdrawn into concealment. Soon it became a
+power, a torrent overflowing the whole country; and that the more
+easily, the weaker were the dams which still existed from the time of
+Josiah. One of the first victims for truth who fell, was the prophet
+Urijah. The king, imagining that he was able to kill truth itself in
+those who proclaimed it, could not bear the thought that he was still
+living, although it was in distant Egypt, and caused him to be brought
+thence (see l. c). The fact that Jeremiah escaped every danger of death
+during the eleven years of this king's reign, although he ever anew
+threatened death to the king and destruction to the people, was a
+constant miracle, a glorious fulfilment of the divine promise given to
+him when he was called (i. 19): "They shall fight against thee, and
+they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith _the
+Lord_, to deliver thee." The threatened divine punishment advanced,
+under Jehoiakim, several steps towards its completion. In the fourth
+year of his reign, Jerusalem was, for the first time, taken by the
+Chaldeans (compare "_Dissertations on the Genuineness of Daniel_," p.
+45 ff.), after the power of the Egyptian Empire had been for ever
+broken by the battle at Carchemish on the Euphrates. The victor this
+time acted with tolerable mildness; the sin of the people was to appear
+in its full light by the circumstance, that God gave them time for
+repentance, and did not at once proceed to the utmost rigour, but
+advanced, step by step, in His judgments. But here too it was seen that
+crime, in its highest degree, becomes madness; the more nearly that
+people and king approached the abyss, the greater became the speed with
+which they hastened towards it. It is true that they [Pg 367] did not
+remain altogether insensible when the threatenings of the Prophet began
+to be fulfilled. This is seen from the day of fasting and repentance
+which was appointed in remembrance of the first capture by the
+Chaldeans (compare "_Dissertations on the Genuineness of Daniel_," p.
+49); but fleeting emotions cannot stop the course of sin. Soon it
+became worse than it had been before; and therefore the divine
+judgments also reached a new station. Even political wisdom advised the
+king quietly to submit to dependence on the Chaldeans, which was,
+comparatively, little oppressive. It was obvious that, unsupported, he
+could effect nothing against the Chaldean power; and, to the
+_unprejudiced_ eye, it was as obvious that the Egyptians could not help
+him; and even had it been possible, he would only have changed masters.
+But, according to the counsel of God, who takes away the understanding
+of the wise, these political reasons, obvious though they were, should
+not exercise any influence upon him, because his obdurate heart
+prevented him from listening to the religious arguments which Jeremiah
+brought before him. _Melancthon_ (opp. ii., p. 407 ff.) points it out
+as a remarkable circumstance that, while other prophets, _e.g._,
+Samuel, Elisha, Isaiah, exhort to a vigorous opposition to the enemies,
+and, in that case, promise divine assistance, yea that, to some extent,
+they even took an active part in the deliverance, Jeremiah, on the
+other hand, always preaches unconditional submission. The issue, which
+is as different as the advice, shows that this difference has not, by
+any means, its foundation in the persons, but in the state of things.
+The seventy years of Chaldean servitude were irrevocably decreed upon
+Judah; even the exact statement of years, which else is so uncommon in
+reference to the fate of the covenant-people, shows how firm and
+determined was that decree. They had altogether, and more fully than at
+any other time, given themselves over to the internal power of
+heathenism; according to a divine necessity, they must therefore also
+be given over to the external power of the heathen, both for punishment
+and reform. God himself could not change that decree, for it rested on
+His nature. Hence, it would be in vain though even the greatest
+intercessors, Moses and Samuel, should stand before Him, Jer. xv. 1 ff.
+Intercessory prayer can be effectual, only if it be offered in [Pg 368]
+the name of God. But if such were the case, how foolish was it to rebel
+against the Chaldean power; to attempt to remove the effect, while they
+allowed the cause to remain; to stop the brook, while the source still
+continued to send forth its waters. It would have been foolish, even if
+the relative power of the Jews and Chaldeans had been altogether
+reversed. For when the Lord sells a people, one can chase a thousand,
+and two can put ten thousand to flight (Deut. xxxii. 30). But the
+shepherd of the people had become a fool, and did not enquire after the
+Lord. He could not, therefore, act wisely; and the whole flock was
+scattered, Jer. x. 21. Jehoiakim rebelled against the Chaldeans, and
+for some years he was allowed to continue in the delusion of having
+acted very wisely, for Nebuchadnezzar had more important things to mind
+and to settle. But then he went up against Jerusalem, and put an end to
+his reign and life, Jer. xxii. 1-12; 2 Kings xxiv. 2; "_Dissertations
+on the Genuineness of Daniel_," p. 49. As yet, the long-suffering of
+God, and, hence, the patience of the Chaldeans, were not at an end.
+Jehoiachin or Jeconiah was raised to the throne of his father. Even the
+short reign of three months gave to the youth sufficient occasion to
+manifest the wickedness of his heart, and his enmity to God. Suspicions
+against his fidelity arose; a Chaldean army anew entered the city, and
+carried away the king, and, along with him, the great mass of the
+people. This was the first great deportation. In the providence of God
+it was so arranged that, among those who were carried away, there was
+the very flower of the nation. The apparent suffering was to them a
+blessing. They were, for their good, sent away from the place over
+which the storms of God's anger were soon to discharge themselves, into
+the land of the Chaldeans, and formed there the nucleus for the Kingdom
+of God, in its impending new form, Jer. xxiv. Nothing now seemed to
+stand in the way of the divine judgment upon the wicked mass that had
+been left behind, like bad figs that no one can eat for badness,--they
+whom the Lord had threatened that He would give them over to hurt and
+calamity in all the kingdoms of the earth, to reproach, and a proverb,
+and a taunt, and a curse, in all places whither He would drive them,
+Jer. xxiv. 9. And still the Lord was waiting before He carried out this
+[Pg 369] threatening, and smote the land to cursing. Mattaniah or
+Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, the uncle of Jehoiachin, who was given to
+them for a king, might, at least partially, have averted the evil. But
+he too had to learn that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of
+wisdom. From various quarters, attempts have been made to exculpate
+him, on the plea that his fault was only weakness, which made him
+the tool of a corrupt party; but Scripture forms a different estimate
+of him, and he who looks deeper will find its judgment to be
+correct,--will be able to grant to him that preference only over
+Jehoiakim which _C. B. Michaelis_ assigned to him in the words:
+"Jehoiakim was of an obdurate and wild disposition; Zedekiah had some
+fear of God, although it was a servile, hypocritical fear, but
+Jehoiakim had none at all." And even this preference, when more
+narrowly examined, amounts to nothing, for it belongs to nature, and
+not to grace. Whether corruption manifests itself as weakness, or as a
+carnal, powerful opposition to divine truth, is accidental, and depends
+upon the diversity of mental and bodily organization. The fact that
+Zedekiah did not altogether put away from himself the truth and its
+messengers (_Dahler_ remarks: "He respected the Prophet, without having
+the power of following his advice; he even protected his life against
+his persecutors, but he did not venture to secure him against their
+vexation") cannot be put down to his credit; _he was, against his will,
+forced to do so_; and indeed he could not resist a powerful impression
+of any kind. In a man of Jehoiakim's character, the same measure of the
+fear of God would induce us to mitigate our opinion; for in such a one
+it could not exist without some support from within. Confiding in the
+help of the neighbouring nations, especially the Egyptians; persuaded
+by the false prophets and the nobles; himself seized by that spirit of
+giddiness and intoxication which, with irresistible power, carried away
+the people to the abyss, Zedekiah broke the holy oath which he had
+sworn to the Chaldeans, and, after an obstinate resistance, Jerusalem
+was taken and destroyed. As yet, the long suffering of God, and, hence,
+also that of man, was not _altogether_ at an end. The conquerors left a
+comparatively small portion of the inhabitants in the land. The grace
+of God gave them Gedaliah, an excellent man, for their civil superior,
+and Jeremiah for their ecclesiastical [Pg 370] superior. The latter
+preferred to remain in the smoking ruins, rather than follow the
+brilliant promises of the Chaldeans, and was willing to persevere to
+the last in the discharge of his duty, although he was by this time far
+advanced in life, and oppressed with deep grief But it appears as if
+the people had been bent upon emptying, to the last drop, the cup of
+divine wrath. Gedaliah is assassinated. Even those who did not partake
+in the crime fled to Egypt, disregarding the word of the Lord through
+the Prophet, who announced a curse upon them if they fled, but a
+blessing if they remained.
+
+What the Prophet had to suffer under such circumstances, one may easily
+imagine even without consulting history. Even although he had remained
+free from all personal vexations and attacks, it could not but be an
+immeasurable grief to him to dwell in the midst of such a generation,
+to see their corruption increasing more and more, to see the abyss
+coming nearer and nearer, to find all his faithful warnings unheeded,
+and his whole ministry in vain, at least as far as the mass of the
+people were concerned. "O that they would give me in the wilderness a
+lodging-place for wayfaring men"--so he speaks as early as under
+Josiah, chap. ix. 1 (2)--"and I would leave my people and go from them;
+for they are all adulterer, an assembly of treacherous men." But from
+these personal vexations and attacks, he neither was, nor could be
+exempted. Mockery, hatred, calumny, ignominy, curses, imprisonment,
+bonds were his portion. To bear such a burden would have been difficult
+to any man, but most of all to a man of his disposition. "The more
+tender the heart, the deeper the smart." He was not a second Elijah; he
+had a soft disposition, a lively sensibility; his eyes were easily
+filled with tears. And he who would have liked so much to live in peace
+and love with all, having entered into the service of truth, was
+obliged to become a second Ishmael, his hand against every man, and
+every man's hand against him. He who so ardently loved his people, must
+see this love misconstrued and rejected; must see himself branded as a
+traitor to the people, by those men who were themselves traitors. All
+these things were to him the cause of violent struggles and conflicts,
+which he candidly lays before us in various passages, especially in
+chap. xii. and [Pg 371] xx., because, by the victory, the Lord, who
+alone could give it, was glorified.
+
+He was sustained by inward consolations, by wonderful deliverances, by
+the remarkable fulfilment of his prophecies which he himself lived to
+witness; but especially by the circumstance that the Lord caused him to
+behold His future salvation with the same clearness as His judgments;
+so that he could consider the latter only as transient, and, even by
+the most glaring contrast between the appearance and the idea, never
+lost the firm hope of the final victory of the former. This hope formed
+the centre of his whole life. For a long series of years, he is
+somewhat cautious in giving utterance to it; for, just as Hosea in the
+kingdom of the ten tribes, so he too has to do with secure and gross
+sinners, who must be terrified by the preaching of the Law, and the
+message of wrath. But, even here, single sunbeams everywhere constantly
+break through the dark clouds. But towards the close, when the total
+destruction is already at hand, and his commission to root out and
+destroy draws to an end, because now the Lord himself is to speak by
+deeds, he can, to the full desire of his heart, carry out the second
+part of his calling, viz., to plant and to build (compare chap. i.);
+and it is now, that his mouth is overflowing, that it is seen how full
+of it his heart had always been. The whole vocation of the Prophet,
+_Calvin_ strikingly expresses in these words: "I say simply that
+Jeremias was sent by God to announce to the people the last defeat,
+and, farther, to proclaim the future redemption, but in such a manner,
+that he always puts in the seventy years'exile." That, according to
+him, this redemption is not destined for Israel only, but that the
+Gentiles also partake in it, appears not incidentally only in the
+prophecies to his own people; but it is also prominently brought out in
+the prophecies against the foreign nations themselves, _e.g._, in the
+prophecy against Egypt, chap. xlvi. 26; against Moab, chap. xlviii. 47;
+against Ammon, xlix. 6.
+
+In announcing the Messiah from the house of David (chap, xxii. 5, xxx.
+9, xxxiii. 15), Jeremiah agrees with the former prophets. The Messianic
+features peculiar to him are the following:--The announcement of a
+revelation of God, which by far outshines the former one from above the
+Ark of the Covenant, and by which the Ark of the Covenant, with every
+[Pg 372] thing attached to it, shall become antiquated, chap. iii.
+14-17; the announcement of a new covenant, distinguished from the
+former by greater richness in the forgiveness of sins, and the
+outpouring of the Holy Spirit: "I give my law in their inward parts,
+and I will write it in their hearts," chap. xxxi. 31-34; the intimation
+of the impending realization of the promise of Moses: "Ye shall be to
+me a kingdom of priests," with which the abolition of the poor form of
+the priesthood hitherto is connected, chap. xxxiii. 14-26.
+
+As regards the style of Jeremiah, _Cunaeus_ (_de repub. Hebr._ i. 3, c.
+7) pertinently remarks: "The whole majesty of Jeremiah lies in his
+negligent language; that rough diction becomes him exceedingly well."
+It is certainly very superficial in _Jerome_ to seek the cause of that
+_humilitas dictionis_ of the Prophet, whom he, at the same time, calls
+_in majestate sensuum profundissimum_, in his origin from the _viculus
+Anathoth_. It would be unnatural if it were otherwise. The style of
+Jeremiah stands on the same ground as the hairy garment and leather
+girdle of Elijah. He who is sorrowful and afflicted in his heart, whose
+eyes fail with tears (Lament. ii. 11), cannot adorn and decorate
+himself in his dress or speech.
+
+From chap. xi. 21, xii. 5, 6, several interpreters have inferred, that
+the Prophet first came forward in his native place Anathoth, and that,
+because they there said to him: "Thou shalt not prophecy in the name of
+the Lord, else thou shalt die by our hand," he then went to Jerusalem.
+But those passages rather refer to an experience which the Prophet made
+at an incidental visit in his native place, quite similar to what our
+Saviour experienced at Nazareth, according to Luke iv. 24. For in chap.
+xxv. 3, Jeremiah says to "all the inhabitants of Jerusalem," that he
+had spoken to _them_ since the thirteenth year of Josiah. As early as
+in chap. ii. 2, at the beginning of a discourse which bears a general
+introductory character, and which immediately follows, and is connected
+with his vocation in chap. i., he receives the command: "Go, and cry
+into the ears of Jerusalem." The opening speech itself cannot,
+according to its contents, have been spoken in some corner of the
+country, but in the metropolis only, in the temple more specially, the
+centre of the nation and its spiritual dwelling place. It was there
+that that must be delivered which was to be told to the whole people as
+such.
+
+[Pg 373]
+
+
+
+
+                      THE SECTION, CHAP. III, 14-17.
+
+
+The whole Section, from chap. iii. 6, to the end of chap. vi., forms
+one connected discourse, separated from the preceding context by the
+inscription in chap. iii. 6, and from the subsequent context, by the
+inscription in chap. vii. 1. This separation, however, is more external
+than internal. The contents and tone remain the same through the whole
+series of chapters which open the collection of the prophecies of
+Jeremiah, and that to such a degree, that we are compelled to doubt the
+correctness of the proceeding of those interpreters, who would
+determine the chronological order of the single portions, and fix the
+exact period in the reign of Josiah to which every single portion
+belongs. If such a proceeding were admissible, why should the Prophet
+have expressed himself, in the inscription of the Section before us, in
+terms so general as: "And the Lord said unto me in the days of Josiah
+the king?" Every thing on which these interpreters endeavour to found
+more accurate determinations in regard to the single Sections,
+disappears upon a closer consideration. Thus, _e.g._, the twofold
+reference to the seeking of help from Egypt, in chap. ii. 16 ff.,
+xxxvi., xxxvii., on which _Eichhorn_ and _Dahler_ lay so much stress.
+We are not entitled here to suppose a reference to a definite
+historical event, which, moreover, cannot be historically pointed
+out in the whole time of Josiah, but can only be supposed on unsafe
+and unfounded conjectures. In both of the passages something future
+is spoken of, as is evident from vers. 16 and 19. The thought is
+this:--that Asshur, _i.e._, the power on the Euphrates (compare 2 Kings
+xxiii. 29), which had. for a long time opened its mouth to swallow up
+Judah, just as it had already swallowed up the kingdom of the ten
+tribes, would not be conciliated, and that Egypt could not grant help
+against him. This thought refers to historical circumstances which had
+already existed, and continued to exist for some centuries, and which,
+in reference to Israel, is given utterance to as early as by Hosea,
+compare Vol. i. p. 164, f. Our view is this: We have here before us,
+not so much a series of prophecies, each of which had literally been so
+uttered at some particular [Pg 374] period in the reign of Josiah, as
+rather a _resume_ of the whole prophetic ministry of Jeremiah under
+Josiah; a collection of all which, being independent of particular
+circumstances of that time, had, in general, the destiny to give an
+inward support to the outward reforming activity of Josiah, a specimen
+of the manner in which the Prophet discharged the divine commission
+which he had received a year after the first reformation of Josiah.
+Even the manner in which chap ii. is connected with chap. i. places
+this relation to his call beyond any doubt. We have thus before us here
+the same phenomenon which we have already perceived in several of the
+minor prophets; comp. _e.g._, the introduction to Micah.
+
+In the section before us, the Prophet is engaged with a two-fold
+object,--first, with the proclamation of salvation for Israel, chap.
+iii. 6-iv. 2; secondly, with the threatening for Judah, chap. iv. 3, to
+the end of chap. vi. It is only incidentally, in chap. iii. 18, that it
+is intimated that Judah also, after the threatening has been fulfilled
+upon them, shall partake in the salvation. It is self-evident that
+these two objects must not be considered as lying beside one another.
+According to the whole context, the announcement of salvation for
+Israel cannot have any other object than that of wounding Judah. This
+object even comes out distinctly in ver. 6-11, and the import of the
+discourse may, therefore, be thus stated: Israel does not continue to
+be rejected as pharisaical Judah imagined; Judah does not continue to
+be spared.--When the Prophet entered upon his ministry, ninety-four
+years had already elapsed since the divine judgment had broken in upon
+Israel; every hope of restoration seemed to have vanished. Judah,
+instead of being thereby warned; instead of beholding, in the sin of
+others, the image of its own; instead of perceiving, in the destruction
+of the kingdom of its brethren, a prophecy of its own destruction, was,
+on the contrary, strengthened in its obduracy. The fact that it still
+existed, after Israel had, long ago, hopelessly perished, as they
+imagined, appeared to them as a seal which God impressed upon their
+ways. They rejoiced at Israel's calamity, because, in it, they thought
+that they saw a proof of their own excellency, just as, at the time of
+Christ, the blindness of the Jews was increased by the circumstance
+that they still considered themselves as the sole members of [Pg 375]
+the Kingdom of God, and imagined the Gentiles to be excluded from it.
+The Saviour's announcement of the calling of the Gentiles stands in the
+same relation as the Prophet's announcement of the restoration of
+Israel.
+
+
+                           * * * * * * * * * *
+
+Ver. 14. "_Turn, O apostate children, saith the Lord, for I marry
+myself unto you, and I take one of a city, and two of a family, and
+bring you to Zion._"
+
+The question here is:--To whom is the discourse here addressed,--to the
+members of Israel, _i.e._, the kingdom of the ten tribes, as most of
+the interpreters suppose (_Abarbanel_, _Calvin_, _Schmid_, and others),
+or, as others assume, to the inhabitants of Judea? The decision has
+considerable influence upon the exposition of the whole passage; but it
+must unhesitatingly and unconditionally be given in favour of the first
+view. There is not one word to indicate a transition; the very same
+phrase, "turn, O apostate children," occurs, in ver. 22, of Israel.
+Apostate Israel is, in the preceding verses (6, 8, 11,) the standing
+expression, while Judah is designated as treacherous, ver. 8-11. The
+measure of guilt is determined by the measure of grace. The relation of
+the Lord to Judah was closer, and hence, her apostacy was so much the
+more culpable. _Farther_--A detailed announcement of salvation for
+Judah would here not be suitable, inasmuch as no threatening preceded;
+and ver. 18 ("In those days, the house of Judah shall come by the side
+of [literally, 'over'] the house of Israel," according to which the
+return of Judah is, in the meantime, a subordinate point which has here
+been mentioned incidentally) clearly shows that that announcement of
+salvation, contained in vers. 14-17, refers to Israel. To Israel the
+Prophet immediately returns in ver. 19; for, from the contrast to the
+house of Judah in ver. 18, and to Judah and Jerusalem in chap. iv. 3,
+it is evident that by the house of Israel in ver. 20, and by the sons
+of Israel in ver. 21, Israel, in the stricter sense, is to be
+understood. _Finally_--It will be seen from the exposition, that it is
+only on the supposition that Israel is addressed, that the contents of
+ver. 16, 17, become intelligible.--In our explanation of the words
+[Hebrew: ki anki belti atkM], we follow the precedent of the Vulgate
+(_quia ego vir vester_), of _Luther_ ("I will [Pg 376] marry you to
+me"), of _Calvin_, _Schimd_, and others. On the other hand, others,
+especially _Pococke_, _ad P.M._ p. 2, _Schultens_ on Prov. xxx. 22,
+_Venema_, _Schnurrer_, _Gesenius_, _Winer_, _Bleek_, have made every
+endeavour to prove that [Hebrew: bel] is used _sensu malo_ here, as
+well as in chap. xxxi. 32, where it occurs in a connection altogether
+similar; so that the decision must be valid for both of the passages at
+the same time. This signification they seek to make out in a twofold
+way. Some altogether give up the derivation from the Hebrew _usus
+loquendi_, and refer solely to the Arabic, where [Hebrew: bel] means
+_fastidire_. Others derive from the Hebrew signification, "to rule,"
+that of a tyrannical dominion, and support their right in so doing, by
+referring, with _Gesenius_, to other verbs in which the signification,
+_to subdue_, _to be distinguished_, _to rule_, has been changed into
+that of _looking down_, _despising_, and _contemning_. As regards the
+_first_ derivation, even if the Arabic _usus loquendi_ were proved, we
+could not from it make any certain inference as regards the Hebrew
+_usus loquendi_. But with respect to this Arabic _usus loquendi_, it is
+far from being proved and established. It is true that such would not
+be the case if there indeed occurred in Arabic the expression [Arabic:
+**] _fastidivit vir mulierem eamque expulit, s. repudiavit_; but it is
+only by a strange _quid pro quo_ that interpreters, even _Schultens_
+among them, following the example of _Kimchi_, have saddled this
+expression upon the Arabic. The error lies in a hasty view of _Adul
+Walid_, who, instead of it, has [Arabic: **] _any one is embarrassed in
+his affair_. The signification _fastidire_, _rejicere_, is, in general,
+quite foreign to the Arabic. The verb [Arabic: **] denotes only: _mente
+turbatus_, _attonitus fuit_, _i.e._, _to be possessed_, _deprived of
+the use of one's strength_, _to be embarrassed_, _not to know how to
+help one's self_: compare the _Camus_ in _Schultens_ and _Freytag_. As
+soon as the plain connection of this signification with the ordinary
+one is perceived, it is seen at once, that it is here out of the
+question. As regards the second derivation, we must bring this
+objection against it, that the fundamental signification of _ruling_,
+from which that of _ruling tyrannically_ is said to have arisen, is
+entirely foreign to the Hebrew. More clearly than by modern
+Lexicographers it was seen by _Cocceius_, that the fundamental, yea the
+only signification of [Hebrew: bel], is that of _possessing_, [Pg 377]
+_occupying_. It may, indeed, be used also of rulers, as, _e.g._ Isa.
+xxvi. 13, and 1 Chron. iv. 22; but not in so far as they rule, but in
+so far as they possess. On the former passage: "Jehovah our God,
+[Hebrew: belvnv advniM zvltiM], Lords beside thee have dominion over
+us," _Schultens_, it is true, remarks: "Every one here easily
+recognizes a severe and tyrannical dominion;" but it is rather the
+circumstance that the land of the Lord has at all foreign possessors,
+which is the real sting of the grief of those lamenting, and which so
+much occupies them, that they scarcely think of the way and manner of
+the possessing.--Passages such as Is. liv. 1,[1] lxii. 4, compare Job
+i. 8, where a relation is spoken of, founded on most cordial love, show
+that the signification "_to marry_," does not by any means proceed from
+that of ruling, and is not to be explained from the absolute, slavish
+dependence of the wife in the East, but rather from the signification
+"to possess." And this is farther proved by passages such as Deut. xxi.
+10-13, xxvi. 1, where the _copula carnalis_ is pointed out as that by
+which the [Hebrew: bel] is completed. And, finally, it is seen from the
+Arabic, where the wife is also called, [Hebrew: belh], [Arabic: **],
+just as the husband is called [Hebrew: bel], [Arabic: **].--It is
+farther obvious that, in the frequent compositions of [Hebrew: bel]
+with other nouns, in order, by way of paraphrasis, to form adjectives,
+the signification "lord" is far less suitable than that of "possessor,"
+_e.g._, [Hebrew: bel Hlmvt], _the dreamer_, [Hebrew: bel aP], _the
+angry one_, [Hebrew: bel npw], _the covetous one_, [Hebrew: bel mzmzt],
+_the deceitful one_, [Hebrew: beli eir] _oppidani_, [Hebrew: beli
+brit], _the members of the covenant_, etc. We arrive at the same
+conclusion, if we look to the dialects. Here, too, the signification
+"to possess" appears as the proper and original signification. In the
+Ethiopic, the verb signifies _multum possedit, dives fuit._ In Arabic,
+the significations are more varied; but they may all be traced back to
+one root. Thus, _e.g._ [Arabic: **], [Hebrew: bel], according to the
+_Camus_, "a high and elevated land which requires only one annual rain;
+farther, a palm-tree, or any other tree or plant which is not watered,
+or which the sky alone irrigates;" _i.e._, a land, a tree, a plant
+which themselves _possess_, which do not require to _borrow_ from
+others. This reason of the appellation clearly appears in _Dsheuhari_
+(compare [Pg 378] _Schultens_ l. c.): "It is used of the palm-tree,
+which, by its roots, provides for itself drink and sap, so that there
+is no need for watering it." In favour of the signification "to rule"
+in this verb, the following gloss from the _Camus_ only can be quoted:
+"Both (the 1st and 10th conjugations) when construed with [Hebrew:
+elih] _super illum_, denote: he has taken possession of a thing, and
+behaved himself proudly towards it." But the latter clause must be
+struck out; for it has flowed only from the false reading [Arabic: **]
+in _Schultens_, for which (compare _Freytag_) [Arabic: **] _noluit_
+must be read, [Hebrew: bel] with [Hebrew: el] accordingly signifies "to
+be the possessor of a thing, and, as such, not to be willing to give it
+up to another." And thus every ground has been taken from those who,
+from the Hebrew _usus loquendi_, would interpret [Hebrew: bel] in a bad
+sense,--The same result, however, which we have reached upon
+philological grounds, we shall obtain also, when we look to the
+context. From it, they are most easily refuted, who, like _Schultens_,
+understand the whole verse as a threatening. That which precedes, as
+well as that which follows, breathes nothing but pure love to poor
+Israel. She is not terrified by threatenings, like Judah who has not
+yet drunk of the cup of God's wrath, but allured by the call: "Come
+unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden, _for_ I will give you
+rest." But they also labour under great difficulties who, after the
+example of _Kimchi_ ("_ego fastidivi vos, eo scil. quod praeteriit
+tempore, ac jam colligam vos_"), refer the [Hebrew: ki] not so much to
+[Hebrew: belti], as rather to [Hebrew: lqhti]: "For I have, it is true,
+rejected you formerly, but now I take," &c. This is the only shape in
+which this interpretation can still appear; for it is altogether
+arbitrary to explain [Hebrew: ki] by "although," an interpretation
+still found in _De Wette_. If it had been the intention of the Prophet
+to express this sense, nothing surely was less admissible, than to omit
+just those words, upon which everything depended--the words _formerly_
+and _now_. [Hebrew: lqHti] and [Hebrew: belti] evidently stand here in
+the same relation; both together form the ground for the return to the
+Lord. To these reasons we may still add the circumstance that,
+according to our explanation, we obtain the beautiful parallelism with
+ver. 12: "Return thou, apostate Israel, saith the Lord; I will not
+cause mine anger to fall upon you; _for_ I am merciful; I do not keep
+anger for ever,"--a circumstance which has already been [Pg 379]
+pointed out by _Calvin_. Israel's haughtiness is broken; but
+despondency now keeps them from returning to the Lord. He, therefore,
+ever anew repeats His invitation, ever anew founds it upon the fact,
+that He delights in showing mercy and love to those who have forsaken
+Him. The rejection of Israel had, in ver. 8, been represented under the
+image of divorce: "Because apostate Israel had committed adultery, I
+had put her away, and given her the bill of divorce." What, therefore,
+is more natural, than that her being received again, which was offered
+to her out of pure mercy, should appear under the image of a new
+marriage; and that so much the more, that the apostacy had, even in the
+preceding verse, been represented as adultery and whoredom? ("_Thou
+hast scattered thy ways_, _i.e._, thou hast been running about
+to various places after the manner of an impudent whore seeking
+lovers"--_Schmid_; compare ver. 6.) Farther to be compared is ver. 22:
+"Return ye apostate children, (for) I will heal your apostacy. Behold
+we come unto thee, _for_ thou art the Lord our God." The objection that
+[Hebrew: bel], in the signification "to take in marriage" is construed
+with the Accusative only, is of no weight. In a manner altogether
+similar, [Hebrew: zkr], which else is connected with the simple
+Accusative, is, in ver. 16, followed by the Preposition [Hebrew: b].
+[Hebrew: bel] with [Hebrew: b] altogether corresponds to our "to join
+onesself in marriage;" and the construction has perhaps a certain
+emphasis, and indicates the close and indissoluble connection. Of still
+less weight is another objection, viz., that, in that case, the _Suffix
+Plur._ is inadmissible. It is just the Israelites who are the wife; and
+this is so much the more evident that, in the preceding verses, and
+even still in ver. 13, they had been treated as such. Hence nothing
+remains but to determine the sense of our passage, as was done by
+_Calvin_: "Because despair might take hold of them, in such a manner
+that they might be afraid of approaching Him.... He saith that He would
+marry himself to them, and that He had not yet forgotten that union
+which He once had bestowed upon them." This is the only correct view;
+and by thus determining the sense, we at the same time obtain the sure
+foundation for the exposition of chap. xxxi. 32; just as, _vice versa_,
+the sense which will result from an independent consideration of that
+passage, [Pg 380] will serve to confirm that which was here
+established.[2] In the right determination of the sense of the
+subsequent words, too, _Calvin_ distinguishes himself advantageously
+from the earlier, and most of the later interpreters: "God shows that
+there was no reason why some should wait for others; and farther,
+although the very body of the people might be utterly corrupted in
+their sins, yet, if even a few were to return. He would show himself
+merciful to them. The covenant had been entered into with the _whole_
+people. The single individual might, therefore, have been disposed to
+imagine that his repentance was in vain. But in opposition to such
+fears, the Prophet says: 'Although only one of a town should come to
+me, he shall find an open door; although only two of one tribe come to
+me, I will admit even them.'" After him _Loscanus_ too (in his
+Dissertation on this passage, Frankf. 1720) has thus correctly stated
+the sense: "The small number shall not prevent God from carrying out
+His counsel." Thus it is seen--and this is alone suitable in this
+context--that the apparent limitation of the promise is, in truth, an
+extension of it. How great must God's love and mercy be to Israel, in
+how wide an extent must the declaration be true: [Greek: ametameleta ta
+charismata kai he klesis tou Theo], Rom. xi. 29, if even a single
+righteous Lot is by God delivered from the Sodom of Israel; if Joshua
+and Caleb, untouched by the pefunishment of the sins of the thousands,
+reach the Holy Land; if every penitent heart at once finds a gracious
+God! Thus it appears that this passage is not by any means in
+contradiction to other passages by which a complete restoration of
+Israel is promised. On the contrary, the [Greek: epitunchanein] of the
+[Greek: ekloge] (Rom. xi. 7) announced here, is a pledge and guarantee
+for the more comprehensive and general mercy.--Expositors are at
+variance as to the historical reference of the prophecy. Some, _e.g._
+_Theodoret_, _Grotius_, think exclusively of the return from the
+Babylonish captivity. Others (after the example of _Jerome_ and the
+Jewish interpreters) think of the Messianic time. It need [Pg 381]
+scarcely be remarked, that here, as in so many other passages, this
+alternative is out of place. The prophecy has just the very same extent
+as the matter itself, and, hence, refers to all eternity. It was a
+commencement, that, at the time of Cyrus, many from among the ten
+tribes, induced by true love to the God of Israel, joined themselves to
+the returning Judeans, and were hence again engrafted by God into the
+olive-tree. It was a continuation of the fulfilment that, in later
+times, especially those of the Maccabees, this took place more and more
+frequently. It was a preparation and prelude of the complete
+fulfilment, although not the complete fulfilment itself, that, at the
+time of Christ, the blessings of God were poured upon the whole [Greek:
+dodekaphulon], Acts xxvi. 7. The words: "I bring you to Zion," in the
+verse under consideration, and: "They shall come out of the land of the
+North to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto their
+fathers," in ver. 18, do not at all oblige us to limit ourselves to
+those feeble beginnings; the idea appears here only in that form, in
+which it must be realised, in so far as its realisation belonged to the
+time of the Old Testament. Zion and the Holy Land were, at that time,
+the seat of the Kingdom of God; so that the return to the latter was
+inseparable from the return to the former. Those from among Israel who
+were converted to the true God, either returned altogether to Judea,
+or, at least, there offered up their sacrifices. But Zion and the Holy
+Land likewise come into consideration, as the seat of the Kingdom of
+God _only_; and, for that very reason, the course of the fulfilment
+goes on incessantly, even in those times when even the North has become
+Zion and Holy Land.--The circumstance that two are assigned to a
+family, while only one is assigned to a town, shows that we must here
+think of a larger family which occupied several towns; and the
+circumstance that the town is put together with the family, shows that
+it is cities of the land of Israel which are here spoken of, and not
+those which the exiled ones inhabited.
+
+Ver. 15. "_And I give you shepherds according to mine heart, and they
+feed you with knowledge and understanding._"
+
+The question is:--Who are here to be understood by the shepherds?
+_Calvin_ thinks that it is especially the prophets and priests,
+inasmuch as it was just the bad condition of these [Pg 382] which had
+been the principal cause of the ruin of the people; and that it is the
+greatest blessing for the Church, when God raises up true and sincere
+teachers. Similar is the opinion of _Vitringa_ (_obs._ lib. vi., p.
+417), who, in a lower sense, refers it to Ezra and the learned men of
+that time, and, in a higher sense, to Christ. Among the Fathers of the
+Church, _Jerome_ remarked: "These are the apostolical men who did not
+feed the multitude of the believers with Jewish ceremonies, but with
+knowledge and doctrine." Others refer it to leaders of every kind; thus
+_Venema_: _Pastores sunt rectores, ductores._ Others, finally, limit
+themselves to rulers; thus _Kimchi_ (_gubernatores Israelis cum rege
+Messia_), _Grotius_, and _Clericus_. The latter interpretation is, for
+the following reasons, to be unconditionally preferred. 1. The image of
+the shepherd and of feeding occurs sometimes, indeed, in a wider sense,
+but ordinarily of the ruler specially. Thus, in the fundamental
+passage, 2 Sam. v. 2, it occurs of David, compare Micah v. 3. Thus also
+in Jeremiah ii. 8: "The _priests_ said not. Where is the Lord, and they
+that handle the law knew me not, and the shepherds transgressed against
+me, and the prophets prophesied in the name of Baal;" comp. ver. 26:
+"They, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their
+prophets." 2. The word [Hebrew: klbi] contains an evident allusion to 1
+Sam. xiii. 14, where it is said of David: "The Lord hath sought him, a
+man after His own heart, and the Lord hath appointed him to be a prince
+over His people." 3. All doubt is removed by the parallel passage,
+chap. xxiii. 4: "And I raise shepherds over them, and they feed them,
+and they fear no more, nor are dismayed." That, by the shepherds, in
+this verse, only the rulers can be understood, is evident from the
+contrast to the bad rulers of the present, who were spoken of in chap.
+xxii., no less than from the connection with ver. 5, where that which,
+in ver. 4, was expressed in general, is circumscribed within narrow
+limits, and the concentration of the fulfilment of the preceding
+promise is placed in the Messiah: "Behold, days come, saith the Lord,
+and I raise unto David a righteous _Branch_, and He reigneth as a king
+and acteth wisely, and setteth up judgment and justice in the land."
+This parallel passage is, in so far also, of importance, as it shews
+that the prophecy under consideration likewise had its final reference
+to the [Pg 383] Messiah. The kingdom of the ten tribes was punished by
+bad kings for its apostacy from the Lord, and from His visible
+representative. In the whole long series of Israelitish kings, we do
+not find any one like Jehoshaphat, or Hezekiah, or Josiah. And that is
+very natural, for the foundation of the Israelitish throne was
+rebellion. But, with the cessation of sin, punishment too shall cease.
+Israel again turns to that family which is the medium and channel
+through which all the divine mercies flow upon the Church of the Lord;
+and so they receive again a share in them, and particularly in their
+richest fulness in the exalted scion of David, the Messiah. The passage
+under consideration is thus completely parallel to Hosea iii. 5: "And
+they seek Jehovah their God, and David their king;" and that which we
+remarked on that passage is here more particularly applicable; compare
+also Ezek. xxxiv. 23: "And I raise over them one Shepherd, and He
+feedeth them, my servant David, he shall feed them, and he shall be
+their shepherd." The antithesis to the words: "According to mine
+heart," is formed by the words in Hos. viii. 4: "They have set up kings
+not by me, princes whom I knew not,"--words which refer to the past
+history of Israel. Formerly, the rebellious chose for themselves kings
+according to the desires of their own hearts. Now, they choose Him whom
+God hath chosen, and who, according to the same necessity, must be an
+instrument of blessing, as the former were of cursing.--[Hebrew: deh]
+and [Hebrew: hwkil] stand adverbially. [Hebrew: hwkil] "to act wisely"
+is, in appearance only, intransitive in _Hiphil_. The foundation of
+wisdom and knowledge is the living communion with the Lord, being
+according to His heart, walking after Him. The foolish counsels of the
+former rulers of Israel, by which they brought ruin upon their people,
+were a consequence of their apostacy from the Lord. The two fundamental
+passages are, Deut. iv. 6: "And ye shall keep and do (the law); for
+this is your wisdom and understanding;" xxix. 8 (9): "Ye shall keep the
+words of this covenant and do them, that ye may act wisely." Besides
+the passage under consideration, the passages Josh. i. 7; 1 Sam. xviii.
+14, 15; 1 Kings ii. 3; Is. lii. 13; Jer. x. 21, xxiii. 5, are founded
+upon these two passages. If all these passages are compared with one
+another, and with the fundamental passages, one cannot but wonder at
+the arbitrariness [Pg 384] of interpreters and lexicographers who,
+severing several of these passages from the others, have forced upon
+the verb [Hebrew: hwkil] the signification "to prosper,"--a
+signification altogether fanciful _God's_ servants act wisely, because
+they look up to God; and he who acts wisely finds prosperity for
+himself and his people. Hence, it is a proof of the greatest mercy of
+God towards His people, when He gives them His _servants_ for kings.
+
+Ver. 16. "_And it cometh to pass, when ye be multiplied and fruitful in
+the land, in those days, saith the Lord, they shall say no more: The
+Ark of the Covenant of the Lord! And it will not come into the heart,
+neither shall they remember it, nor miss it, nor shall it be made
+again._"
+
+First, we shall explain some particulars. The words: "When ye be," &c.
+refer to Gen. i. 28, As it is God's general providence which brings
+about the fruitfulness of all creatures, so it is His special
+providence which brings about the increase of His Church whose ranks
+have been thinned by His judgments; and it is thus that His promise to
+the patriarchs is carried on towards its fulfilment; compare remarks on
+Hos, ii. 1. God's future activity in this respect, has an analogy in
+His former activity in Egypt, Exod. i. 12. The words: "The Ark of the
+Covenant" must be viewed as an exclamation, in which an ellipsis, in
+consequence of the emotion, must be supposed, _q.d._ it is the aim of
+all our desires, the object of all our longings. The mere mention of
+the object with which the whole heart is filled, is sufficient for the
+lively emotion. _Venema's_ exposition; _Arca f[oe]deris Jehovae_ sc.
+_est_, and that of _De Wette_: "They shall no more speak of the Ark of
+the Covenant of Jehovah," are both feeble and un philological. How were
+it possible that [Hebrew: amr] with the Accusative should mean "to
+speak of something?"--[Hebrew: elh el-lb] is, in a similar context,
+just as it is here, connected with [Hebrew: zkr] in Is. lxv. 17: "For
+behold I create a new heaven and a new earth, and the former shall not
+be remembered nor come into the heart," comp. also Jer. li. 50, vii.
+31; 1 Cor. ii. 9. [Hebrew: zkr] with [Hebrew: b] does not simply stand
+instead of the usual connection with the Accusative; it signifies a
+remembering connected with affection, a recollection joined with ardent
+longings. [Hebrew: pqd] is, by many interpreters, understood in the
+sense of "to visit," but the signification "to miss" (Is. xxxiv. 16; 1
+Sam. xx. 6-18, xxv. 15; 1 Kings [Pg 385] xx. 39) is recommended by the
+connection with the following clause: "Nor shall it be made again."
+This supposes that there shall come a time when the Ark of the Covenant
+shall no more exist, the time of the destruction of the temple, which
+was so frequently and emphatically announced by the prophets.[3] God,
+however, will grant so rich a compensation for that which is lost, that
+men will neither long for it, nor, urged on by this longing, make any
+attempt at again procuring it for themselves by their own efforts. The
+main question now arises:--In what respect does the Ark of the Covenant
+here come into consideration? The answer is suggested by ver. 17. The
+Ark of the Covenant is no more remembered, because Jerusalem has now,
+in a perfect sense, become the throne of God. The Ark of the Covenant
+comes into consideration, therefore, as the throne of God, in an
+imperfect sense. It can easily be proved that it was so, although there
+have been disputes as to the manner in which it was so. The current
+view was this, that God, as the Covenant God, had _constantly_
+manifested himself above the Cherubim on the Ark of the Covenant, in a
+visible symbol, in a cloud. The first important opposition to this view
+proceeded from _Vitringa_ who, in the _Obs. sac._ t. i. p. 169,
+advances, among other arguments, the following: "It is not by any means
+necessary to maintain that, in the holy of holies, in the tabernacle or
+the temple of Solomon, there was constantly a cloud over the Ark; but
+it may be sufficient to say, that the Ark was the symbol of the divine
+habitation, and it was for this reason said that God was present in the
+place between the Cherubim, because from thence proceeded the
+revelation of His will, and He thus proved to the Jews that He was
+present." But this view of _Vitringa_, that it was [Pg 386] merely in
+an invisible manner that God was present over the Ark of the Covenant,
+met with strong opposition; and a note to the second edition shows,
+that he himself afterwards entertained doubts regarding it. By
+_Thalemann_, a pupil of _Ernesti_, it was afterwards advanced far more
+decidedly, and evidently with the intention of carrying it through,
+whether it was true or not, in the _Dissertatio de nube super arcam
+foederis_ (Leipzig, 1756). He, too, declared, however, that he did not
+deny the matter, but only disputed the sign. He found a learned
+opponent in _John Eberhard Rau_, Professor at Herborn (_Ravius_, _de
+nube super arcam foederis_, Utrecht, 1760; it is a whole book, in which
+_Thalemann's_ Treatise is reprinted). The matter is, indeed, very
+simple; both parties are right and wrong, and the truth lies between
+the two. From the principal passage, in Lev. xvi. 2, it is evident
+that, at the annual entry of the High Priest into the holy of holies,
+the invisible presence of God embodied itself in a cloud, as formerly
+it also did, on extraordinary occasions, during the journey through the
+wilderness, and at the dedication of the tabernacle and temple. In that
+passage, Aaron is exhorted not to enter the holy of holies at all
+times, for that would prove a want of reverence, but only once a year,
+"for in the cloud I shall appear over the lid of expiation," (this is
+the right explanation of [Hebrew: kprt] compare _Genuineness of the
+Pentateuch_, p. 525 f.) The place where God manifests himself in so
+visible a manner when the High Priest enters into it, cannot fail to be
+a most holy place to him. It is true that _Vitringa_ (S. 171), and
+still more _Thalemann_ (S. 39 in _Rau_), have endeavoured to remove
+this objection by their interpretation; but with so plain a violation
+of all the laws of interpretation, that it is scarcely worth while to
+enter farther upon this exposition, (compare the refutation in _Rau_,
+S. 40 ff.), although _J. D. Michaelis_, _Vater_, _Rosenmueller_, and
+_Baehr_, (_Symbol. des Mos. Cultus_, i. S. 395), have approved of it.[4]
+On the other hand, [Pg 387] there is nothing to favour the supposition
+of an ordinary and constant presence of the cloud in the holy of
+holies. With such a view, questions at once arise, such as: Whether it
+came also to the Philistines? All that _Rau_ advances in favour of it,
+merely proves the invisible presence of God, which surely cannot be
+considered and called a merely imaginary thing, as is done by him, p.
+35. For what, in that case, would be the Lord's presence in the hearts
+of believers, and in the Lord's supper? It is true that Ezekiel, in
+chap. xi. 22, beholds the glory of the Lord over the cherubim as being
+lifted up, and forsaking the temple before its destruction; but how can
+we draw any reference, as to the actual state of things, from visions
+which, according to their nature, surround with a body all that is
+invisible? Still, as we already remarked, this whole controversy has
+reference to the _manner_ only, and not to the _fact_ of God's presence
+over the Ark of the Covenant; and the Ark of the Covenant stands here
+in a wider sense, and comprehends the cherubim, and "the glory of the
+Lord dwelling over them." From a vast number of passages, it can be
+proved that this glory of the Lord was constantly and really present
+over the Ark of the Covenant, although it was in extraordinary cases
+only that it manifested itself in an outward, visible form; compare,
+besides Lev. xvi. 2, Lev. ix. 24, where, after Aaron's consecration to
+the priesthood, the glory of the Lord appeared to the whole people in
+confirmation of his office. To these passages belong all those in which
+God is designated as dwelling over the cherubim, such as 1 Chron. xiii.
+6; Ps. lxxx. 2; 1 Sam. iv. 4. To it refers the designation of the ark
+of the covenant, in a narrower sense, as the footstool of God; comp. 1
+Chron. xxviii. 2, where David says: "I had in mine heart to build an
+house of rest for the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, and for the
+footstool of our God;" Ps. xcix. 5, cxxxii. 7; Lam. ii. 1. From this
+circumstance the fact is explained, that the prayer in distress, as
+well as the thanks for deliverance, were offered up before, or towards
+[Pg 388] the Ark of the Covenant. After the defeat before Ai (Josh.
+vii. 5 ff.), Joshua "rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his
+face, before the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, until the eventide,
+he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads, and Joshua
+said: Alas, O Lord God, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people
+over Jordan?" After the Lord had appeared to Solomon at Gibeah, and had
+given him the promise, he went before the Ark of the Covenant of the
+Lord, and offered burnt-offerings, and thank-offerings, 1 Kings iii.
+15. In 2 Sam. xv. 32, we are told that David went up the Mount of
+Olives very sorrowfully, and when he was come to the place, _where
+people were accustomed to worship God_, Hushai met him. According to
+that passage, it was the custom of the people, when on the top of the
+Mount of Olives, they gained, for the first or last time, a view of the
+sanctuary, to prostrate themselves before the God of Israel who dwelt
+there. To the Ark of the Covenant, all those passages refer in which it
+is said that God dwelleth in the midst of Israel; that He dwelleth in
+the temple; that He dwelleth at Zion or Jerusalem, compare _e.g._, the
+promise in Exodus xxix. 45: "I dwell in the midst of the children of
+Israel," and farther, Ps. ix. 12, cxxxii. 13, 14; 1 Kings vi. 12, 13,
+where God promises to Solomon that if he should only walk in His
+commandments, and execute His judgments, then would He dwell among the
+children of Israel; and afterwards fulfils this promise by solemnly
+entering into his temple. Indissolubly connected with this, was the
+deep reverence in which the Ark of the Covenant was held in Israel. It
+was considered as the most precious jewel of the people, as the centre
+of their whole existence. Being the place where the glory of God dwelt
+(Ps. xxvi. 8), where He manifested himself in His most glorious
+revelation, it was called _the glory of Israel_, compare 1 Sam. iv. 21,
+22; Ps. lxxviii. 61. The High Priest Eli patiently and quietly heard
+all the other melancholy tidings--the defeat of Israel, and the death
+of his sons. But when he who had escaped added: "And the Ark of God is
+taken," he fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate; and
+his neck brake, and he died. When his daughter-in-law heard the tidings
+that the Ark of the Covenant was taken, she bowed herself and
+travailed; for her pains came upon her. And about the time of [Pg 389]
+her death, the women that stood by her said unto her: Fear not, for
+thou hast borne a son. But she answered not, neither did she take it to
+heart, and she named the child Ichabod, and said. The glory is departed
+from Israel, because the Ark of the Covenant was taken, and said again:
+"The glory is departed from Israel, for the Ark of God is taken." But
+in what manner may this dwelling of God over the Ark of the Covenant be
+conceived of? Should the Most High God, whom all the heavens, and the
+heaven of heavens cannot contain (1 Kings viii. 27), whose throne is
+the heaven, and whose footstool is the earth (Is. lxvi. 1), dwell in a
+temple made by the hands of men? (Acts vii. 48, ff.) Evidently not in
+the manner in which men dwell in a place, who are _in_ it only, not
+_out_ of it. Nor in such a manner as the carnally minded suppose, who,
+to the warnings of the prophets, opposed their word: "Is not the Lord
+among us? none evil can come upon us" (Micah iii. 11), or: "Here is the
+temple of the Lord, here is the temple of the Lord, here is the temple
+of the Lord" (Jer. vii. 4), imagining that God could not forsake the
+place which he had chosen, could not take away the free gift of His
+grace. The matter rather stands thus: That which constitutes the
+substance and centre of the whole relation of Israel to God, is, that
+the God of the heavens and the earth became the God of Israel; that the
+Creator of heaven and earth became the Covenant-God, that His general
+providence in blessing and punishing became a special one. In order to
+make the relation familiar to the people, and thus to make it the
+object of their love and fear, God gave them a _praesens numen_ in His
+sanctuary, as a prefiguration, and, at the same time, a prelude of the
+condescension with which He whom the whole universe cannot contain,
+rested in the womb of Mary. And in so doing, He gave them not a
+symbolical representation merely, but an embodiment of the idea, so
+that they who wished to seek Him as the God of Israel, could find Him
+in the temple, and over the Ark of the Covenant only. The circumstance
+that it was just there that He took His seat, shows the difference
+between this truly _praesens numen_, and that merely imaginery one of
+the Gentiles. There was in this no partial favour for Israel, nothing
+from which careless sinners could derive any comfort, God's dwelling
+among Israel rested on [Pg 390] His holy Law. According as the Covenant
+is kept or not, and the Law is observed or not, it manifests itself by
+increased blessing, or by severer punishment. If the Covenant be
+entirely broken, the consequence is that God leaves His dwelling, and
+it is only the curse which remains, and which is greater than the curse
+inflicted upon those among whom He never dwelt, and which, by its
+greatness, indicates the greatness of the former grace.--Now, if this
+be the case with the Ark of the Covenant; if it be the substance and
+centre of the whole former dispensation, what, and how much would not
+fall along with it, if it fell; and how infinitely great must the
+compensation be which was to be granted for it, if, in consequence of
+it, no desire and longing after it was to rise at all, if it was to be
+regarded as belonging to the [Greek: ptocha stoicheia], and was to be
+forgotten as a mere image and shadow! The fact that the Ark of the
+Covenant was made before any thing else, sufficiently shows that every
+thing sacred under the Old Testament dispensation depended upon it.
+_Witsius Misc. t._ i. p. 439, very pertinently remarks: "The Ark of the
+Covenant being, as it were, the heart of the whole Israelitish
+religion, was made first of all." Without Ark of the Covenant--no
+temple; for it became a sanctuary by the Ark of the Covenant only; for
+holy, so Solomon says in 2 Chron. viii. 11, is the place whereunto the
+Ark of the Covenant hath come. Without Ark of the Covenant, no
+priesthood; for what is the use of servants when there is no Lord
+present? Without temple and priesthood, no sacrifice. We have thus
+before us the announcement of the entire destruction of the previous
+form of the Kingdom of God, but such a destruction of the form as
+brings about, at the same time, the highest completion of the
+substance,--a perishing like that of the seed-corn, which dies only, in
+order to bring forth much fruit; like that of the body, which is sown
+in corruption, in order to be raised in incorruption. _Dahler_ remarks:
+"Because a more sublime religion, a more glorious state of things will
+take the place of the Mosaic dispensation, there will be no cause for
+regretting the loss of the symbol of the preceding dispensation, and
+people will no more remember it."--It is quite natural that the
+prophecy should give great offence, and prove a stumbling-block to
+Jewish interpreters. Its subject, its high dignity, just [Pg 391]
+consists in the announcement that, at some future period, the shadow
+should give way to the substance; but it is just the confounding of the
+shadow with the substance, the rigid adherence to the former, which
+characterises Judaism, which considers even the Messiah as a minister
+of the old dispensation only, and views the great changes to be
+effected by Him, mainly as external ones. The embarrassment arising
+from this, is very clearly expressed in the following words of
+_Abarbanel_: "This promise is, then, bad, and uproots the whole Law.
+How is it then that Scripture mentions it as good?" Rabbi _Arama_, in
+his commentary on the Pentateuch, fol. 101, says, in reference to this
+prophecy, [Hebrew: nbvkv kl hmprwiM] "all interpreters have been
+perplexed by it." The interpretations by means of which they endeavour
+to rid themselves of this embarrassment (see the collection of them in
+_Frischmuth's_ dissertation on this passage, Jena; reprinted in the
+_Thes. Ant._) are only calculated plainly to manifest it. _Kimchi_
+gives this explanation: "Although ye shall increase and be multiplied
+on the earth, yet the nations shall not envy you, nor wage war against
+you; and it shall no more be necessary for you to go to war with the
+Ark of the Covenant, as was usual in former times, when they took the
+Ark of the Covenant out to war. In that time, there will be no
+necessity for so doing, as they shall not have any war." The weak
+points of this explanation are at once obvious. That which, in the
+verse under consideration, is, in a general way, said of the Ark of the
+Covenant, is, by it, referred to an altogether special use of it, a
+regard to which is excluded by the evident antithesis in ver. 17.
+_Abarbanel_ rejects this explanation. He says: "For there is, in the
+text, no mention at all of war; and therefore I cannot approve of this
+exposition, although _Jonathan_, too, inclines towards it." He himself
+brings out this sense: The Ark of the Covenant would then, indeed,
+still continue to exist, and be the seat of the Lord; but no more the
+exclusive one, no longer the sole sanctuary. "The whole of Jerusalem
+shall, as regards holiness and glory, equal the Ark of the Covenant.
+For there shall cease with them every evil thing, and every evil
+imagination; and there shall be such holiness in the land, that in the
+same manner as formerly the Ark was the holiest of all things, so at
+that time, Jerusalem shall be [Pg 392] the throne of the Lord." But, by
+this explanation, justice is not done to the text. For it is an entire
+doing away with the Ark of the Covenant which is spoken of in it, not a
+mere diminution of its dignity, produced by the circumstance, that that
+which formerly was low shall be exalted. This is particularly evident
+from the words: "They will not miss it, neither shall it be made
+again." To this argument we may still add that, by this exposition, not
+even the object is gained for the sake of which it was advanced. The
+nature and substance of the Ark of the Covenant is destroyed, as soon
+as it is put on a level with anything else. It is then no more _the_
+throne of the Lord; and for this reason, the previous form can no
+longer continue to exist, and, along with it, the temple and priesthood
+too must fall. If every place in Jerusalem, if every inhabitant of it,
+be equally holy, how then can institutions still continue, which are
+based on the difference between holy and unholy?--Here a question still
+arises. There was no Ark of the Covenant in the second temple. In what
+relation to the prophecy under consideration stands this absence of the
+Ark of the Covenant, the restoration of which the Jews expect at the
+end of the days? There cannot be any doubt that it was really wanting.
+Every proof of its existence is wanting. _Josephus_, in enumerating the
+catalogue of the _spolia Judaica_, borne before in the triumph, does
+not mention it. He says expressly (de Bell. Jud. v. 5, Sec. 5), that the
+holy of holies had been altogether empty. Some of the Jewish writers
+assert that it had been carried away to Babylon; while most of them,
+following the account given in 2 Maccabees, tell us that Josiah or
+Jeremiah had concealed it; compare the Treatise by _Calmet_, Th. 6, S.
+224-258, _Mosh._ In asking _why_ such was the case, other analogous
+phenomena, the absence of the _Urim and Thummim_, the cessation of
+prophetism soon after the return from the captivity, must not be lost
+sight of. Every thing was intended to impress upon the people the
+conviction that their condition was provisional only. It was necessary
+that the Theocracy should sink beneath its former glory, in order that
+the future glory, which was far to outshine it, should so much the more
+be longed for. After having thus determined _why_ it was that the Ark
+of the Covenant was wanting, at the second temple, it is easy to [Pg
+393] determine the relation of this absence to the prophecy under
+consideration. It was the beginning of its fulfilment. In the Kingdom
+of God, nothing perishes, without something new arising out of this
+decay. The extinction of the old was the guarantee, that something new
+was approaching. On the other hand, the absence of the Ark of the
+Covenant was, it is true, at the same time, a matter-of-fact prophecy
+of a sad character. To those who clung to the form, without having in a
+living manner laid hold of the substance, and who, therefore, were not
+able to partake in the more glorious display of the substance,--to
+these it announced that the time was approaching when the form, to
+which they had attached themselves with their whole existence, was
+to be broken. Since already one of the great privileges of the
+covenant-people, the [Greek: doxa] (Rom. ix. 4), had disappeared,
+surely all that might and would soon share the same fate, which existed
+only for the sake of it, and in it only had its significance. In this
+respect, the non-restoration of the Ark of the Covenant showed that the
+Chaldean destruction and that by the Romans were connected as
+commencement and completion; while, in the other aspect, it declared
+that, with the return from the captivity, the realization of God's
+great plan of salvation was being prepared. Inasmuch as the most
+complete _fuga vacui_ is peculiar to the Covenant-God, the emptiness in
+that place where formerly the glory of God dwelt, proclaimed aloud the
+future fulness.--_Finally_, we have still to determine the special
+reference of our verse to Israel, _i.e._, the former kingdom of the ten
+tribes. This reference is, by most interpreters, entirely lost sight
+of, and is very superficially and erroneously determined by those who,
+like _Calvin_, pay attention to it. In the preceding verse, it had been
+promised to Israel, that those blessings should again be bestowed upon
+them, which they had forfeited by their rebellion against the Davidic
+house, and that they should be restored to them with abundant interest.
+For David's house is to attain to its completion in its righteous
+Sprout. This Shepherd, who is, in the fullest sense, what His ancestor
+had only imperfectly been--a man according to the heart of God--shall
+feed them with knowledge and understanding. _Here_, a compensation is
+promised for the second, infinitely greater loss, which [Pg 394] had,
+at all times, been acknowledged as such by the faithful in the kingdom
+of the ten tribes. The revelation of the Lord over the Ark of the
+Covenant was the magnet which constantly drew them to Jerusalem. Many
+sacrificed all their earthly possessions, and took up their abode in
+Judea. Others went on a pilgrimage from their natural to their
+spiritual home, to the "throne of the glory exalted from the
+beginning," Jer. xvii. 12. In vain was every thing which the kings of
+Israel did in order to stifle their indestructible longing. Every new
+event by which "the glory of Israel" manifested itself as such, kindled
+their ardour anew. But here also the great blessing and privilege,
+which the believers missed with sorrow, the unbelievers without it, is
+to the returning ones given back, not in its previous form, but in a
+glorious completion. The whole people have now received eyes to
+recognise the value of the matter in its previous form; and yet this
+previous form is now looked upon by them as nothing, because the new,
+infinitely more glorious form of the same matter occupied their
+attention.
+
+Ver. 17. "_At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the
+Lord; and all the nations shall be gathered into it, because the name
+of the Lord is at Jerusalem; neither shall they walk any more after the
+wickedness of their evil heart._"
+
+Many interpreters, proceeding upon the supposition that the emphasis
+rests upon Jerusalem, have been led to give an altogether erroneous
+explanation. It is no more the Ark of the Covenant which will then be
+the throne of the Lord, but _all_ Jerusalem. Thus, _e.g._, after the
+example of _Jarchi_ and _Abarbanel_, _Manasseh ben Israel_,
+_Conciliator_, p. 196: "If we keep in mind that, in the tabernacle or
+temple, the Ark was the place where the Lord dwelt (hence Ex. xxv. 22:
+'I will speak with thee from above the mercy-seat, from between the two
+cherubim'), we shall find that the Lord here says, that the Ark indeed
+had formerly been the dwelling-place of the Godhead, but that, at the
+time of Messiah, not some one part of the temple only would be filled
+with the Godhead, but that this glory should be given to all Jerusalem;
+so that whosoever would be in her would have the prophetic spirit." If
+it had been the intention of the Prophet to convey this meaning, the
+word _all_ could not have been omitted. The throne of the [Pg 395]
+Lord, Jerusalem had been even formerly, in so far as she possessed in
+her midst the Ark of the Covenant, and hence was the residence of
+Jehovah, the city of the great King, Ps. xlviii. 3. The words in the
+parallel member: "Because the name of the Lord is at Jerusalem," show
+that Jerusalem is called the throne of the Lord, because there is now
+in her the true throne of the Lord, just as, formerly, the Ark of the
+Covenant. The antithesis to what precedes leads us to expect a
+gradation, not in point of quantity, but of quality. The emphasis rests
+rather on: "The throne of the Lord;" and these words receive from the
+antithesis the more definite qualification: the true throne of the
+Lord. Quite similarly, those who boasted that over the Cherubim was the
+throne of God, and that the Ark of the Covenant was His footstool, are
+told in Is. lxvi. 1: "The heaven is my (true) throne, and the earth my
+(true) footstool;" comp. the passages according to which the Ark of the
+Covenant is designated as the footstool of God, and, hence, the place
+over the Cherubim of the Ark of the Covenant as the throne of the Lord,
+p. 387; and farther, Is. lx. 13; Ezra i. 26.--The highest prerogative
+of the covenant-people, their highest privilege over the world, is to
+have God in the midst of them; and this prerogative, this privilege, is
+now to be bestowed upon them in the most perfect manner; so that idea
+and reality shall coincide. Perfectly parallel in substance are such
+passages as Ezek. xliii., in which the Shechinah which, at the
+destruction of the temple had withdrawn, returns to the new temple, the
+Kingdom of God in its new and more glorious form. Ver. 2. "And behold
+the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the East; and its
+voice was like the voice of great waters, and the earth shone with its
+splendour." Ver. 7. "And He said unto me, son of man, behold the place
+of _my throne_, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will
+dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and the house of
+Israel shall no more defile my holy place." Zech. ii. 14 (10): "Sing
+and rejoice, O daughter of Zion; for, lo, I come and dwell in the midst
+of thee," with an allusion to Exod. xxix. 45: "And I dwell among the
+children of Israel, and will be their God." The Prophet declares that
+the full realization of this promise is reserved for the future; but it
+could not be so, unless it had already been realised, throughout all
+past history, in God's [Pg 396] dwelling over the Ark of the Covenant;
+compare Zech. viii. 3: "Thus saith the Lord, I return unto Zion, and
+dwell in the midst of Jerusalem."--If we enquire after the fulfilment,
+we are at once met by the words in John i. 14: [Greek: kai ho logos
+sarx egeneto kai eskenosen en hemin, kai etheasametha ten doxan autou,
+doxan hos monogenous para patros]; and that so much the more that these
+words contain an evident allusion to the former dwelling of God in the
+temple, of which the incarnation of the Logos is looked upon as the
+highest consummation. It is true that the dwelling of God among His
+people by means of the [Greek: pneuma Christou] must not be separated
+from the personal manifestation of God in Christ, in whom dwelt the
+fulness of the Godhead bodily, [Greek: somatikos]. The former stands to
+the latter in the same relation, as does the river to the fountain; it
+is the river of living water flowing forth from the body of Christ.
+Both together form the true tabernacle of God among men, the new true
+Ark of the Covenant; for the old things are the [Greek: skia ton
+mellonton, to de soma Christou], Col. ii. 17; comp. Rev. xxi. 22:
+[Greek: kai naon ouk eidon en aute. ho gar Kurios, ho Theos ho
+pantokrator naos autes esti, kai to arnion]. The typical import of the
+Ark of the Covenant is expressly declared in Heb. ix. 4, 5, and that
+which was typified thereby is intimated in chap. iv. 16: [Greek:
+proserchomtha de meta parhresias to throno tes charitos], where Christ
+is designated as the true mercy-seat, as the true Ark of the Covenant.
+Just as, formerly, God could be found over the Ark of the Covenant
+only, by those from among his people who sought Him; so we have now,
+through Christ, boldness and access with confidence in God (Eph. iii.
+12); and it is only when offered in His name, in living union with Him,
+that our prayers are acceptable, John xvi. 23. A consequence of that
+highest realization of the idea of the kingdom of God, and, at the same
+time, a sign that it has taken place, and a measure of the blessings
+which Israel has to expect from its re-union with the Church of God, is
+the gathering of the Gentiles into it, such as, by way of type and
+prelude, took place even at the lower manifestations of the presence of
+God among the people; compare, _e.g._, Josh. ix. 9: "And they (the
+Gibeonites) said unto him: From a very far country thy servants are
+come, because of the name ([Hebrew: lwM]) of Jehovah thy God, for we
+have heard the fame of Him, and all that He did in Egypt, [Pg 397] and
+all that He did to the two kings of the Amorites," &c. In a manner
+quite similar it is, in Zech. ii. 15 (11) also, connected with the
+Lord's dwelling in Jerusalem: "And many nations shall be joined to the
+Lord in that day; and they shall be my people; and I dwell in the midst
+of thee."--[Hebrew: lwM ihvh lirvwliM] must be literally translated:
+"On account of the name of the Lord (belonging) to Jerusalem," for:
+because the name of the Lord belongs to Jerusalem--is there at home The
+name of the Lord is the Lord himself, in so far as He reveals His
+invisible nature, manifests himself In the name, His deeds are
+comprehended; and hence it forms a bridge betwixt existing and knowing.
+A God without a name is a [Greek: theos agnostos], Acts xviii. 23.
+There is an allusion to Deut. xii. 5: "But unto the place which the
+Lord your God shall choose out of all your tribes _to put His name
+there_, to dwell in it, unto it ye shall seek, and thither ye shall
+come." Formerly, when God put His name in an imperfect manner only,
+Israel only assembled themselves; but now, all the Gentiles.--The last
+words: "Neither shall they walk any more," &c., are not by any means to
+refer to the Gentiles, but to the members of the kingdom of Israel, or
+also to the whole of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to all the members
+of the Kingdom of God, including the subjects of the kingdom of Israel.
+This appears from a comparison of the fundamental passage of the
+Pentateuch, as well as of the parallel passages in Jeremiah. Wherever
+[Hebrew: wrirvt] occurs, the covenant-people are spoken of; everywhere
+the walking after [Hebrew: wrirvt] of the heart is opposed to the
+walking after the revealed law of Jehovah, which Israel alone
+possessed. [Hebrew: wrirvt], which properly means "firmness," is then
+used of hardness in sin, of wickedness.[5]
+
+
+
+[Footnote 1: _Vitringa_ very correctly remarks on this passage:
+"[Hebrew: bel], properly [Greek: ho echon], he who has any thing in his
+possession is, by an ellipsis, applied to the husband who, in Exod.
+xxi. 3, is rightly called [Hebrew: bel awh] _one who has a wife_."]
+
+[Footnote 2: Against the explanation of _Maurer_: "For I am your Lord;"
+and that of _Ewald_: "I take you under my protection," it is decisive
+that [Hebrew: bel] never means "to be Lord," far less "to take under
+protection." [Hebrew: bel], which properly means "to possess," is very
+commonly used of marriage;--as early as in the Decalogue, the wife
+appears as the noblest _possession_ of the husband--so that _a priori_
+this signification is suggested and demanded.]
+
+[Footnote 3: It is from the circumstance that modern Exegesis is unable
+to comprehend the prophetic anticipation of the Future, that the
+assertion has proceeded (_Movers_, _Hitzig_) that, even before the
+Chaldean destruction, the Ark "must have disappeared in a mysterious
+manner." In the view of the Chaldean destruction the Lord is, in Ps.
+xcix. 1 (comp. Ps. lxxx. 2), designated as He who sitteth over the
+Cherubim. In 2 Chron. xxxv. 3, we have a distinct historical witness
+for the existence of the Ark, so late as the 18th year of Josiah. The
+fable in 2 Maccab. ii. 4, ff., supposes that the Ark was at its
+ordinary place, down to the time of the breaking in of the Chaldean
+catastrophe. One might as well infer from chap. iii. 18, that, at the
+time when these words were spoken, Judah must already, "in a mysterious
+manner," have come into the land of the North.]
+
+[Footnote 4: _Baehr_ advances the assertion, "In a (the) cloud" is
+equivalent to: "in darkness." But the parallel passages, Exod. xl. 34
+ff., Numb. ix. 15, 16, quoted by _J. H. Michaelis_, are quite
+sufficient to overthrow this assertion. And these parallel passages are
+so much the more to the point, that by the article the cloud is
+designated as being already known; compare _Hofmann_, _Schriftbeweis_
+ii. 1, S. 36. The cloud in ver. 13 is not identical with that in ver.
+2, but is its necessary parallel. The cloud in ver. 2 symbolises the
+truth that the Lord is a consuming fire (compare my remarks on Rev. i.
+7); that in ver. 13 is an embodied _Kyrie eleison_, compare remarks on
+Rev. v. 8. Cloud with cloud,--that is a noble advice for the Church
+when she is threatened by the judgments of God. A thorough refutation
+of _Baehr_ has been given by _W. Neumann_: _Beitraege zur Symbolik des
+Mos. Cultus_, _Zeitschr. f. Luth. Theol._, 1851, i.]
+
+[Footnote 5: In a certain sense, one may say that [Hebrew: wrirvt lb]
+is a [Greek: hapax legomenon]. It occurs independently in one single
+passage only, in Deut. xxix. 18; in the other passages (eight times in
+Jeremiah, and besides, in Ps. lxxxi. 13), it was evidently not taken
+from the living _usus loquendi_ from which it had disappeared, but from
+the fundamental passage in the written code of law. This fact will, _a
+priori_, appear probable, when we keep in mind that, among all the
+books of the Pentateuch, Jeremiah has chiefly Deuteronomy before his
+eyes; and among all the chapters of Deuteronomy, none more than the
+29th; and that Ps. lxxxi. is pervaded by literal allusions to the
+Pentateuch. But it is put beyond all doubt, when we enter upon a
+comparison of the passage in Deuteronomy with the parallel passages.
+Here we must begin with Jer. xxiii. 17, where the verbal agreement
+comes out most strongly, and then we shall, in the other passages also
+(vii. 24, ix. 13, xi. 8, xvi. 12, xviii. 12, and the passage under
+consideration), easily perceive that the word has been borrowed. From a
+comparison with the fundamental passage, it appears that it is the
+intention of the Prophet to convey here the promise of an eternal
+duration of the regained blessing, and to keep off the thought that
+possibly the people might again, as formerly, fall from grace. Of him
+who walks after the [Hebrew: wrirvt] of his heart, it is said in Deut.
+xxix. 19 (20): "The Lord will not be willing to forgive him; for then
+the anger of the Lord and His jealousy shall smoke against that man,
+and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him,
+and the Lord blots out his name from under heaven."]
+
+
+
+[Pg 398]
+
+
+
+
+                           CHAPTER XXIII. 1-8.
+
+
+These verses form a portion only of a greater whole, to which, besides
+the whole of chap. xxii., chap. xxiii. 9-40 also belongs. For these
+verses contain a prophecy against the false prophets, and by the way
+also, against the degenerated priesthood (comp. ver. 11); and this
+prophecy easily unites itself with the preceding prophecy against the
+kings, so as to form one prophecy against the corrupt leaders of the
+people of God. But, for the exposition of the verses before us, it is
+only the connection with chap. xxii. which is of importance, and that
+so much so that, without carefully attending to it, they cannot at all
+be thoroughly understood. For this reason, we shall confine ourselves
+to bring it out more clearly.
+
+The Prophet reproves and warns the kings of Judah, first, in general,
+announcing to them the judgments of the Lord upon them and their
+people,--the fulfilment of the threatenings, Deut. xxix. 22 ff.--if
+they are to continue in their hitherto ungodly course, chap. xxii. 1-9.
+In order to make a stronger impression, he then particularizes the
+general threatening, showing how God's recompensing justice manifests
+itself in the fate of the individual apostate kings. First, Jehoahaz is
+brought forward, the son and the immediate successor of Josiah, whom
+Pharaoh-Necho dethroned and carried with him to Egypt, vers. 10-12. The
+declaration concerning him forms a commentary on the name Shallum,
+_i.e._, the recompensed one, he whom the Lord recompenses according to
+his deeds,--which name the Prophet gives to him instead of the
+meaningless name Jehoahaz, _i.e._, God holds. His father, who met his
+death in the battle against the Egyptians, may be called happy when
+compared with him; for he never returns to his native [Pg 399] land; he
+lives and dies in a foreign land. The next whom he brings forward is
+Jehoiakim, vers. 13-19. He is a despot who does every thing to ruin the
+people committed to him. There is, therefore, the most glaring contrast
+between his beautiful name and his miserable fate. The Lord, instead of
+raising him up, will cast him down to the lowest depth; not even an
+honourable burial is to be bestowed upon him. No one weeps or laments
+over him; like a trodden down carcass, he lies outside the gates of
+Jerusalem, the city of the great King, which he attempted to wrest from
+him, and make his own. Then follows a parenthetical digression, vers.
+20-23. Apostate Judah is addressed. The judgment upon her kings is not
+one with which she has nothing to do, as little as their guilt belongs
+to them as individuals only. It is, at the same time a judgment upon
+the people which, by the Lord's anger which they have called forth by
+their wickedness, is thrown down into the depth, from the height on
+which the Lord's mercy had raised them.--Next follows Jehoiachin, vers.
+24-30. In his name "The _Lord_ will establish," the word _will_ has no
+foundation; the Lord _will_ reject him, cast him away, and break him in
+pieces like a worthless vessel. With his mother, he shall be carried
+away from his native land, and die in exile and captivity. Irrevocable
+is the Lord's decree, that none of his sons shall ascend the throne of
+David, so that he, having begotten children in vain, is to be esteemed
+as one who is childless.
+
+At the commencement of the section under consideration (vers. 1 and 2),
+the contents of chap. xxii. are comprehended into one sentence. "Woe to
+the shepherds that destroy and scatter the flock of the Lord." Woe,
+then, to those shepherds who have done so. With this is then,
+in vers. 3-8, connected the announcement of salvation for the poor
+scattered flock. For the same reason, that the Lord visits upon those
+who have hitherto been their shepherds, the wickedness of their
+doings--viz., because of His being the chief Shepherd, or because of
+His covenant-faithfulness, He will in mercy remember them also, gather
+them from their dispersion, give, instead of the bad shepherds, a good
+one, viz., the long promised and longed for great descendant of David,
+who, being a _righteous_ King, shall diffuse justice and righteousness
+in the land, and thus [Pg 400] acquire for it righteousness and
+salvation from the Lord. So great shall the mercy of the Future be,
+that thereby the greatest mercy in the people's past history--their
+deliverance out of Egypt--shall be altogether cast into the shade.
+
+There cannot be any doubt that the whole prophecy belongs to the reign
+of Jehoiakim; for the end of Jehoiakim and the fate of Jehoiachin are
+announced as future events.
+
+_Eichhorn_ asserts that this section was composed under Zedekiah; but
+he could do so only by proceeding from his erroneous fundamental view,
+that the prophecies are veiled descriptions of historical events. "When
+Jeremiah"--so he says--"delivered this discourse, Jehoiakim had not
+only already met his ignominious end (xxii. 19), but Jeconiah also was,
+with his mother, already carried away captive to Babylon." It is matter
+of astonishment that _Dahler_, without holding the same fundamental
+view, could yet adopt its result. He specially refers to the
+circumstance that, in ver. 24, Jehoiachin is addressed as king,--a
+circumstance by which _Berthold_ also supports his view, who, cutting
+the knot, advances the position that vers. 1-19 belong to the reign of
+Jehoiakim, but vers. 20--xxxii. 8 to the time when Jehoiachin was
+carried away to Babylon. (_Maurer_ and _Hitzig_ too suppose that vers.
+20 ff. were added at a later period, under the reign of Jehoiachin).
+But what difficulty is there in supposing that the Prophet transfers
+himself into the time, when he who is now a hereditary prince will be
+king,--of which the address is then a simple consequence? It is
+undeniable that a connection with chap. xxi. takes place, in which
+chapter Jeremiah announces to Zedekiah, threatened by the Chaldeans,
+the fall of the Davidic house, and the capture and destruction of the
+city. And this connection is to be accounted for by the fact that
+Jeremiah here connects with this announcement a former prophecy, in
+which, under the reign of Jehoiakim, he had foretold the fall of the
+Davidic house. The fate of the house of David is the subject common to
+both the discourses. _Kueper_ (_Jeremias_, _libror. Sacror. interpres_,
+p. 58), supposes that, in the message to Zedekiah, Jeremiah had, at
+that time, repeated his former announcement; but this supposition is
+opposed by the circumstance that, in chaps. xxii., xxiii., there is no
+trace of a reference to Zedekiah and his embassy. _Ewald_ asserts that
+Jeremiah [Pg 401] here only puts together what "perhaps" he had
+formerly spoken regarding the three kings; but the words in chap. xxii.
+1: "Go down into the house of the king of Judah and speak there this
+word," is conclusive against this assertion. For, according to these
+words, we have here not something put together, but a discourse which
+was delivered at a distinct, definite time; although nothing prevents
+us from supposing that the going down was done in the Spirit only.
+
+We have here still to make an investigation concerning the names of the
+three kings occurring in chap. xxii., the result of which is of
+importance for the exposition of ver. 5.--It cannot but appear strange
+that the same king who, in the Book of the Kings, is called Jehoahaz,
+is here called Shallum only; that the same who is there called
+Jehoiachin, has here the name of Jeconias, which is abbreviated into
+Conias. The current supposition is, that the two kings had two names
+each. But this supposition is unsatisfactory, because, by the context
+in which they stand, the names employed by Jeremiah too clearly appear
+as _nomina realia_, as new names given to them by which the contrast
+between the name and thing was to be removed, and hence are evidently
+of the same nature with the _nomen reale_ of the good Shepherd in chap.
+xxiii. 6, which, with quite the same right, could have been changed
+into a _nomen proprium_ in the proper sense, as has, indeed, been done
+by the LXX. The numerous passages in the prophets, where the name
+occurs as a designation of the nature and character, _e.g._, Is. ix. 5,
+lxii. 4; Jer. xxxiii. 16; Ezek. xlviii. 35, plainly show that a name
+which has merely a prophetical warrant (and such an one alone takes
+place here, although the name Shallum occurs also in 1 Chron. iii. 15
+[in the historical representation itself, however, Jehoahaz is used in
+the Book of Kings, and 2 Chron. xxxvi. 1], and the name Jeconias
+likewise in 1 Chron. iii. 16, while Jehoiakim is found not only in the
+Book of Kings, but also in Ezek. i. 2; for it is quite possible that
+those later writers may have drawn from Jeremiah), cannot simply be
+considered as a _nomen proprium_; but, on the contrary, that there is a
+strong probability that it is not so. And this probability becomes
+certainty when that name occurs, either _alone_, as _e.g._, Shallum, or
+_first_, as Jeconiah, (which occurs again in chap. xxiv. 1, xxvii. 20;
+the abbreviated [Pg 402] Coniah in xxxvii. 1, while, which is well to
+be observed, we have in the historical account, chap. lii. 31,
+Jehoiachin) in a context, such as that under consideration; especially
+when this phenomenon occurs in a prophet such as Jeremiah, in whom,
+elsewhere also, many traces of holy wit, and even punning, can be
+pointed out.--With reference to the calamity which more and more
+threatened Judah, pious Josiah had given to his sons names, which
+announced salvation. According to his wish, these names should be as
+many actual prophecies, and would, indeed, have proved themselves to be
+such, unless they who bore them had made them of no avail by their
+apostacy from the Lord, and had thus brought about the most glaring
+contrast between idea and reality. That comes out first in the case of
+Jehoahaz. He whom the Lord should _hold_, was violently and
+irresistibly carried away to Egypt. The Prophet, therefore, calls him
+Shallum, _i.e._, the _recompensed_,--not _retribution_, as _Hiller_,
+_Simonis_, and _Roediger_ think, nor _retributor_ according to _Fuerst_
+(comp. _Ewald_ Sec. 154d); the same who, in 1 Chron. v. 38, is called
+Shallum, is in 1 Chron. ix. 11, called Meshullam--he upon whom the Lord
+has visited the wickedness of his deeds.--As regards the name Jehoiakim
+and Jehoiachin, we must, above all things, keep in view the relation of
+these names to the promise given to David. In 2 Sam. vii. 12 it is
+said: "And I cause to rise up ([Hebrew: vhqimti]) thy seed after thee,
+which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish ([Hebrew:
+vhkinti]) his kingdom." This passage contains the ground of _both_
+names; and this is the more easily explained, since both of them have
+one author, Jehoiakim. Even his former name Eliakim had probably been
+given to him by his father Josiah with a view to the promise. When
+Pharaoh, however, desired him to change his name--as the name itself
+shows, we cannot but supply, in 2 Kings xxiii. 31, such a request to a
+proposal which was afterwards approved of by Pharaoh--he performed that
+change in such a manner as to bring it into a still nearer relation to
+the promise, in which, not El, but Jehovah, is expressly mentioned as
+He who promised; and indeed the matter proceeded from Jehovah, the God
+of Israel. As, however, from the whole character of Jehoiakim, we
+cannot suppose that the twofold naming proceeded from true piety,
+nothing is more natural [Pg 403] than to account for it from an
+opposition to the prophets. The centre of their announcements was
+formed by the impending calamity from the North, and the decline of the
+Davidic family. The promise given to David shall indeed be fulfilled in
+the Messiah; but not till after a previous deep abasement. Jehoiakim
+mocking at these threatenings, means to transfer the salvation from the
+future into the present. In his own name, and that of his son, he
+presented a standing protest to the prophetic announcement; and this
+protest could not but call forth a counter-protest, which we find
+expressed in the prophecy under consideration. The Prophet first
+overthrows the false interpretation: Jehoiakim is not Jehoiakim, and
+Jehoiachin is not Jehoiachin, chap. xxii.; he then restores the right
+interpretation: the true Jehoiakim is, and remains, the Messiah, chap.
+xxiii. 5. As regards the first point, he. in the case of Jehoiakim,
+contents himself with the _actual_ contrast, and omits to substitute a
+truly significant name for the usurped one, which may most easily be
+accounted for from the circumstance, that he thought it to be
+unsuitable to exercise any kind of wit, even holy wit, against the then
+reigning king. But the case is different with regard to Jehoiachin. The
+first change of the name into Jeconiah has its cause not in itself; the
+two names have quite the same meaning; it had respect to the second
+change into Coniah only. In Jeconiah we have the Future; and this is
+put first, in order that, by cutting off the [Hebrew: i], the sign of
+the Future, he might cut off hope; a Jeconiah without the [Hebrew: i]
+says only God establishes, but not that He _will_ establish. In
+reference to these names, _Grotius_ came near the truth; but he erred
+in the nearer determination, because he did not see the true state of
+the matter; so that, according to him, it amounts to a mere play: "The
+Jod," he says, "with which the name begins, is taken away, to intimate
+that his head shall be diminished; and a Vav is added at the end as a
+sign of contempt, _q.d._ that Coniah!" _Lightfoot_ comes nearer to the
+truth; yet even he was not able to gain assent to it (compare against
+him _Hiller_ and _Simonis_ who thought his views scarcely worth
+refuting), because he took an one-sided view. He remarks (_Harmon._ p.
+275): "By taking away the first syllable, God intimated that He would
+not establish to the progeny of Solomon the [Pg 404] uninterrupted
+government and royal dignity, as Jehoiakim, by giving that name to his
+son, seems to have expected." Besides these two, compare farther,
+_Alting_, _de Cabbala sacra_ Sec. 73.
+
+In conclusion, we must still direct attention to chap. xx. 3. Who,
+indeed, could infer from that passage, that, by way of change, _Pashur_
+was called also _Magor-Missabib_?
+
+Chap. xxiii. 1. "_Woe to shepherds that destroy and scatter the sheep
+of my pasture, saith the Lord._"
+
+It must be well observed that [Hebrew: reiM] is here without the
+article, but, in ver. 2, with it. _Venema_ remarks on this: "A general
+woe upon bad shepherds is premised, which is soon applied to the
+shepherds of Judah, _q.d._, since Jehovah has denounced a woe upon all
+bad shepherds, therefore ye bad shepherds," &c. By the "shepherds,"
+several interpreters would understand only the false prophets and
+priests. Others would at least have them thought of, along with the
+kings. This view has exercised an injurious influence upon the
+understanding of the subsequent Messianic announcement, inasmuch as it
+occasioned the introduction into it of features which are altogether
+foreign to it. It is only when it is perceived, that the bad shepherds
+refer to the kings exclusively, that it is seen that, in the
+description of the good Shepherd, that only is applicable which has
+reference to Him as a King. But the very circumstance that, according
+to a correct interpretation, nothing else is found in this description,
+is a sufficient proof that, by the bad shepherds, the kings only can be
+understood. But all doubt is removed when we consider the close
+connection of the verses under consideration with chap. xxii. In
+commenting upon chap. iii. 15, we saw that, ordinarily, rulers only are
+designated by the shepherds; compare, farther, chap. xxv. 34-36, and
+the imitation and first interpretation of the passage under review by
+Ezekiel, in chap. xxxiv. Ps. lxxviii. 70, 71: "He chose David his
+servant, and took him from the sheep-folds. He took him from behind the
+ewes to feed Jacob, His people, and Israel, His inheritance," shows
+that a typical interpretation of the former circumstances of David
+lies at the foundation of this _usus loquendi_; compare Ezek. xxxiv.
+23, 24: "And I raise over them one Shepherd, and he feedeth them, my
+servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be [Pg 405] their
+shepherd."--What is to be understood by the destroying and scattering,
+must be determined partly from ver. 3 and vers. 13 ff. of the preceding
+chapter; partly from ver. 3 of the chapter before us. The former
+passages show that the acts of violence of the kings, their oppressions
+and extortions, come here into consideration (compare Ezek. xxxiv. 2,
+3: "Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! Should
+not the shepherds feed the flocks? Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you
+with the wool, ye kill them that are fed, &c., and with force and with
+cruelty ye rule them"), while the latter passage shows that it is
+chiefly the heaviest guilt of the kings which comes into consideration,
+viz., all that by which they became the cause of the people's being
+carried away into captivity. To this belonged, besides their foolish
+political counsels, which were based upon ungodliness (comp. chap. x.
+21), the negative (_Venema_: "It was their duty to take care that the
+true religion, the spiritual food of the people, was rightly and
+properly exercised"), and positive promotion of ungodliness, and of
+immorality proceeding from it, by which the divine judgments were
+forcibly drawn down. It is in this contrast of idea and reality
+(_Calvin_: "It is a contradiction that the shepherd should be a
+destroyer"), that the woe has its foundation, and that the more, that
+it is pointed out that the flock, which they destroy and scatter, is
+_God's_ flock. (_Calvin_: "God intimates that, by the unworthy
+scattering of the flock, an atrocious injury had been committed against
+himself") [Hebrew: caN mreiti] must not be explained by: "the flock of
+my feeding," _i.e._, which I feed. For, wherever [Hebrew: mreit] occurs
+by itself, it always has the signification "pasture," but never the
+signification _pastio_, _pastus_ commonly assigned to it. This
+signification, which is quite in agreement with the form of the word,
+must therefore be retained in those passages also where it occurs in
+connection with [Hebrew: caN], when it always denotes the relation of
+Israel to God. Israel is called the flock of God's pasture, because He
+has given to them the fertile Canaan as their possession, compare my
+remarks on Ps. lxxiv. 1. It is, at first sight, strange that a guilt of
+the rulers only is spoken of, and not a guilt of the people; for every
+more searching consideration shows that both are inseparable from one
+another; that bad rulers proceed from the development of the nation,
+and are, at the same time, a punishment [Pg 406] of its wickedness sent
+by God. But the fact is easily accounted for, if only we keep in mind
+that the Prophet had here to do with the kings only, and not with the
+people. To them it could not serve for an excuse that their wickedness
+was naturally connected with that of the people. This _natural_
+connection was not by any means a necessary one, as appears from the
+example of a Josiah, in whose case it was broken through by divine
+grace. Nor were they justified by the circumstance, that they were rods
+of chastisement in the hand of God. To this the Prophet himself
+alludes, by substituting, in ver. 3: "I have driven away," for "you
+have driven away," in ver. 2. All which they had to do, was to attend
+to their vocation and duty; the carrying out of God's counsels belonged
+to Him alone. From what we have remarked, it plainly follows that we
+would altogether misunderstand the expression "flock of my pasture," if
+we were to infer from it a contrast of the _innocent_ people with the
+guilty kings. _Calvin_ remarks: "In short, when God calls the Jews the
+flock of His pasture, He has no respect to their condition, or to what
+they have deserved, but rather commends His grace which He has bestowed
+upon the seed of Abraham." The kings have nothing to do with the moral
+condition of the people; they have to look only to God's covenant with
+them, which is for them a source of obligations so much the greater and
+more binding than the obligations of heathen kings, as Jehovah is more
+glorious than Elohim. The moral condition of the people does, to a
+certain degree, not even concern God; how bad soever it is, He looks to
+His covenant; and when more deeply viewed, even the outward scattering
+of the flock is a gathering.
+
+Ver. 2. "_Therefore thus saith the Lord the God of Israel, against the
+shepherds that feed my people: Ye have scattered my flock and driven
+them away, and have not visited them; behold, I visit upon you the
+wickedness of your doings, saith the Lord._"
+
+In the designation of God as Jehovah the God of Israel, there is
+already implied that which afterwards is expressly said. Because God is
+Jehovah, the God of Israel, the crime of the kings is, at the same
+time, a _sacrilegium_; they have desecrated God. It was just here that
+it was necessary prominently to point out the fact, that the people
+still continued to [Pg 407] be God's people. In another very important
+aspect, they were indeed called _Lo-Ammi_ (Hos. i. 9); but that aspect
+did not here come into consideration. _Calvin_: "They had estranged
+themselves from God; and He too had, in His decree, already renounced
+them. But, in one respect, God might consider them as aliens, while, in
+respect to His covenant, He still acknowledged them as His, and hence
+He calls them His people."--The words "that feed my people," render the
+idea still more prominent and emphatic than the simple "the shepherds"
+would have done, and hence serve to make more glaring the contrast
+presented by the reality. The words "you have not visited them," seem,
+at first sight, since graver charges have been mentioned before, to be
+feeble. But that which they did, appears in its whole heinousness only
+by that which they did not, but which, according to their vocation,
+they ought to have done. This reference to their destination imparts
+the greatest severity to the apparently mild reproof Similar is Ezek.
+xxxiv. 3: "Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill
+them that are fed, and ye feed not the flock." The visiting forms the
+general foundation of every single activity of the shepherd, so that
+the [Hebrew: la pqdtM] comprehends within itself all that which Ezekiel
+particularly mentions in chap. xxxiv. 4: "The weak ye strengthen not,
+and the sick ye heal not, and the wounded ye bind not up, and the
+scattered ye bring not back, and the perishing ye seek not."--The
+words: "the wickedness of your doings," look back to Deut. xxviii. 20:
+"The Lord shall send upon thee curse, terror, and ruin in all thy
+undertakings, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly,
+_because of the wickedness of thy doings_, that thou hast forsaken me."
+The gentle allusion to that fearful threatening in that portion of the
+Pentateuch, which was the best known of all, was sufficient to make
+every one supplement from it that, which was there actually and
+expressly uttered. Such an allusion to that passage of Deuteronomy can
+be traced out, wherever the phrase [Hebrew: re melliM] occurs, which,
+in later times, had become obsolete; compare chap. iv. 4 and xxi. 12
+(in both of these passages [Hebrew: mpni], too, is introduced); Is. i.
+16; Ps. xxviii. 4; Hos. ix. 15.
+
+Ver. 3. "_And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the
+countries whither I have driven them away, and I_ [Pg 408] _bring them
+back again to their folds, and they are fruitful and increase._"
+
+Compare chap. xxix. 14, xxxi. 8, 10; Ezek. xxxiv. 12, 13: "As a
+shepherd looketh after his flock in the day that he is in the midst of
+his flock, the scattered, so will I look after my flock, and I deliver
+them out of all the places, where they have been scattered in the day
+of clouds and of darkness. And I bring them out from the nations, and
+gather them from the countries, and bring them to their land, and feed
+them upon the mountains of Israel, in the valleys, and in all the
+dwelling places of the land."--A spiritless clinging to the letter has,
+here too, led several interpreters to suppose, that the Prophet had
+here in view merely the return from the Babylonish captivity, and
+perhaps, also, the blessings of the times of the Maccabees, besides and
+in addition to it. Altogether apart from the consideration that, in
+that case, the fulfilment would very little correspond to the
+promise,--for, to the returning ones, Canaan was too little the land of
+God to allow of our seeing, in this return, the whole fulfilment of
+God's promise--we can, from the context, easily demonstrate the
+opposite. With the gathering and bringing back appears, in ver. 4,
+closely connected the raising of the good shepherds; and according to
+ver. 5, that promise is to find, if not its sole fulfilment, at all
+events its substance and centre, in the raising of David's righteous
+Branch, the Messiah. And from vers. 7, 8, it appears that it is here
+altogether inadmissible to suppose that these events will take place,
+one after the other. The particle [Hebrew: lkN] with which these verses
+begin, and which refers to the whole sum and substance of the preceding
+promises, shows that the bringing back from the captivity, and the
+raising of the Messiah, cannot, by any means, be separated from one
+another; and to the same result we are led by the contents of the two
+verses also. How indeed could it be said of the bodily bringing back
+from the captivity, that it would far outshine the former deliverance
+from Egypt, and would cause it to be altogether forgotten? The correct
+view was stated as early as by _Calvin_, who says: "There is no doubt
+that the Prophet has in view, in the first instance, the free return of
+the people; but Christ must not be separated from this blessing of the
+deliverance, for, otherwise, it would be difficult to [Pg 409] show the
+fulfilment of this prophecy." The right of thus assuming a concurrent
+reference to Christ is afforded to us by the circumstance, that Canaan
+had such a high value for Israel, not because it was its fatherland in
+the lower sense, but because it was the land of God, the place where
+His glory dwelt. From this it follows that a bodily return was to the
+covenant-people of value, in so far only as God manifested himself as
+the God of the land. And since, before Christ, this was done in a
+manner very imperfect, as compared with what was implied in the idea,
+the value of such a return could not be otherwise than very
+subordinate. And in like manner, it follows from it, that the gathering
+and bringing back by Christ is included in the promise. For wherever
+God is, there is Canaan. Whether it be the old fold, or a new one, is
+surely of very little consequence, if only the good Shepherd be in the
+midst of His sheep. _As a rule_, such externalities lie without the
+compass of prophecy, which, having in view the substance, refers, as to
+the way of its manifestation, to history. Into what ridiculous
+assertions a false clinging to the letter may lead, appears from
+remarks such as those of _Grotius_ on the second hemistich of the
+following verse: "They shall live in security under the powerful
+protection of the Persian kings." Protection by the world, and
+oppression by the world, differed very slightly only, in the case of
+the covenant-people. The circumstance that Gentiles ruled over them at
+all, was just that which grieved them; and this grief must therefore
+continue (compare Neh. ix. 36, 37), although, by the grace of God, a
+mild rule had taken the place of the former severe one; for this grace
+of God had its proper value only as a prophecy and pledge of a future
+greater one. The circumstance that it is to the _remnant_ only that the
+gathering is promised (compare Is. x. 22; Rom. ix. 27), points to the
+truth, that the divine mercy will be accompanied with justice. _Calvin_
+remarks on this point: "The Prophet again confirms what I formerly
+said, viz., mercy shall not be exercised until He has cleansed His
+Church of filthiness, so great and so horrid, in which she at that time
+abounded." One must beware of exchanging the Scriptural hope of a
+conversion of Israel on a large scale, in contrast to the small [Greek:
+ekloge] at the time of Christ and the Apostles, for the hope of a
+_general_ conversion in the strict sense. [Pg 410] When considering the
+relation of God to the free human nature, the latter is absolutely
+impossible. When consistently carried out, it necessarily leads to the
+doctrine of universal restoration. It is beyond doubt, that God _wills_
+that all men should be saved; and it would necessarily follow that all
+men could be saved, if all the members of one nation could be saved.
+There is no word of Scripture in favour of it, except the [Greek: pas]
+in Paul, which must just be interpreted and qualified by the contrast
+to the _small_ [Greek: ekloge], while there are opposed to it a number
+of declarations of Scripture,--especially all those passages of the
+prophets where, to the remnant, to the escaped ones of Israel only,
+salvation is promised. And, besides the Word of God, there are opposed
+to it His deeds also,--especially the great typical prefiguration of
+things spiritual by things external at the deliverance of the people
+from Egypt, when the _remnant_ only came to Canaan, while the bodies of
+thousands fell in the wilderness; and no less at the deliverance from
+Babylon, when by far the greatest number preferred the temporary
+delight in sin to delight in the Lord in His land.
+
+Ver. 4. "_And I raise shepherds over them, and they feed them; and they
+shall fear no more, nor be terrified, neither be lost, saith the
+Lord._"
+
+Even here, the reference to 2 Sam. vii. 12, and to the name of
+Jehoiakim, is manifest, although, in the subsequent verse, it appears
+still more distinctly, compare p. 401. This reference also is a proof
+in favour of this prophecy's having been written under Jehoiakim. The
+reference was, at that time, easily understood by every one; even the
+slightest allusion was sufficient. This reference farther shows that
+_Venema_, and several others who preceded him in this view, are wrong
+in here thinking of the Maccabees. These are here quite out of the
+question, inasmuch as they were not descended from David. Besides the
+contrast between the people's apostacy and God's covenant-faithfulness,
+the Prophet evidently has still another in view, viz., that between the
+apostacy of the Davidic house, and God's faithfulness in the fulfilment
+of the promise given to David. The single apostate members of this
+family are destroyed, although, appropriating to themselves the
+promise, they, in their names, promise deliverance and salvation to [Pg
+411] themselves. But from the family itself, God's grace cannot depart;
+just because Jehovah is God, a true Jehoiakim and Jehoiachin must rise
+out of it. It thus appears that the Maccabees are here as little
+referred to as Ezra and Nehemiah, of whom _Grotius_ thinks. Much
+stronger ground is there for thinking of Zerubbabel, for his appearance
+had really some reference to the promise to David, although as a weak
+type and prelude only of the true fulfilment, to which he occupies the
+same relation, as does the gathering from the Babylonish captivity to
+the gathering by Christ. If, after all, we wish to urge the Plural, we
+must not, by any means, sever our verse from ver. 5, and declare this
+to be the sense: _first_ will I raise up to you shepherds; _then_, the
+Messiah. We must, in that case, following _C. B. Michaelis_, rather
+supplement: specially one, the Messiah. In _none_ of Jeremiah's
+prophecies are there different stages and degrees in the salvation;
+everywhere he has in his view the whole in its completion. Where this
+is overlooked, the whole interpretation must necessarily take a wrong
+direction, as is most clearly seen in the case of _Venema_. But there
+is no reason at all for laying so much stress on the Plural. Every
+Plural may be used for designating the idea of the whole species; and
+this kind of designation was here so much the more obvious, that the
+bad species, with which the good is here contrasted, consisted of a
+series of individuals. With the bad pastoral office, the Prophet here
+_first_ contrasts the good one; _then_ he gives, in ver. 5, a more
+detailed description of the individual who is to represent the species,
+in whom the idea of the species is to be completely realised. The
+correctness of this interpretation is confirmed by the comparison of
+the parallel passage in chap. xxxiii. 15, which, almost _verbatim_,
+agrees with that under consideration, and in which only one descendant
+of David, viz., the Messiah, is spoken of And that is quite natural;
+for, in that passage, there is no antithesis to the bad shepherds,
+which was the cause that here, at first, the species was made
+prominent. And another confirmation is afforded by Ezek. xxxiv. With
+him, too, one good shepherd is mentioned in contrast with the bad
+shepherds.--The words: "And they feed them" stand in contrast to "Who
+feed my people," in ver. 2. The shepherds mentioned in ver. 2 ought to
+feed the flock; but, instead of doing [Pg 412] that, they feed
+themselves (compare Ezek. xxxiv. 2); the shepherds, however, mentioned
+in our verse, really feed. The former are shepherds in name only, but,
+in reality, wolves; the latter are shepherds, both in name and reality.
+[Hebrew: pqd] must be taken in the signification "to be missing,"
+"lacking." (Compare the Remarks on chap. iii. 16.) There is an allusion
+to [Hebrew: la pqdtM] in ver. 2. Because the bad shepherd does not
+visit, the sheep are not sought, _q.d._, they are lost; but those who
+did not visit, are now, in a very disagreeable manner, visited by God
+([Hebrew: pqd elikM]); the good shepherd visits, and, therefore, the
+sheep need not be sought. The clause: "They shall fear no more, nor be
+terrified," receives its explanation from Ezek. xxxiv. 8: "Because my
+flock are a prey, and meat to every beast of the field, because they
+have no shepherd, and because my shepherds do not concern themselves
+with the flock."
+
+Ver. 5. "_Behold the days come, saith the Lord, and I raise unto David
+a righteous Branch, and He ruleth as a King, and acteth wisely, and
+worketh justice and righteousness in the land._"
+
+The expression: "Behold the days come," according to the constant _usus
+loquendi_ of Jeremiah, does not designate a progress in time, in
+reference to what precedes, but only directs attention to the greatness
+of that which is to be announced. It contains, at the same time, an
+allusion to the contrast presented by the visible state of things,
+which affords no ground for such a thing. How dark soever the present
+state of things may be, the time is _still_ coming; although the heart
+may loudly say. _No_, the word of _God_ must be more certain.
+Concerning [Hebrew: cmH], compare Isa. iv. 2, and the passages of
+Zechariah there quoted, [Hebrew: cdiq] stands here in the same
+signification as in Zech. ix. 9,--different from that which it has in
+Isa. liii. 11. In the latter passage, where the Servant of God is
+described as the High Priest and sin-offering. His righteousness comes
+into consideration as the fundamental condition of justification; here,
+where He appears as King only,--as the cause of the diffusion of
+justice and righteousness in the land. That there is implied in this a
+contrast to the former kings, was pointed out as early as by
+_Abarbanel_: "He shall not be an unrighteous seed, such as Jehoiakim
+and his son, but a righteous [Pg 413] one." _Calvin_ also points out
+"the obvious antithesis between Christ and so many false, and, as it
+were, adulterous sons. For we know for certain that He alone was the
+righteous seed of David; for although Hezekiah and Josiah were
+legitimate successors, yet, when we look to others, they were, as it
+were, monsters. Except three or four, all the rest were degenerate and
+covenant-breakers." The words: "I raise unto David a righteous Branch"
+are here, as well as in chap. xxxiii. 15, not by any means equivalent
+to: a righteous Branch of David. On the contrary, David is designated
+as he to whom the act of raising belongs, for whose sake it is
+undertaken. God has promised to him the eternal dominion of his house.
+How much soever, therefore, the members of this family may sin against
+the Lord,--how unworthy soever the people may be to be governed by a
+righteous Branch of David, God, as surely as He is God, must raise Him
+for the sake of David. The word [Hebrew: mlK] must not be overlooked.
+It shows that [Hebrew: mlK], which, standing by itself, may designate
+also another government than by a king, such as, _e.g._, that of
+Zerubbabel, is to be taken in its full sense. And this qualification
+was so much the more necessary, that the deepest abasement of the house
+of David, announced by the Prophet in chap. xxii., compare especially
+ver. 30, was approaching, and that thereby every hope of its rising to
+_complete_ prosperity seemed to be set aside. Since, therefore, the
+faith in this event rested merely on the word, it was necessary that
+the word should be as distinct as possible, in order that no one might
+pervert, or explain it away. _Calvin_ remarks: "He shall rule as a
+King, _i.e._, He shall rule gloriously; so that there do not merely
+appear some relics of former glory, but that He flourish and be
+powerful as a King, and attain to a perfection, such as existed under
+David and Solomon; and even much more excellent."--As regards [Hebrew:
+hwkil], we have already, in our remarks on chap. iii. 15, proved that
+it never and nowhere means "to prosper," "to be prosperous," but always
+"to act wisely." It has been shown by _Calvin_ that even the context
+here requires the latter signification. He says: "The Prophet seems
+here rather to speak of right judgment than of prosperity and success;
+for we must read this in connexion with one another: He shall act
+wisely, and then work justice and [Pg 414] righteousness. He shall be
+endowed with the spirit of wisdom, as well as of justice and
+righteousness; so that he shall perform all the offices and duties of a
+king." Yet _Calvin_ has not exhausted the arguments which may be
+derived from the context. The _whole_ verse before us treats of the
+endowments of the King; the whole succeeding one, of the prosperity
+which, by these endowments, is imparted to the people. To this may
+still be added the evident contrast to the folly of the former
+shepherds, which was the consequence of their wickedness, and which, in
+the preceding chapter, had been described as the cause of their own,
+and the people's destruction; compare chap. x. 21: "For the shepherds
+are become brutish, and do not seek the Lord; therefore they do not act
+wisely, and their whole flock is scattered." But if here the
+signification "to act wisely" be established, then it is also in all
+those passages where [Hebrew: hwkil] is used of David; compare remarks
+on chap. iii. For the fact, that the Prophet has in view these
+passages, and that, according to him, the reign of David is, in a more
+glorious manner, to be revived in his righteous Branch, appears from
+the circumstance that every thing else has its foundation in the
+description of David's reign, in the books of Samuel. Thus the words:
+"And he ruleth as a king, and worketh justice and righteousness in the
+land," refer back to 2 Sam. viii. 15: "And David reigned over all
+Israel, and David wrought justice and righteousness unto all his
+people." The foundation of the announcement of ver. 6 is formed by 2
+Sam. viii. 14 (compare ver. 6): "And the Lord gave prosperity ([Hebrew:
+vivwe]) to David in all his ways." But if [Hebrew: hwkil], wherever it
+occurs of David, must be taken in this sense, then the LXX. are right
+also in translating Is. lii. 13 by [Greek: sunesei]: for, in that
+passage, just as in the verse under consideration, David is referred to
+as the type of the Messiah. The phrase [Hebrew: ewh mwpT vcdqh] is by
+_De Wette_ commonly translated: "to _exercise_ justice and
+righteousness." But the circumstance that, in Ps. cxlvi. 7, he is
+obliged to give up this translation, proves that it is wrong. [Hebrew:
+ewh] must rather be explained by "to work," "to establish." [Hebrew:
+mwpT] is here, as everywhere else, the objective right and justice;
+[Hebrew: cdqh], the subjective righteousness. The _working_ of justice
+is the means by which _righteousness_ is wrought. The forced dominion
+of justice is necessarily followed by the voluntary, [Pg 415] just as
+the judgments of God, by means of which He is sanctified _upon_
+mankind, are, at the same time, the means by which He is sanctified
+_in_ them. The high vocation of the King to work justice and
+righteousness rests upon His dignity, as the bearer of God's image;
+comp. Ps. cxlvi. 7; chap. ix. 23: "For I the Lord work love, justice,
+and righteousness in the land." Chap. xxii. 15 is, moreover, to be
+compared, where it is said of Josiah, the true descendant of David, "he
+wrought justice and righteousness," and chap. xxii. 3, where his
+spurious descendants are admonished: "Work justice and righteousness,
+and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor, and do not
+oppress the stranger; the fatherless and the widow do not wrong,
+neither shed innocent blood in this place." Farther, still, is the
+progress to be observed: the King is righteous, his righteousness
+passeth over from him to the subjects; then follows salvation and
+righteousness from the Lord.--To explanations, such as that of
+_Grotius_, who, by the righteous Branch, understands Zerubbabel, we
+here need the less to pay any attention, that the fact of his being in
+this without predecessors or followers palpably proves it to be
+erroneous. If, indeed, we could rely on _Theodoret's_ statement ("The
+blinded Jews endeavour, with great impudence, to refer this to
+Zerubbabel"--then follows the refutation), the older Jews must have led
+the way to this perverted interpretation. But we cannot implicitly rely
+on _Theodoret's_ statements of this kind. In the Jewish writings
+themselves, not the slightest trace of such an interpretation is to be
+found. The Chaldean Paraphrast is decidedly in favour of the Messianic
+interpretation: [Hebrew: atN amr ii vaqiM ha ivmia ldvd mwiH dcdqh]
+"Behold the days shall come, and I will raise up to David the righteous
+Messiah, (not [Hebrew: dcdqia] 'the Messiah of the righteous,' as many
+absurdly read), saith the Lord." _Eusebius_ (compare _Le Moyne_, _de
+Jehova justitia nostra_, p. 23), it is true, refutes the interpretation
+which refers it to Joshua, the son of Josedech; but we are not entitled
+to infer from this circumstance, that this view found supporters in his
+time. His intention is merely to guard against the erroneous
+interpretation of [Greek: Iosedek] of the following verse in the
+Alexandrian version ([Greek: kai touto to onoma autou, ho kalesei auton
+kurios, Iosedek]). It can scarcely be imagined that the translators
+themselves proceeded from this erroneous view. For [Pg 416] Josedech,
+the father of Joshua the high-priest, is a person altogether obscure.
+All which they intended, by their retaining the Hebrew form, was
+certainly only the wish, to express that it was a _nomen proprium_
+which occurred here; and they were specially induced to act thus by the
+circumstance, that this name was, in their time, generally current, as
+one of the proper names of the Messiah.
+
+Ver. 6. "_And in His days Judah is endowed with salvation, and Israel
+dwelleth safely; and this is the name whereby they shall call him: The
+Lord our righteousness._"
+
+It has already been pointed out that the first words here look back to
+David. That which Jeremiah here expresses by several words, Zechariah
+expresses more briefly, by calling the Sprout of David [Hebrew: cdiq
+vnvwe] "righteous, and protected by God." It makes no difference that,
+in that passage, the salvation, the inseparable concomitant of
+righteousness, is ascribed to the King, its possessor; while, here, it
+is ascribed to the people. For, in that passage, too, it is for his
+subjects that salvation is attributed to the King who comes for Zion,
+just as he is righteous for Zion also. Israel must here be taken either
+in the restricted sense, or in the widest, either as the ten tribes
+_alone_, or as the ten tribes along with Judah. It is a favourite
+thought of Jeremiah, which recurs in all his Messianic prophecies, that
+the ten tribes are to partake in the future prosperity and salvation.
+He has a true tenderness for Israel; his bowels roar when he remembers
+them, who were already, for so long a time, forsaken and rejected. His
+lively hope for Israel is a great testimony of his lively faith. For,
+in the case of Israel, the visible state of things afforded still less
+ground for hope than in the case of Judah. There is here an allusion to
+Deut. xxxiii. 28: ("And He thrusteth out thine enemy from before thee,
+and saith: Destroy") "And Israel dwelleth in safety ([Hebrew: viwkN
+iwral bTH]), alone, Jacob looketh upon a land of corn and wine, and his
+heavens drop dew." There can be the less doubt of the existence of this
+allusion, that this expression occurs, besides in Deuteronomy, and
+in the verse under consideration, only once more in chap. xxxiii.
+16,--that a reference to the majestic close of the blessing of Moses,
+which certainly was in the hearts and mouths of all the pious, was very
+natural, and that the word [Hebrew: tvwe] has there its analogy in ver.
+29: [Pg 417] "Happy art thou, O Israel, who is like unto thee, a people
+saved ([Hebrew: nvwe]) by the Lord, the shield of thy help, thy proud
+sword; and thine enemies flatter thee, and thou treadest upon their
+high places." This glorious destination of the covenant-people, which,
+hitherto, had been so imperfectly only realized (most perfectly
+under David, compare 2 Sam. viii. 6, 14), shall, under the reign
+of the Messiah, be carried out in such a manner that idea and reality
+shall fully coincide. The covenant-people is to appear in its full
+dignity.--In the second hemistich of the verse, the reading requires
+first to be established. Instead of the reading [Hebrew: iqrav] which
+is found in the text, and which is the third pers. Sing. with the
+Suffix, several MSS. (compare _De Rossi_), have the third pers. Plur.
+[Hebrew: iqrav]. Several controversial writers, such as _Raim.
+Martini_, _Pug. Fid._ p. 517, and _Galatinus_, iii. 9, p. 126, (The
+Jews of our time assert that here Jeremiah did not say "they shall
+call," [Hebrew: iqrav], as we read it, but "he shall call him,"
+[Hebrew: iqrav]; and they declare this to be the sense: "This is the
+name of Him who shall call him, viz., the Messiah: Our righteous God,")
+declare the latter to be unconditionally correct, and assert that the
+other had originated from an intentional Jewish corruption, got up for
+the purpose of setting aside the divinity of the Messiah, which, to
+them, was so offensive. This allegation, however, is certainly
+unfounded. It is true, that some Jewish interpreters availed themselves
+of the reading [Hebrew: iqrav] for the purpose stated. Thus _Rabbi
+Saadias Haggaon_, according to _Abenezra_ and _Manasseh Ben Israel_,
+who explain: "And this is the name by which the Lord will call him: Our
+righteousness." But it by no means follows from this, that they
+invented the reading; it may have existed, and they only connected
+their perversion with it. That the latter was indeed the case, appears
+from the circumstance that by far the greater number of Jewish
+interpreters and controversialists rejected this perversion, because it
+was in opposition to the accents (compare especially _Abenezra_ and
+_Norzi_ on the passage), and acknowledged [Hebrew: ihvh cdqnv] to be
+the name of the Messiah. The reading [Hebrew: iqrav] must be
+unconditionally rejected, because it has by far the smallest external
+authority in its favour. It is true, that its supporters (comp.
+especially _Schulze_, _vollst. Critik der gewoehnlichen_ [Pg 418]
+_Bibelausgaben_, S. 321) have endeavoured to make up for its deficiency
+in manuscript authority, by appealing to the authority of the ancient
+translators, all of whom, with the sole exception of the Alexandrian
+version, according to them, express it. But this assertion is entirely
+without foundation. The _vocabunt eum_ of _Jonathan_ and the Vulgate is
+the correct translation of [Hebrew: iqrav]. And when _Jerome_, in
+opposition to the Alex., remarks that, according to the Hebrew, the
+translation ought to be: _Nomen ejus vocabunt_, he does not contend
+against their use of the Singular _per se_, but only against their
+arbitrarily supplying "Jehovah" as the subject; against their
+explaining "The Lord shall call," instead of "one" shall call. The
+manner in which the false reading [Hebrew: iqrav] first arose, is
+clearly seen from the reasons by which its later defenders endeavour to
+support it; compare especially _Schulze_ l. c. The chief argument is
+the erroneous supposition that the third Plur. only could be used
+impersonally. To this was farther added the use of the rarer Suffix
+[Hebrew: v] instead of the common [Hebrew: -hv]--But from internal
+reasons, too, the reading [Hebrew: iqrav] is objectionable; the
+designation of the object of calling cannot be omitted.--There cannot
+be any doubt that we are not allowed to refer the Suffix in [Hebrew:
+iqrav] to Israel, (_Ewald_: "And this is their name by which they call
+them,") but to the Messiah. For it is only in this case, that those who
+call, viz., Judah or Israel, the Members of the Church, are indirectly
+mentioned in the preceding words; and the Messiah is, in both verses,
+the chief person to whom all the other clauses refer. At all events,
+the _then_ could not, in that case, have been omitted, as in this
+context every thing depends upon the connection of the salvation with
+the person of the King; and this connection must be clearly and
+distinctly expressed. We now come to [Hebrew: ihvh cdqnv]. Great
+difference of opinion prevails as to the explanation of these words.
+The better portion of the Jewish interpreters, indeed, likewise
+consider them as names of the Messiah, but not in such a manner that He
+is called "Jehovah," and then, in apposition to it, "Our
+righteousness," but rather in such a manner that [Hebrew: ihvh cdqnv]
+is an abbreviation of the whole sentence. Thus the Chaldean, who thus
+paraphrases: "And this is the name by which they shall call him:
+Righteousness [Pg 419] will be bestowed upon us from the face of the
+Lord;" _Kimchi_, "Israel shall call the Messiah by this name: The Lord
+our righteousness, because at His time, the righteousness of the Lord
+will be to us firm, continuous, everlasting;" the [Hebrew: spr eqriM]
+(in _Le Moyne_, p. 20): "Scripture calls the name of the Messiah: The
+Lord our righteousness, because He is the Mediator of God, and we
+obtain the righteousness of God by His ministry." Besides to chap.
+xxxiii. 16, they refer to passages such as Exod. xvii. 15, where Moses
+calls the altar "Jehovah my banner;" to Gen. xxxiii. 20, where Jacob
+calls it [Hebrew: al alhi iwral]. _Grotius_ follows these expositors,
+only that he dilutes the sense still more. The other Christian
+expositors, (the Vulgate excludes every other interpretation, even by
+its translation: _Dominus justus noster_) on the contrary, contend with
+all their might for the opinion, that the Messiah is here called
+Jehovah, and hence must be truly God. That which _Dassov_ i. h. 1.
+remarks: "Since then the Messiah is called Jehovah, we have firm ground
+for inferring, that He is truly God, inasmuch as that name is peculiar
+and essential to the true God," is the argument common to all of them.
+_Le Moyne_ wrote in defence of this explanation a whole book, which we
+have already quoted, but from which little is to be learned. Even
+_Calvin_, who elsewhere sometimes erred from an exaggerated dread of
+doctrinal prejudice, decidedly adopts it. He remarks: "Those who judge
+without prejudice and bitterness, easily see that that name belongs to
+Christ, in so far as He is God, just as the name of the Son of David is
+assigned to Him in reference to His human nature. To all those who are
+just and unprejudiced, it will be clear that Christ is here
+distinguished by a twofold attribute; so that the Prophet commends Him
+to us, both as regards the glory of His deity, and his true human
+nature." By righteousness he, too, understands justification through
+the merits of Christ, "for Christ is not righteous for himself, but
+received righteousness in order to communicate it to us" (1 Cor. i.
+30). We have the following observations to make in reference to this
+exposition. 1. The principal mistake in it is this, that it has been
+overlooked that the Prophet here expresses the nature of the Messiah
+and of His time in the form of a _nomen proprium_. If the words were
+thus: "And this is Jehovah our righteousness," we should be fully [Pg
+420] entitled to take Jehovah as a personal designation of the Messiah.
+But in reference to a name, it is as common, as it is natural, to take
+from a whole sentence the principal words only, and to leave it to the
+reader or hearer to supply the rest. In the case of all _naming_,
+brevity is unavoidable, as is proved by the usual abbreviation of even
+those proper names which consist of one word only. The two cases
+mentioned by _Kimchi_ will serve as instances. "Jehovah my Banner" is a
+concise expression for: "This altar is consecrated to Jehovah my
+Banner;" [Hebrew: al alhi iwral] for: "This altar belongs to the
+Almighty, the God of Israel." A number of other instances might easily
+be quoted; one need only compare, in _Hiller's_ and _Simonis'_
+Onomastica, the names which are compounded with Jehovah. Thus, _e.g._,
+Jehoshua, _i.e._, Jehovah salvation, is a concise expression for:
+Jehovah will grant me salvation; Jehoram, _i.e._, _Jehovah altus_, for:
+I am consecrated to the exalted God of Israel. Most perfectly
+analogous, however, is the name Zedekiah, _i.e._, the righteousness of
+the Lord, for: He under whose reign the Lord will grant righteousness
+to His people. This name, moreover, seems to refer directly to the
+prophecy before us. Just as Eliakim, by changing his name into
+Jehoiakim, intended to represent himself as he in whom the prophecy in
+2 Sam. vii. would be fulfilled; so he who was formerly called Mattaniah
+changed, at the instance of Nebuchadnezzar (who had, indeed, no other
+object in view than that, as a sign of his supremacy, his name should
+be different from that by which he was formerly called, and who left
+the choice of the name to Mattaniah himself), his name into Zedekiah,
+imagining that in a manner so easy, he would become the Jehovah Zidkenu
+announced by Jeremiah, and longed for by the people. 2. The preceding
+argument only showed that there is nothing opposed to the exposition:
+He by whom and under whom Jehovah will be our righteousness. A positive
+proof, however, in favour of it is offered by the parallel passage,
+chap. xxxiii. 15, 16: "In those days and at that time will I cause a
+righteous Branch to grow up unto David; and He worketh justice and
+righteousness in the land. In those days shall Judah be saved, and
+Jerusalem shall dwell safely, and this is the name which they shall
+give to _her_: Jehovah our righteousness." Here Jehovah Zidkenu by no
+means [Pg 421] appears as the name of the Messiah, but as that of
+Jerusalem in the Messianic time. In vain are all the attempts which
+have been made to set aside this troublesome argument. They only serve
+to show, that it cannot be invalidated. _Le Moyne_, "in order that no
+way of escape may be left to the enemies," brings forward, p. 298 ff.,
+five different expedients among which the reader may choose. But their
+very difference is a plain sign of arbitrariness; and that appears
+still more clearly, when we begin to examine them individually. Several
+interpreters assume an _enallage generis_ [Hebrew: lh] = [Hebrew: lv],
+"and thus shall they call _him_." _Le Moyne_ thinks that we need have
+no difficulty in assuming such an _enallage_. Others explain: "And he
+who shall call, _i.e._, invite her, is Jehovah our righteousness." A
+simple reference to the passage before us is decisive against it; the
+parallelism of the two passages is too close to admit of [Hebrew: iqra]
+in the second passage being understood in a sense altogether different.
+By the same argument, the explanations by _Hottinger_ (Thesaur.
+Philolog. p. 17l), and _Dassov_: "This shall come to pass when the Lord,
+the Lord our righteousness, shall call her," are also refuted, quite
+apart from the consideration, that [Hebrew: awr] cannot by any means
+signify _when_. The most recent defender of the old orthodox view,
+_Schmieder_, cuts the knot by simply severing our passage from chap.
+xxxiii. 16-3. The ancient explanation, which refers [Hebrew: cdqnv],
+"our righteousness," to the remission of sins, does not even correctly
+understand this word. It is true that the remission of sins is often
+represented as one of the chief blessings of the Messianic time; but
+here it is out of place. According to the context, it is actual
+justification, _i.e._, salvation according to another mode of viewing
+it, which is here spoken of (compare remarks on Mal. iii. 20).
+Righteousness in this sense implies, of course, the forgiveness of
+sins; but, besides, the righteousness of life is comprehended in it.
+Righteousness stands here in parallelism with salvation, and the order
+and progress is this: righteousness of the king, righteousness of the
+subjects, then salvation and righteousness as a reward from God, To
+this argument may still be added the contrast to the former time.
+Connected with the unrighteousness of the kings was that of the people;
+and hence it was that the country was deprived of salvation, and
+smitten by the divine judgments. That [Pg 422] which Jeremiah
+comprehends in the name _Jehovah Zidkenu_, Ezekiel, in the parallel
+passage, chap. xxxiv. 25-31, farther carries out and expands. The Lord
+enters into a covenant of peace with them; rich blessing is bestowed
+upon them; He breaks their yoke and delivers them from servitude; they
+do not become a prey to the Gentiles.--_Schmieder_ has objected, that
+the name would be without meaning for the promised King, unless the
+name Jehovah belonged to him. But the King, by being called _Jehovah
+Zidkenu_, is designated as the channel, through which the divine
+blessings flow upon the Church, as the Mediator of Salvation, as the
+Saviour. We must not, however, omit to remark that this ancient
+explanation was wrong only in endeavouring to draw out from the word
+that which, no doubt, is contained in the matter itself No one born of
+a woman is _righteous_, in the full sense of the word; and if there be
+anything wanting in the personal righteousness of the King, the
+working of justice and righteousness, too, will at once be deficient;
+and salvation and righteousness are not granted in their full extent
+from above. To no one among all the former kings did the attribute
+[Hebrew: cdiq] belong in a higher degree than to David; and yet in how
+imperfect a degree did even he possess it! The calamity which, by this
+imperfection, was inflicted upon the people, is, _e.g._, seen in the
+numbering of the people. And it was not only the _will_ to work justice
+and righteousness which was imperfect, but the power also was
+imperfect, and the knowledge limited. He only who truly rules as a
+king, and is truly wise (compare the words [Hebrew: vmlK mlK vhwkil])
+can come up to, and realize the idea, after which David was striving in
+vain. All the three offices of Christ, the royal no less than the
+prophetic and priestly, imply His divinity; and the conviction that, in
+the way hitherto pursued, nothing was to be effected; that it was only
+by the divine entering into the earthly, that such splendid promises
+could be fulfilled,--this conviction surely must have been plain to a
+Jeremiah, whose fundamental sentiment is, "all flesh is grass," and who
+lived at a time which, more than any other, was fitted to cure that
+Pelagianism which always seeks to gather grapes from thorns. If then,
+farther, we keep in mind that Jeremiah had before him the clear
+announcements of the former prophets, as regards the divinity of the
+Messiah (compare [Pg 423] remarks on Mic. v. 1; Is. ix. 5), we can
+account for the fact, that he does not expressly speak of it, only
+because it was not suitable in this context, in which only the fact
+itself comes into consideration, but not the particular way.
+
+Ver. 7. "_Wherefore, behold days come, saith the Lord, that they shall
+no more say: As the Lord liveth who brought up the children of Israel
+out of the land of Egypt_; ver. 8, but: _As the Lord liveth, who
+brought up, and who led the seed of the house of Israel out of the
+North country, and from all the countries whither I have driven them;
+and they dwell in their land._"
+
+The sense is this: The future prosperity and salvation shall by far
+outshine the greatest deliverance and salvation of the Past. _Calvin_
+remarks: "If the first deliverance be valued by itself, it will be
+worthy of everlasting remembrance; but if it be compared with the
+second deliverance, it will almost vanish;" compare, besides chap. xvi.
+14, 15, where the verses now under consideration already occurred
+almost _verbatim_ (Jeremiah is fond of such repetitions, which are any
+thing but vain repetitions; and this fondness forms one of his
+peculiarities); chap. iii. 16, where, in the same sense, it is said of
+the Ark of the Covenant that it shall be forgotten in future; Is.
+xliii. 18, 19, lxv. 17.--[Hebrew: Hi-ihvh] "living (is) Jehovah," for:
+"As Jehovah liveth." It is quite natural that, when God is invoked as a
+witness and judge, He should be designated as the _living one_; and it
+is as natural that, on such an occasion, the greatest sign of life
+which He gave should be pointed to. But that, under the Old Testament
+dispensation, was the deliverance from Egypt, the strongest and most
+impressive of all those deeds by which the delusion was dissipated,
+that God was walking upon the vault of heaven, and did not judge
+through the clouds. In future, a still stronger manifestation of life
+is to take place. Hence the formula of the oath is altogether general;
+the deliverance from Egypt comes into consideration as a manifestation
+of life, and not as an act of grace. This was overlooked by _Calvin_
+when he remarked: "Whensoever they saw themselves so oppressed, that
+they did not see any other end to their evils than in the grace of God,
+they said that the same God, who, in former times, had been the
+deliverer of His people, was still living, and His power undiminished."
+
+[Pg 424]
+
+
+
+
+                           CHAP. XXXI. 31-40.
+
+
+The 30th and 31st chapters may rightly be called the grand hymn of
+Israel's deliverance. They are connected into one whole, not only a
+material, but also by a formal unity; so that we must indeed wonder at
+views such as those of _Venema_ and _Rosenmueller_, who assume that the
+section is composed of fragments loosely connected, and written at
+different times; but still more at the views of _Movers_ and _Hitzig_,
+who assert that a whole number of strange interpolations had been
+introduced into the text; compare _Kueper_, Jerem. S. 170 ff.
+
+With respect to the time of the composition, we must not allow
+ourselves to be deceived by the circumstance that, as a rule, Judah
+appears no less that Israel, already far away from the land of the
+Lord, in captivity. The Prophet, taking his stand in the time when the
+catastrophe has already taken place, speaks from an ideal Present. The
+fact that the destruction of Jerusalem was indeed imminent, and
+immediately in view, but had not yet taken place, becomes probable even
+from the inscriptions in chap. xxxii. and xxxiii., according to which
+these two chapters, which are so closely related to the two before us,
+belong to the tenth year of Zedekiah, when Jerusalem was besieged by
+the Chaldeans. This is rendered certain by chap. xxx. 5-7, where the
+final catastrophe upon the covenant-people, which belongs to the time
+of Jeremiah, is represented as still impending. Hitherto the
+threatening had prevailed in the predictions of the Prophet; but now,
+in the view of their fulfilment, when the thunders of the judgment were
+already heard from the heavens, the promise flows in full streams. The
+false prophets had prophesied prosperity and salvation, at a time when,
+to the human eye, there was no. cause for fear; but Jeremiah just steps
+forth to announce salvation, at a time when all human hope had
+vanished.
+
+The Prophet begins, in chap. xxx., with the promise of salvation for
+_all_ Israel; and after a detailed description, he comprehends and sums
+it up, in ver. 22, in the words, brief but infinitely rich and
+comprehensive: "And ye shall be my people [Pg 425] and I will be your
+God."[1] The majestic close of the promise for the true Israel is, in
+vers. 23, 24, formed by the threatening against those who are Israel in
+appearance only,--analogous to the words of Isaiah: "There is no peace
+to the wicked." Let them not, in their foolish delusion, seize the
+promise for themselves. The time of the highest blessing for the godly,
+and for those who are willing to become godly, the [Hebrew: ahrit
+himiM]. will be for them, at the same time, a time of the highest
+curse. The climax of the manifestation of grace has the climax of the
+manifestation of justice as its inseparable companion. "Behold the
+storm of the Lord, glowing fire, goeth forth, a _continuing_ storm, on
+the head of the wicked it shall remain. The fierce anger of the Lord
+shall not return, until He have done, and until He have performed the
+intents of His heart; at the end of days ye shall consider it."
+Formerly, in chap. xxiii. 19, 20, in a threatening prophecy which
+referred to the exile, the Prophet had uttered the same words. By their
+verbal repetition, he intimates that the matter was not by any means
+settled with the exile; that the latter must not be considered as the
+absolute and final punishment for the sins of the whole nation, but
+that, as truly as God is Jehovah, so surely His words will revive, as
+often as the circumstances again exist, to which they originally
+referred.
+
+[Pg 426]
+
+The more specific the consolation is, the more impressive is it, and
+the more does it reach the heart. After having announced salvation,
+therefore, to _all_ Israel, the Prophet now proceeds to the consolation
+for the two divisions of Israel. He begins with Israel in the
+restricted sense--the ten tribes (chap. xxxi. 1-22), and with them he
+continues longest, because, when looking to the outward appearance,
+they seemed to be lost beyond all hope of recovery, to be for ever
+rejected by the Lord. The thought, that we have here an original and
+independent announcement of salvation for Israel, is set aside even by
+the relation of ver. 1 to ver. 22 of the preceding chapter. For it is
+to this verse that the Prophet immediately connects his discourse;
+vers. 23 and 24 are only a parenthetical remark, an _Odi profanum
+vulgus et arceo_, addressed to those to whom the promise did not
+belong. Upon the words: "You shall be my people, and I will be your
+God," follow in an inverted order, the words: "At that time, saith the
+Lord, I will (specially) be the God of all the families of Israel, and
+they shall be my people." Rachel, the mother of Joseph and Benjamin,
+weeping over her sons, vers. 15-17, is so much the more suited to
+represent Israel, that the tribe of Benjamin also, as to its principal
+portion, belonged to the kingdom of the ten tribes; compare my
+commentary on Ps. lxxx. Upon Israel there follows, in vers. 23-26,
+Judah. The announcement closes in ver. 26 with the words so often
+misunderstood: "Upon this I awaked, and I beheld, and my sleep was
+sweet unto me." The Prophet has lost sight of the Present; like a
+sleeping man, he is not susceptible of its impressions, compare remarks
+on Zech. iv. 1. Then he awakes for a moment from his sweet dream (an
+allusion to Prov. iii. 24), which, however, is not, like ordinary
+dreams, without foundation. He looks around; every thing is dark,
+dreary, and cold; nowhere is there consolation for the weary soul.
+"Ah," he exclaims, "I have sweetly dreamed,"--and immediately the hand
+of the Lord again seizes him, and carries him away from the scenes of
+the Present.
+
+There is not by any means a different salvation destined for Israel and
+Judah; it is one salvation to be partaken of by both, who are in future
+to be re-united into one covenant-people, into a nation of brethren.
+From the parts, therefore, [Pg 427] the description returns, in vers.
+27-40, to the whole from which it had proceeded, and is thus completely
+rounded off, especially by the circumstance that, just in this close,
+there is contained the crown of the promises, the substance and centre
+of the declaration recurring here in ver. 33: "And I will be their God,
+and they shall be my people."
+
+The whole description in both chapters is Messianic; and after what we
+have already had frequent occasion to remark, no farther proof is
+necessary to show how inadmissible is a proceeding like that of
+_Venema_, who cuts it all up into small pieces, and here assumes an
+exclusive reference to the return from the captivity; there, to the
+Maccabees, whom he almost raises to Saviours; in another place, to
+Christ and His Kingdom. We ought therefore, indeed, to give an
+exposition of the whole section; but, for external reasons, we are
+obliged to limit ourselves to an exposition of the principal portion,
+chap. xxxi. 31-40.
+
+It is chap. xxxi. 22 only which we shall briefly explain, because that
+passage was, in former times, understood by many interpreters to
+contain a personal Messianic prophecy. "_How long wilt thou turn aside,
+O thou apostate daughter? for the Lord createth a new thing in the
+land, woman shall compass about man._" The last words of the verse are,
+by the ancient interpreters, commonly explained as referring to
+Christ's birth by a virgin. Thus, _e.g._, _Cocceius_: "It could not be
+said more distinctly, at least not without ceasing to be enigmatical,
+unless he had said that a virgin has born Christ the Son of God." But
+quite apart from other arguments, this explanation is opposed by the
+obvious consideration, in that case, just that would here be stated
+which, in the birth of Christ by a virgin, is _not_ peculiar. For
+[Hebrew: gbr] and [Hebrew: nqbh] are a designation of the sex; the fact
+that the woman brings forth the man (since [Hebrew: gbr] is asserted to
+designate _proles mascula_), is something altogether common; but the
+important feature is wanting, that the woman is to be a virgin, and the
+man, the Son of God. But certainly not a whit better than this
+explanation is that which modern interpreters (_Schnurrer_, _Gesenius_,
+_Rosenmueller_, _Maurer_), have advanced in its stead: "The woman shall
+protect the man, shall perform for him the _munus excubitoris
+circumeuntis_." This, surely, is a "_ridiculus_ [Pg 428] _mus_"--an
+argument quite unique. We must fully agree with _Schnurrer_, who
+remarks: "This, surely, is something new, uncommon, unheard of;" but
+not every thing _new_ is, for that reason, suitable for furnishing an
+effectual motive for conversion. The sense at which _Ewald_ arrives: "A
+woman transforming herself into a man," is surely not worthy of being
+entertained at the expense of a change in the reading. The correct view
+is the following:--The Prophet founds his exhortation to return to the
+Lord upon the most effectual argument possible, viz., upon the fact
+that the Lord was to return to them, that the time of wrath was now
+over, that they might hasten back into the open arms of God's love.
+Without hope of mercy, there cannot be a conversion. The perverse and
+desponding heart of man must, by His preventing love, be allured to
+come to God. How important and valuable the "new thing" is which the
+Lord is to create, the Prophet shows by the terms which he has
+selected. It is just the _nomina sexus_ which here are suitable; the
+omission of the article also is intentional. The relation is
+represented in its general aspect; and thereby the look is more
+steadily directed to its fundamental nature and substance. "Woman shall
+compass about (Ps. xxxii. 7, 10) man;" the strong will again take the
+weak and tender into His intimate communion, under His protection and
+loving care. The woman art thou, O Israel, who hitherto hast
+sufficiently experienced, what a woman is without the man, how she is a
+reed exposed to, and a sport of, all winds. The man is the Lord. How
+foolish would it be on thy part, if thou wert to persevere any longer
+in thine independence and dissoluteness, and if thou didst refuse to
+return into the sweet relation of dependence and unconditional
+surrender, which alone, being the only natural relation, can be
+productive of happiness! In favour of this explanation is also the
+clear reference of [Hebrew: tsvbb] to [Hebrew: ttHmqiN], and to
+[Hebrew: hwvbbh], which, in the case of the latter word, is even
+outwardly expressed by the alliteration. How foolish would it be still
+farther to _depart_, as now the time is at hand when the Lord is
+approaching.--It is obvious that, even according to our interpretation,
+the prophecy retains its Messianic character.
+
+[Pg 429]
+
+The contents of the section, vers. 31-40, are as follows:--The Lord is
+far from punishing with entire rejection the contempt of His former
+gifts and blessings. On the contrary, by increased grace, He will renew
+the bond between Him and the people, and render it for ever
+indissoluble. The foundation of this is formed by the remission of
+sins, of which the richer outpouring of the Spirit is a consequence;
+and it is now, when the Law no more comes to Israel as an outward
+letter, but is written in their hearts, that Israel attain their
+destination; they will truly be the people of God, and God will be
+truly their God, vers. 31-34. To the people conscious of their guilt,
+and still groaning under the judgments of God, such a manifestation of
+God's continuous grace appears incredible; but God most emphatically
+assures them, that this election is still in force, and must continue
+for ever, as truly as He is God, vers. 31-37. The city of God shall
+gloriously arise out of its ashes. While formerly the unholy
+abomination entered into her, the holy one, even into her innermost
+parts, she _now_ shall extend her boundaries beyond the territory of
+the unholy; and the Lord, who is sanctified _within_ her, will sanctify
+himself _upon_ her also. There shall be no more destruction.
+
+
+                           * * * * * * * * * *
+
+
+Ver. 31. "_Behold, days come, saith the Lord, and I make a new covenant
+with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah._"
+
+Ver. 32. "_Not as the covenant that I made with their fathers, in the
+day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of
+Egypt, which my covenant they brake; but I marry them to me, saith the
+Lord._"
+
+The first question which we have here to examine is: What is to be
+understood by the making of a covenant? We cannot here think of a
+formal transaction, of a mutual contract, such as the covenant made
+on Sinai. This appears from ver. 32, according to which the old
+covenant was concluded on the day when the Lord took Israel by
+the hand, in order to bring them out of Egypt; but at that time a
+covenant-transaction proper was not yet mentioned. Most interpreters
+erroneously suppose that by the words: "In the day," &c., the abode at
+Sinai is [Pg 430] designated. But since the _day_ of the deliverance
+from Egypt is commonly thus spoken of (comp. Exod. xii. 51 ff.); since
+this _day_ was, as such, marked out by the annually returning feast of
+the Passover, we must, here also, take [Hebrew: ivM], "day," in its
+proper sense. And there is the less reason for abandoning this most
+obvious sense that, in Exod. vi. 4; Ezek. xvi. 8; Hag. ii. 5, a
+covenant with Israel is spoken of, which was not first concluded on
+Sinai, but was already concluded when they went out from Egypt.
+_Farther_--No obligation is spoken of in reference to the new covenant;
+blessing and gifts are mentioned, and nothing but these. But are we to
+adopt the opinion of _Frischmuth_ (_de foedere nov._ in the _Thes.
+Ant._ i. p. 857), and of many other interpreters and lexicographers,
+and say that [Hebrew: brit] "does not only signify a covenant entered
+upon by two or several parties, but also [Greek: prothesin],
+_propositum Dei_, [Greek: epangelias], His gratuitous and unconditional
+promises, as well as His constant ordinances?" That might after all be
+objectionable. [Hebrew: krt brit] cannot _signify_ any thing but to
+make a covenant.[2] But the question is, whether the making of a
+covenant cannot be spoken of in passages, where there is no mention of
+transactions of a mutual agreement between two parties. The substance
+of the covenant evidently precedes the outward conclusion of the
+covenant, and forms the foundation of it. The conclusion of the
+covenant does not first form the relation, but is merely a solemn
+acknowledgment of the relation already existing. Thus it is ever in
+human relations; the contract, as a rule, only fixes and settles
+outwardly, a relation already existing. And that is still more the case
+in the relation between God and man. By every benefit from God, an
+obligation is imposed upon him who receives it, whether it may, in
+express words, have been stated by God, and have been outwardly
+acknowledged by the recipient or not. This is clearly seen in the case
+under consideration. At the giving of the Law on Sinai, the obligatory
+power of the commandments of [Pg 431] God is founded upon the fact,
+that God brought Israel out of the land of Egypt, the house of bondage.
+Hence, it appears that the Sinaitic covenant existed, in substance,
+from the moment that the Lord led Israel out of Egypt. By apostatizing
+from the Lord, the people would have broken the covenant, even if it
+had not been solemnly confirmed on Sinai; just as their apostacy, in
+the time between their going out and the transactions on Sinai, was
+treated as a violation of the covenant. It would have been a breach of
+the covenant, if the people had answered, in the negative, the solemn
+questions of God, whether they would enter into a covenant with Him.
+This appears so much the more clearly, when we keep in mind, that the
+New Covenant was not at all sanctioned by such an external solemn act.
+But if, nevertheless, it is a covenant in the strictest sense; if,
+here, the relation is independent upon its acknowledgment,--then, under
+the Old Testament too, this acknowledgment must be a secondary element.
+The same is the case with all the other passages commonly quoted in
+proof, that [Hebrew: krt brit] may also be used of mere blessings and
+promises. Thus, _e.g._, Gen. ix. 9: "Behold, I establish my covenant
+with you, and with your seed after you." That which is here designated
+as a covenant is not the promise _per se_, that in future the course of
+nature should, on the whole, remain undisturbed, but in so far only, as
+it imposes upon them who receive it, the obligation to glorify, by
+their walk, the Lord of the order of nature. In part, this obligation
+is afterwards outwardly fixed in the commandments concerning murder,
+eating of blood, &c. Gen. xv. 18: "In the same day God made a covenant
+with Abraham, saying: Unto thy seed I give this land." In what
+precedes, a promise only is contained; but this promise itself is, at
+the same time, an obligation; and this obligation existed even then,
+although it was at a later period only, solemnly undertaken by
+receiving the sign of the covenant, circumcision. Exod. xxxiv. 10: "And
+He said: Behold I make a covenant; before all thy people I will do
+marvels such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation;
+and all the people among whom thou art, shall see the work of the Lord;
+for it is a terrible thing that I will do with thee." The covenant on
+Sinai is here already made; the making of the new covenant here spoken
+of consists [Pg 432] in the mercies by which God will manifest himself
+to His people as their God. Every one of these mercies involves a new
+obligation for the people; every one is a question in deeds: This I do
+to thee, what doest thou to me?--It will now be possible to determine
+in what sense the Old Covenant is here contrasted with the New, The
+point in question cannot be a new and more perfect revelation of the
+Law of God; for that is common to both the dispensations. No jot or
+tittle of it can be lost under the New Testament, and as little can a
+jot or tittle be added. God's law is based on His nature, and that is
+eternal and unchangeable, compare Mal. iii. 22 (iv. 4). The revelation
+of the Law does not belong to the going out from Egypt, to which the
+making of the former covenant is here attributed, but to Sinai. As
+little can the discourse be of the introduction of an entirely new
+relation, which is not founded at all upon the former one. On this
+subject, _David Kimchi's_ remark is quite pertinent: "It will not be
+the newness of the covenant, but its stability." The covenant with
+Israel is an everlasting covenant. Jehovah would not be Jehovah, if an
+entirely new commencement could take place; [Greek: lego de]--so the
+Apostle writes in Rom. xv. 8--[Greek: Iesoun Christon diakonon
+gegenesthai peritomes huper aletheias theou eis to bebaiosai tas
+epangelias ton pateron. ta de ethne huper eleous doxasai ton theon].
+The sending of Christ with His gifts and blessings, the making of the
+New Covenant, is thus the consequence of the covenant-faithfulness of
+God. If then the Old and New Covenants are here contrasted, the former
+cannot designate the relation of God to Israel _per se_, and in its
+whole extent, but it must rather designate the former mode only, in
+which this relation was manifested,--that whereby the Lord had, up to
+the time of the Prophet, manifested himself as the God of Israel. With
+this former imperfect form, the future more perfect form is here
+contrasted, under the name of the New Covenant. The New Covenant which
+is to take the place of the Old, when looking to the form (comp. Heb.
+viii. 13: [Greek: en to legein. Kainen, pepalaioke ten proten. to de
+palaioumenon kai geraskon, engus aphanismou]), is, in substance, the
+realization of the Old. These remarks are in perfect harmony with that
+which was formerly said concerning the meaning of [Hebrew: krt brit].
+We saw that this expression does not designate an act only once done,
+[Pg 433] by which a covenant is solemnly sanctioned, but rather that it
+is used of every action, by which a covenant-relation is instituted or
+confirmed.--If, then, the Old Covenant is the former form of the
+covenant with Israel; and the New Covenant the future form of it,
+another question is:--Which among the manifold differences of those two
+forms are here specially regarded by the Prophet? The answer to this
+question is supplied by that which the Prophet declares concerning the
+New Covenant. For since it is _not_ to be like the former covenant, the
+excellences of the New must be as many defects of the Old. These
+excellences, however, are all of a spiritual nature,--first, the
+forgiveness of sins, and then the writing of the Law in the heart.
+It follows from this, that the blessings of the Old Covenant were
+_pre-eminently_ (for we shall afterwards see that an entire absence of
+these spiritual blessings cannot be spoken of, and that the difference
+between the Old and the New Covenant is, in this respect, a relative
+one only, not an absolute one) of an external nature; and this is also
+suggested by the circumstance, that it is represented as being
+concluded when the people were led out of Egypt; in which fact, all the
+later similar deliverances and blessings are comprehended. The Prophet,
+if any one, had learned that, in the way hitherto pursued, they could
+not successfully continue. The sinfulness of the people had, at his
+time, manifested itself in such fearful outbreaks, that, even when
+looking at the matter from a human point of view, he could not but feel
+most deeply that, with outward blessings and gifts, with an outward
+deliverance from servitude, the people were very little benefited. What
+is the use of a mercy which, according to divine necessity, must be
+immediately followed by a punishment so much the more severe? The
+necessary condition for the true and lasting bestowal of outward
+salvation, is the bestowal of the internal salvation; without the
+latter the former is only a mockery. It is this internal salvation,
+therefore, which is the highest aim of the Prophet's longings; to it he
+here points as the highest blessing of the Future; compare also chap.
+xxxii. 40: "And I make an everlasting covenant with them, and I will no
+more turn away from them to do them good, and I will put my fear in
+their hearts that they shall not depart from me."--The closing words of
+ver. 32 are frequently misunderstood. [Pg 434] The erroneous
+interpretation of [Hebrew: awr] by "_quia_," which is found with most
+expositors, is of less consequence. [Hebrew: awr] indicates, in
+general, the connection with what precedes. We may explain it either
+by: "which my covenant they brake," as is done by _Ewald_; or, "since
+(Deut. iii. 24) they brake my covenant," in which latter case, [Hebrew:
+awr] refers at the same time to "I marry them unto me." We have here
+farther carried out and detailed that which previously was said of the
+making of a new covenant; and the sense is: Although they have broken
+my former covenant, yet I marry them unto me, or make a new covenant
+with them. Of greater importance is the difference in the
+interpretation of [Hebrew: belti]. By far the greater number of
+interpreters understand this _sensu malo_; the ancient interpreters in
+doing so refer to the words [Greek: kago emelesa auton], (Heb. viii.
+9); but these can scarcely prove anything. For the author of that
+epistle, whose sole object it is to show that the new covenant stands
+higher than the old--the insufficiency of the latter was, as the
+Prophet's expressions show, sufficiently felt even by those who lived
+under it--has, in these words, which do not stand in any relation to
+the object which he has in view, followed the LXX. But it is a rather
+doubtful and suspicious circumstance that, in determining the sense,
+these interpreters greatly vary. Some, referring to the Arabic, explain
+[Hebrew: bel] by "_fastidire_;" others, as they allege, from the Hebrew
+_usus loquendi_, by "to tyrannize." Thus, _e.g._ _Buddeus_ (_de
+praerogat. fidelium N. T._ in the Miscell. p. 106): "We may readily
+understand thereby every severe chastisement by the neighbouring
+nations, such as frequently happened: they did not remain in my
+covenant, therefore I made them to bear the yoke of others, [Greek:
+emelesa auton], _neglexi eos_." But we have already seen (comp. remarks
+on chap. iii. 14), that for neither of these significations is there
+any foundation; and this has been felt by those also who, in order to
+bring out a bad signification, such as, according to their view, the
+text requires, undertook to change the reading, as _e.g._ _Cappellus_,
+who would read [Hebrew: gelti], and _Grotius_, who would read [Hebrew:
+bhlti].[3] The signification "to betroth onesself," "to [Pg 435] take
+in marriage," which in that passage we vindicated for [Hebrew: bel]
+with [Hebrew: b], is, here too, quite applicable; comp. Jer. ii. 1.
+This signification the Chaldee Paraphrast too seems to have had in
+view; for he translates [Hebrew: atreiti] "_cupio vos_," "_delector
+vobis_." And is there anything to indicate, that here the reason is to
+be stated, why the old covenant is abolished? That reason can be
+brought in only by very forced explanations (comp. _e.g._ _Maurer_ and
+_Hitzig_); and it is, moreover, sufficiently expressed, as the author
+of the Epistle to the Hebrews has shown. Even in the announcement of a
+_new_ covenant, the declaration is implied that the old covenant was
+insufficient: [Greek: ei gar he prote ekeine en amemptos, ouk an
+deuteras ezeteito topos] (Heb. viii. 7), as well as the reason why it
+was so, viz., on account of human sinfulness and hardness of heart,
+which are not helped and remedied by pre-eminently outward blessings
+and benefits, be they never so great. This their former greatness is
+indicated by the words: "When I took them by the hand,"--words which
+imply the most tender love. To this subjective cause of the
+insufficiency of the old covenant there is a reference in the words:
+[Greek: memphomenos gar autois legei], in Heb. viii. 8, which by _De
+Wette_ and _Bleek_ are erroneously translated: "For reprovingly He says
+to them." The Dative [Greek: autois] belongs to [Greek: memphomenos]
+(comp. _Mathiae_, S. 705); if it were otherwise it would be redundant,
+and would the less be in its place, that the discourse is not addressed
+to the children of Israel. The reason why a better covenant was
+required, such a one [Greek: hetis epi kreittosin epangeliais
+nenomothetetai], Heb. viii. 6, appears sufficiently from that which, in
+vers. 33, 34, is said of this new covenant in contrast to the old.
+Here, however, it is rather the infinite love of God, the greatness of
+His covenant-faithfulness which are pointed out; and this thought is,
+from among all others, best suited to the context. [Hebrew: hmh] and
+[Hebrew: anki] form an emphatic contrast. _They_, in wicked
+ingratitude, have broken the former covenant, have shaken off the
+obligations [Pg 436] which God's former mercies imposed upon them. God
+too--so it might be expected--ought now to annul the old covenant, and
+for ever withdraw from them the old mercies. But, instead of doing so,
+He grants the new covenant, the greater mercy. He anew takes in
+marriage apostate Israel, and in such a manner that now the bond of
+love becomes firm and indestructible. _Bleek_ objects to our
+interpretation: "The object is not the city of Jerusalem, or even the
+Congregation of Israel, but the single Israelites, who may indeed be
+designated as the children of Jehovah, but not as His spouse." But, in
+such personifications, it is quite a common thing that the real
+plurality should take the place of the ideal unity. In Exod. xxxiv.
+15, for instance, it is said: "And they go a whoring after their
+gods,"--instead of the congregation, to which the _whoring_ properly
+belongs, (comp. Is. lvii. 7), the individual members are mentioned;
+comp. Hos. ii. 1, 2 (i. 10, ii. 19).
+
+Ver. 33. "_For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of
+Israel after these days, saith the Lord: I give my law in their inward
+parts, and will write it in their hearts; and I will be their God, and
+they shall be my people._"
+
+[Hebrew: ki] is, by some interpreters, here supposed to mean "but;" so
+much, only, however, is correct that "but" might _also_ have been put;
+_for_ is here quite in its place. The words: "Not as the covenant,"
+&c., in the preceding verse, are here vindicated, and expanded by a
+positive definition of the nature and substance of the New Covenant. It
+is just because it is of such a nature, that it is not like the former
+covenant. [Hebrew: hhM] does not, by any means, as is erroneously
+supposed by _Venema_ and _Hitzig_, refer to the days mentioned in ver.
+31, in which the New Covenant was to be made. "These days," on the
+contrary, are a designation of the Present; "after these days,"
+equivalent to [Hebrew: bahrit himiM] "at the end of days." The Prophet
+so repeatedly and emphatically points to the Future, because unbelief
+and weak faith imagined that, with the Present, the history of the
+covenant-people was finished, and that no Future was in store for them.
+_Calvin_ pertinently remarks: "It is just as if the Prophet had said,
+that the grace of which he was prophesying could not be apprehended,
+unless they, believers, kept their minds composed, and patiently waited
+until the [Pg 437] time of the promised salvation had come." As regards
+the following enumeration of the blessings, in and by the bestowal of
+which the new covenant-relation is to be established, _Venema_ very
+correctly remarks: "The blessings are distinguished into radical or
+causal ones, and subsequent or derived ones." The second [Hebrew: ki],
+in ver. 34: "_For_ I will forgive their sin," proves the correctness of
+this division, which is also pointed out by the _Athnach_.--[Hebrew:
+tvrh] is, by many interpreters, here understood to signify "doctrine."
+Thus _Buddeus_: "By the word [Hebrew: tvrh], the whole New Testament
+doctrine is to be understood." This interpretation, however, is
+objectionable, and destructive of the sense, [Hebrew: tvrh] never means
+"doctrine," but always "law;" and the fact that it is only _the_ law of
+God, the eternal expression of His nature, and common, therefore, to
+both the Old and New Covenants, which can be here spoken of, and not a
+new constitution for the latter, is seen from the reference in which
+the giving in the inward parts and the writing on the heart (the tables
+of the heart, 2 Cor. iii. 3), stands to the outward communication and
+the writing on the tables of stone on Sinai. The law is the same; the
+relation only is different in which God places it to man, ("_lex cum
+homine conciliatur quasi_," _Michaelis_.) One might easily infer from
+the passage before us a confirmation of the error, that the law under
+the Old Covenant was _only_ an outward dead letter. Against this error
+_Buddeus_ already contended, who, S. 117, acknowledges that it is a
+relative difference and contrast only, which are here spoken of He
+says: "This, of course, was the case with the Old Testament believers
+also; here, however, God promises a richer fulness and higher degree of
+this blessing." _Calvin_ declares the opinion that, under the Old
+Testament dispensation, there did not exist any regeneration, to be
+absurd, and says: "we know that, under the Law, the grace of God was
+rare and dark; but that, under the Gospel, the gifts of the Spirit were
+_poured_ out, and that God dealt much more liberally with His Church."
+The idea of a purely outward giving of the Law is indeed one which is
+quite inconceivable. God would, in that case, have done nothing else
+towards Israel than He did to the traitor Judas, in whose conscience He
+proclaimed His holy Law, without communicating to him strength for
+repentance. But such a proceeding can be conceived of, only where there
+is a subjective impossibility [Pg 438] of [Greek: anakainizein eis
+metanoian]. Every outward manifestation of God _must_, according to the
+constitution of human nature, be accompanied by the inward
+manifestation, since it is inconceivable that He who knows our nature,
+should mock us by the semblance of a blessing. As soon as we know the
+outward fact of the deliverance from Egypt, we know, at the same time,
+that God has then powerfully touched the heart of Israel. As soon as it
+is established that the Law on Sinai was written on tables of stone by
+the finger of God, it is also established that He, at the same time,
+wrote it on the tables of Israel's heart. But that which is thus
+implied in the matter itself, is confirmed by the testimony of history.
+In the Law itself, circumcision is designated as the pledge and seal of
+the bestowal, not merely of outward blessings, but of the circumcision
+of the heart, of the removal of sin attaching to every one by birth; so
+that man can love God with all his heart, all his sold, and all his
+powers, Deut. xxx. 6. This circumcision of the heart which, in the
+outward circumcision, was at the same time _required_ and promised by
+God (comp. Deut. l. c. with x. 16), is not substantially different from
+the writing of the Law on the heart. _Farther_--If the Law of the Lord
+had, for Israel, been a mere outward letter, how could the animated
+praise of it in the Holy Scriptures, _e.g._, in Ps. xix., be accounted
+for? Surely, a bridge must already have been formed between the Law and
+him who can speak of it as rejoicing the heart, as enlightening the
+eyes, as converting the soul, as sweeter than honey and the honeycomb.
+That is no more the Law in its isolation which worketh wrath, but it is
+the Law in its connection with the Spirit, whose commandments are not
+grievous; comp. my commentary on Ps. xix. 8 ff. A _new_ heart was
+created under the Old Testament also, Ps. li. 12; and not to know the
+nature of this creation was, for a teacher in Israel, the highest
+disgrace, John iii. 10. Yea, that which is here promised for the
+Future, a pious member of the Old Covenant expresses, in Ps. xl. 9, _in
+the same form_, as being already granted to him as his present
+spiritual condition: "I delight to do thy will, O my God, and thy Law
+is in the midst of my bowels,"--words which imply the same contrast to
+the Law as outward letter, as being written on tables of stone, comp.
+Prov. iii. 1-3: "My son, [Pg 439] forget not my law, and let thine
+heart keep my commandments ... bind them about thy neck, write them
+upon the table of thine heart;" compare my commentary on Psalms, Vol.
+iii. p. lxvii.--But how is it to be explained that the contrariety
+which, in itself, is relative, appears here under the form of the
+absolute contrariety,--the difference in degree, as a difference in
+kind? Evidently in the same manner as the same phenomenon must be
+explained elsewhere also, _e.g._ John i. 17, where it is said that the
+Law was given by Moses, but mercy and truth by Christ. By overlooking
+this fact, so many errors have been called forth. The blessings of the
+Old Covenant which, when considered in themselves, are so important and
+rich, appear, when compared with the much fuller and more important
+blessings of the New Covenant, to be so trifling that they vanish
+entirely out of sight. It is quite similar when, in chap. iii. 16, the
+Prophet represents the highest sanctuary of the Old Covenant, the Ark
+of the Covenant, as sinking into entire oblivion in future; when, in
+chap. xxiii. 7, 8, he describes the deliverance from Egypt as no longer
+worthy of being mentioned. Parallel to the passage under consideration
+is the promise of Joel of the pouring out of the Spirit, chap. iii. 1,
+2 (ii. 28, 29); so that that which we remarked on that passage, is
+applicable here also. But, in that passage, the relative nature of the
+promise appears more clearly than it does here, just because, in
+general, under the New Covenant, in its relation to the Old, there is
+nowhere an absolutely new beginning, but always a completion only (just
+in the same manner as, on the other hand, under the New Covenant
+itself, it is in the relation of the _regnum gloriae_ to the _regnum
+gratiae_). Joel, in reference to the communication of the Spirit, puts
+the abundance in the place of the scarcity; the many in the place of
+the few. Compare, moreover, chap. xxiv. 7: "And I give them a heart to
+know me, that I am the Lord; and they shall be my people, and I will be
+their God;" xxxii. 39: "And I give them one heart and one way, that
+they may fear me for ever, for the good of them and of their children
+after them;" but especially Ezek. xi. 19, 20, xxxvi. 26, 27.--The
+remarks of Jewish interpreters on the passage under consideration, in
+which they cannot avoid seeing that, in it, a purely moral revelation
+is prophesied, [Pg 440] in contrast to a mere external one, clearly
+show how strongly the Old Testament is opposed to that carnal Jewish
+delusion of the condition of the Messianic Kingdom (as it is most
+glaringly expressed in the Talmudic passage _Massechet Sanhedrim_, fol.
+119: "There is no other difference between the days of the Messiah and
+the present state of things, excepting only that the kingdoms shall be
+our slaves),"--a delusion which is quite analogous to the expectations
+which are entertained by revolutionists concerning the Future, and
+which flow from the same source. Thus Rabbi _Bechai_ (see _Frischmuth_)
+remarks: "This means that every evil concupiscence shall be taken away,
+and every desire to covet any thing;" _Moses Nachmanides_ (_ibid._ S.
+861): "And this is nothing else than that every evil concupiscence
+shall be taken away, so that the heart, by an internal impulse, does
+what is right.--In the days of Messiah there will not exist any
+evil desire, but, from the impulse of his nature, man will do what
+is right. And there will, therefore, not be innocence and guilt,
+inasmuch as these depend upon concupiscence." But if once bent upon it,
+pre-conceived opinions will overcome every, even the strongest,
+contradiction offered by the matter itself This may be seen from the
+example of _Grotius_, who here explains: "I will cause that all of
+them keep my Law in memory,--in the first instance, by the multitude
+of synagogues which, at that time, were built, and in which the
+Law was taught thrice a-week." Thrice a-week! Surely that will produce
+first-rate men, viz., such as are described in Isa. lviii. 2. It is not
+without meaning, that the words: "And I will be their God," &c., follow
+upon: "And I give my Law in their inward parts," &c. The Law is the
+expression of God's nature; it is only by the Law being written in the
+heart that man can become a partaker of God's nature; that His name can
+be sanctified in him. And it is this participation in the nature of
+God, this sanctification of God's name, which forms the foundation of:
+"I will be their God, and they shall be my people." Without this, the
+relation cannot exist at all, as truly as God is not an idol, but the
+True and Holy One. These words express, as _Buddeus_, S. 94, rightly
+remarks: "That He will impart himself altogether to them." But how were
+it possible that God, with His blessings and gifts, should [Pg 441]
+impart himself entirely and unconditionally to them who are not of His
+nature? Of all unnatural things, this would be the most unnatural.
+Here, however, likewise the relative character of the promise most
+clearly appears. As early as to Abraham, God had promised that He would
+be a God to _him_, and to his seed after him; and this promise he had
+afterwards repeated to the whole people, Lev. xxvi. 12, comp. Exod.
+xxix. 45: "And I dwell in the midst of the children of Israel and will
+be their God." In the consciousness that this promise was fulfilled in
+the time then present, David exclaims in Ps. xxxiii. 12: "Blessed is
+the nation whose God is Jehovah, the generation whom He hath chosen for
+His inheritance." Hence, here too, there is nothing absolutely new. If
+such were the subject of discourse, then the whole Kingdom of God under
+the Old Testament dispensation would be changed into a mere semblance
+and illusion. But the small measure of the condition--with which even
+God himself cannot dispense, but of which He may vouchsafe a larger
+measure, viz., the writing of the Law in the heart, whereby man becomes
+a copy of God, the personal Law--was necessarily accompanied by the
+small measure of the consequence, The perfect fulfilment of God's
+promise to Abraham and Israel, to which the prophet here alludes,
+could, therefore, be expected from the future only.
+
+Ver. 34. "_And they shall teach no more a man his neighbour, and a man
+his brother, saying: Know the Lord; for they all shall know me, small
+and great, saith the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and I
+will remember their sin no more._"
+
+Even from ancient times, the first hemistich of the verse has created
+great embarrassment to interpreters, from which very few of them, not
+excepting even _Calvin_, manage to extricate themselves skilfully. The
+declaration that, because all will be taught by God, human instruction
+in things divine is to cease, has, at first sight, something fanatical
+in it, and, indeed, was made use of by Anabaptists and other
+enthusiasts in vindication of their delusion.[4] Many interpreters
+attempt an evasion, [Pg 442] by referring the words to the future life;
+thus _Theodoret_, _Augustine_, (_de Spirit. et lit._ c. 24) and _Este_,
+who, in a manner almost _naive_, remarks: "This difficulty, it seems,
+is very simply avoided by those who refer this promise to the future
+world, where, no doubt, all care about teaching will cease." But the
+matter is, indeed, not at all difficult. All that is necessary is to
+keep in mind that human instruction is here excluded, in so far only as
+it is opposed to divine instruction concerning God himself; that hence,
+that which is here spoken of, is _mere_ human instruction, by which men
+are trained and drilled in religion, just as in every other branch of
+common knowledge,--a result of which is, that they may learn for ever
+without ever coming to the knowledge of the truth. Such an instruction
+may be productive of historical faith, of belief in human authority;
+but it is just by this, that the nature of religion will be altogether
+destroyed. Even the true God becomes an idol when He is not known
+through himself, when He himself does not prepare the heart as a place
+to dwell in. He is, and remains a mere idea that can impart no strength
+in the struggle against sin which is a real power, and no comfort in
+affliction. Now, such a condition was very frequent under the Old
+Testament dispensation. The mass of the people possessed only a
+knowledge of God, which was chiefly, although not exclusively, obtained
+through human instrumentality. By the New Covenant, richer gifts of the
+Spirit were to be bestowed, and along with them, the number of those
+was to be increased who were to partake in them, just as Isaiah, in
+chap. vii. 16, represents believers under the Old Testament as being
+taught by the Lord, while in chap. liv. 13, in reference to the
+Messianic time, he announces: "And all thy children shall be taught of
+the Lord." Under the New Covenant, the antithesis of teaching by God,
+and teaching by man, is to cease. The teachers do not teach in their
+own strength, but as servants and instruments of the Lord. It is not
+they who speak, Init the Holy Spirit in them. Those who are taught by
+them hear the word that comes to them through men, not as man's word,
+but as God's word; and they receive it, not because it satisfies their
+limited human reason, but because the Spirit testifies that the Spirit
+is truth. How this antithesis is done away with, and reconciled in a
+higher unity, is, among other passages, [Pg 443] shown by 2 Cor. iii.
+3: "You are an epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with
+ink, but with the Spirit of the living God." They are [Greek:
+theodidaktoi], but through the ministry of the Apostle who, in so far
+as he performs this service, is not different from God, but only a
+conductor of His power, a channel through which the oil of the Holy
+Spirit flows to the Church of God; compare remarks on Zech. iv. The
+same is taught in 1 John ii. 20: [Greek: Kai humeis chrisma echete apo
+tou hagiou, kai oidate panta. Ouk egrapsa humin, hoti ouk oidate ten
+aletheian, all'hoti oidate auten.] Ver. 27: [Greek: Kai humeis to
+chrisma, ho elabete ap'autou, en humin, menei kai ou chreian echete,
+hina tis didaske humas, all'hos to auto chrisma didaskei humas peri
+panton k. t. l.] The [Greek: didaskein] here signifies the human
+teaching in contrast to that which is divine, such an one as undertakes
+by its own power to work knowledge in him who is taught. Such a
+teaching cannot take place under the new covenant. A fundamental
+knowledge is already imparted to all its members; the [Greek:
+parakletos], the Holy Ghost, alone teaches them, John xiv. 26; He leads
+them into all truth, John xvi. 13. But, just because this is the case,
+the teaching by means of those whom God has given, in His Church, as
+apostles, prophets, evangelists, teachers (Eph. iv. 11), to whom He has
+communicated His [Greek: charismata], is quite in its place. The
+apostle writes just _because_ they know the truth. If it were
+otherwise, his efforts would be altogether in vain. Of what use is it
+to give instruction about colours to him who is blind? In things
+divine, the truth becomes truth to the single individual, only because
+his knowledge of God is founded on his being in God; and that can be
+accomplished only by his being connected to God through God. Being,
+life, and hence, also, real living knowledge, can proceed only from the
+fountain of all being and life. But in the case of those who are in
+God, who possess the fundamental knowledge, this knowledge must be
+developed, carried on, and brought to full consciousness through the
+instrumentality of those to whom God has granted the gifts for it. A
+glance into the deep meaning of our passage was obtained by the author
+of the book _Jelammedenu_, which is quoted by _Abarbanel_ (in
+_Frischmuth_, S. 863); he says: "Under the present dispensation, Israel
+learns the Law from mortal men, and therefore forgets it; for as flesh
+and blood pass away (comp. [Pg 444] Matt. xvi. 17, where the antithesis
+existing between a knowledge of divine things which rests on human
+ground, and that which rests on divine ground, is brought before us in
+its strictest form), so also its instruction passes away. But a time
+shall come when a man shall not learn from the mouth of a man, but from
+the mouth of the blessed God, for it is written: 'All thy children
+shall be taught by God.'In these words, it is implied that hitherto
+the knowledge of the Law was an artificial one obtained by mortal men.
+But for that reason, it cannot stand long, for the effect stands in
+proportion to its cause. At the time of the deliverance, however, the
+knowledge of the Law will be obtained in a miraculous manner." It is,
+however, quite obvious that this promise, too, must be understood
+relatively only. All the pious men of the Old Covenant were [Greek:
+theodidaktoi]; and under the New Covenant, the number of those is
+infinitely great who, through their own guilt, stand to truth in a
+relation which is entirely or preeminently mediate.--Instead of the
+"small," by way of individualization, servants and handmaids are
+mentioned in Joel iii. 2 (ii. 29); compare remarks on Rev. xi. 18.--We
+have already seen that in the last words of the verse, the fundamental
+blessing is promised. But whether [Hebrew: ki] be referred only to that
+which immediately precedes, or to every thing which goes before
+(_Venema_: _vocala_ [Hebrew: ki] _non ad proxime praecedentia
+referenda, sed ad totam pericopam, qua bona foederis recensita sunt,
+extenda_), amounts to nearly the same thing; for that which immediately
+precedes includes all the rest. We have before us nothing but
+designations of the same thing from various aspects; everything depends
+upon the richer bestowal of the gifts of the Spirit. This has the
+forgiveness of sins for its necessary foundation; for, before God can
+give, He must first take. The sins which separate the people and their
+God from one another, must first be taken away; it is then only that
+the inward means can be bestowed, so that the people may become truly
+God's people, and God's name may be sanctified in them. It is obvious
+that, here too, a relative difference only between the Old and New
+Covenant can be spoken of A covenant-people without forgiveness of sins
+is no covenant-people; a God with whom there is not forgiveness, in
+order that He may be feared, who does not heal the bones [Pg 445] which
+He has broken, who in this respect gives promises for the Future only,
+is no God, and no blessing. For if He does not grant this, He cannot
+grant any thing else, inasmuch as every thing else implies this, and is
+of no value without it. Forgiveness of sins is the essence of the
+Passover as the feast of the covenant. On the Ark of the Covenant, it
+was represented by the _Capporeth_ (see _Genuineness of the
+Pentateuch_, Vol. ii., p. 525 f.). Without it the sin-offerings
+appointed by God are a lie; without it, all that is untrue which God
+says of himself as the covenant-God, that He is gracious and merciful,
+Exod. xxxiv. 6. The holy Psalmists often acknowledge with praise and
+thanks that God _has_ forgiven sins; comp. _e.g._ Ps. lxxxv. 3: "Thou
+hast taken away the iniquities of thy people, thou hast covered all
+their sins." In the same manner they are loud in praising the high
+blessing bestowed upon the individual by the forgiveness of sins; comp.
+Ps. xxxii. 51. The consciousness that their sins are forgiven, forms
+the foundation of the disposition of heart which we perceive in the
+Psalmists; see Commentary on the Psalms, Vol. iii. p. lxv. f. "What a
+[Greek: plerophoria]"--so _Buddeus_ remarks, p. 109--"what a
+confidence, what a joy of a tranquil and quiet conscience shines forth
+in the psalms and prayers of David!" We have thus before us merely a
+difference in degree. To the believers of that time, the sin of the
+covenant-people appeared to be too great to admit of its being
+forgiven. Driven away from the face of the Lord, so they imagined, it
+would close its miserable existence in the land of Nod; never would the
+[Greek: kairoi anapsuxeos] return. But, in opposition to such fears,
+the Prophet declares, in the name of the Lord, that they would not only
+return, but come, for the first time, in the true and full sense; that
+where they imagined to behold the end to the forgiveness of sins, there
+would be its real beginning; that where sin abounded, the grace of God
+should there so much the more abound. Only, they should not despair,
+and thus place a barrier in the way of God's mercy. Your God is not a
+mere hard task-master; He himself will sow and then reap, as surely as
+He is God, the gracious and merciful One.
+
+Ver. 35. "_Thus saith the Lord, giving the sun for a light by day, and
+the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for_ [Pg 446] _a light by
+night, agitating the sea, and the waves thereof roar, the Lord of hosts
+is His name._"
+
+Ver. 36. "_If these ordinances will cease before me, saith the Lord,
+then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me
+for ever._"
+
+Interpreters commonly assume that, already in ver. 35, the discourse is
+of the firm and immutable divine laws which every thing must obey. But
+opposed to this view are the words: "Agitating the sea, and the waves
+thereof roar," in which no definite perceptible rule, no uninterrupted
+return takes place. To this argument may be added the comparison of the
+fundamental passage, Isa. li. 15, in which the omnipotence only of God
+is to be brought out: "And I am the Lord thy God, who agitates the sea,
+and its waves roar, the Lord of hosts is His name;" comp. also Amos.
+ix. 5, 6. It thus appears that, in ver. 35, God's omnipotence only is
+spoken of, which establishes that He is God and not man; and this forms
+the foundation for the declaration set forth in ver. 36, which is so
+full of comfort for the despairing covenant-people,--the proposition,
+namely, that, while all men are liars, He does not lie; that He can
+never repent of His covenant and promises. The "ordinances" (moon and
+stars are, in their regular return, themselves, as it were, embodied
+ordinances), are mentioned already in ver. 35, because just the
+circumstance that, according to eternal and inviolable laws, sun and
+moon must appear every day at a fixed time, and have done so for
+thousands and thousands of years, testifies more strongly for His
+omnipotence and absolute power, never liable to any foreign influence
+or interference, than if they at one time appeared, and, at another,
+failed to appear. God's omnipotence, as it is testified by a look to
+nature (_Calvin_: "The Prophet contents himself with pointing out what
+even boys knew, viz., that the sun makes his daily circuit round the
+whole earth, that the moon does the same, and that the stars in their
+turn succeed, so that, as it were, the moon with the stars exercises
+dominion by night, and, afterwards, the sun reigns by day"), results
+from the fact that He is the pure, absolute, being (Jehovah His name,
+comp. remarks on Mal. iii. 6); and it is just because He is this, that
+His counsels, which He declared without any condition attached to them,
+must be [Pg 447] unchangeable. To believe that He has for ever rejected
+Israel, is to degrade Him, to make Him an idol, a creature.--In ver.
+36, the immutability of God's counsel of grace is put on a level with
+the immutability of God's order of nature; but this is done with a view
+to the weakness of the people, who receive, for a pledge of their
+election, that which is most firm among visible things; so that every
+rising of the sun and moon is to them a guarantee of it; compare Ps.
+lxxxix. 37, 38. But considered in itself, the counsels of God's grace
+are _much firmer_ than the order of nature. The heavens wax old as a
+garment, and as a vesture He changes them and they are changed (Ps.
+cii. 27-29); heaven and earth shall pass away, but the word of God
+shall not pass away.--From chap. xxxiii. 24: "They despise my people
+([Hebrew: emi]) that they should be still a nation ([Hebrew: gvi])
+before them" it appears why it is that [Hebrew: gvi] is here used, and
+not [Hebrew: eM]. The covenant-people in their despair imagined that
+their national existence, which, in the Present, was destroyed, was
+gone for ever. If only their national existence was sure, then
+also was their existence as a covenant-people. For, just as their
+national existence had ceased, because they had ceased to be the
+covenant-people, so they could again obtain a national existence as the
+covenant-people only.
+
+Ver. 37. "_Thus saith the Lord: If the heavens above be measured, and
+the foundations of the earth beneath be searched out, I will also cast
+off all the seed of Israel, for all that they have done, saith the
+Lord._"
+
+It is not without meaning that the Prophet so frequently repeats: Thus
+saith the Lord. This formed the [Greek: A] and [Greek: O]; His word was
+the _sole_ ground of hope for Israel. Apart from it, despair was as
+reasonable, as now it was unreasonable. The measuring of heaven, and
+the searching out of the innermost parts of the earth, come here into
+consideration as things impossible. The words: "All the seed of
+Israel," take from the hypocrites that consolation which they might be
+disposed to draw from these promises. It is as much in opposition to
+the nature of God that He should permit all the seed of Israel, the
+faithful with the unbelievers, to perish, as that He should save all
+the seed of Israel, unbelievers as well as believers. The promise, as
+well as the threatening, always leaves a remnant. All that the covenant
+grants is, that the whole cannot [Pg 448] perish (the discourse is
+here, of course, of definite rejection); but it gives no security to
+the individual sinner. The words: "For all that they have done," are
+added intentionally, because the greatness of the sins of the people
+was the _punctum saliens_ in the believers'despair of the mercy of
+God. _Calvin_ says: "The Prophet here intentionally brings forward the
+sins of the people, in order that we may know that the grace of God is
+greater still, and that the multitude of so many wicked men would not
+be an obstacle to God's granting pardon."
+
+Ver. 38. "_Behold, days, saith the Lord, and the city is built to the
+Lord from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner._ Ver. 39.
+_And the measuring line goeth yet farther over against it, over the
+hill Gareb_ (the leper), _and turneth towards Goah_ (place of
+execution). Ver. 40. _And the whole valley of the carcasses and of the
+ashes, and all the fields unto the brook of Kidron, and from thence
+unto the horsegate, towards the East,_ (all this is) _holiness unto the
+Lord. No more shall it be destroyed, nor shall it be laid waste for
+ever._"
+
+This prophecy embraces two features: _first_, the restoration of the
+Kingdom of God, represented under the figure of a restoration of
+Jerusalem, which, under the Old Covenant, was its seat and centre (it
+is this aspect only which Zechariah, in resuming this prophecy, has
+brought forward in chap. xiv. 10); and, _secondly_, the glorification
+of the Kingdom of God, which now is so strengthened and increased, that
+it can undertake to attack and assail the dark kingdom of evil, and
+subject it to itself, while formerly it was attacked and assailed by
+it, and often could not prevent the enemy from penetrating into the
+innermost heart of its territory. This thought the Prophet graphically
+clothes in a perceptible form, and in such a manner that he describes
+how the unholy places, by which Jerusalem, the holy city, was
+surrounded on all sides, are included in its circumference, and become
+holiness unto the Lord. In former times, the victory of the world over
+the Kingdom of God had been embodied in the fact, that the abominations
+of sin and idolatry had penetrated into the very temple; compare chap.
+vii. 11: "Is then this house, which is called by the name of the Lord,
+a den of robbers, saith the Lord?" Other passages will be mentioned
+when we come to comment upon Dan. ix. 27. This inward victory must,
+according to divine necessity, [Pg 449] be followed by the outward one.
+The covenant-people which, inwardly, had submitted to the world, which,
+by its own guilt, had profaned itself, was, outwardly also, given up to
+the world, and was profaned in punishment. And this profanation,
+inflicted upon it as a punishment, again manifested itself just at that
+place, where the profanation by the guilt had chiefly manifested
+itself, viz., in the holy city, and in the holy temple. It is with a
+view to the former manifestation of the victory of the world over the
+Kingdom of God, that here the victory of the Kingdom of God over the
+world is described; and the imagery is just simple imagery. To the
+outward holiness of the city and of the temple, the outward unholiness
+of the places around Jerusalem is opposed. While the victory of the
+world over the Kingdom of God had been manifested by the profanation of
+these places, the victory of the Kingdom of God now appears under the
+image of the sanctification of these formerly unholy places. By what
+means that great change had been brought about; by what means the
+Kingdom of God, which now lay so powerlessly prostrate, should again
+obtain powers which it had never before possessed; by what means the
+servant was to be changed into a lord, it was unnecessary for the
+Prophet here to point out; it had been already mentioned in vers.
+32-34. The difference consists in this, that the New Covenant is not
+like the Old, but that it first furnishes the right weapons by which
+sin and the world can be overcome, viz., an infinitely richer measure
+of the forgiveness of sins, of the graces of the Spirit.--We must still
+premise a general remark concerning the determination of the boundaries
+of the New Jerusalem here given, because this must guide us in
+determining the single doubtful places which are here mentioned. The
+correct view has been already given by _Vitringa_ in his Commentary on
+Isaiah xxx. 33: "The Prophet promises to the returning ones the
+restoration of the city of Jerusalem in its whole circumference; and he
+describes it in this way, that he begins from the Eastern wall, passes
+on thence, through the North side, to the West side, and thence, by the
+South side, returns to the East." For the Prophet begins with the tower
+of Hananeel which was situated at the East side of the town, near the
+sheep-gate; compare remarks on Zech. xiv. 10. Thence he proceeds to [Pg
+450] the corner-gate, which was situated in that corner where the North
+and East met (compare l. c.), and hence comprehends the whole North
+side. He closes with the horse-gate, of which he expressly states that
+it was situated towards the East, and hence points out that he had
+again arrived at the place from which he set out. We have thus gained a
+firm foundation for determining those among the places mentioned, the
+situation of which is, in itself, doubtful.--Let us now proceed to the
+consideration of particulars. After [Hebrew: imiM], the _Keri_ inserts
+[Hebrew: baiM]. It is true that this fuller expression is commonly used
+by the Prophet; but, for that very reason, the more concise one is to
+be preferred, which alone has the authority of the MSS. in its favour,
+while the _Keri_ is nothing but a conjecture, perhaps not even that.
+The full expression having already occurred so frequently in the
+passage under consideration, the Prophet here, at the close, and for a
+change, contents himself with the mere intimation. The Prophet says
+intentionally: "The city is built to the Lord," so that "to the Lord"
+must be connected with "is built;" not "the city of the Lord." The
+latter expression had become so much a _nomen proprium_ of Jerusalem,
+that the full depth of its meaning was no more thought of. This new
+city is no more to be called simply the city of the Lord; it is truly
+to be built to the Lord, so that it belongs to Him.--In the first two
+points of the boundary, the tower of Hananeel and the Corner-gate, the
+second main idea of the passage does not yet come out so prominently.
+This is to be accounted for simply by the circumstance, that on the
+whole North side of the town there was not any unholy places. The
+Suffix in [Hebrew: ngdv] refers to the Corner-gate; the measuring line,
+[Hebrew: qvh] according to the _Kethibh_, [Hebrew: qv hmdh], which is
+the common form, according to the _Keri_, goes yet farther over against
+it, &c. By the words "over against," it is intimated that it now goes
+beyond the former dimensions of the town. [Hebrew: el] "over" (_Hitzig_
+erroneously translates it "towards," or "by the side of it"), shows
+that the hill Gareb is included within the circumference of the new
+city. From the remarks formerly made, it appears that the hill Gareb,
+and Goah, places which are nowhere else mentioned, must have been
+situated on the West side; and, moreover, Gareb on the North-west [Pg
+451] side[5] and Goah on the South-west side, [Hebrew: grb] has no
+other signification than "the leper;" and "the hill of the leper" can
+be the hill only, where the lepers had their abode. For, as early as in
+the second year after the Exodus from Egypt, these lepers were obliged
+to remain without the camp (comp. Numb. v. 3: "Without the camp shall
+ye send them, and not shall they defile their camp in the midst whereof
+I dwell"); and this law was so strictly enforced, that even Moses'
+sister was removed out of the camp. When they had come to Canaan, the
+provisions of the law in reference to the camp were transferred to the
+towns; comp. farther Lev. xiii. 46: "All the days that he has the
+leprosy, he shall be defiled; he shall dwell alone, without the camp
+shall his habitation be;" Luke xvii. 12. Even Uzziah could not be
+released from it; he lived without the city in Beth Chofshith, 2 Kings
+xv. 5, which is commonly translated "house of the sick," instead of
+"house of emancipation," viz., place where they lived, whom the Lord
+had manumitted, who no more belonged to His servants; compare remarks
+on Psa. lxxxviii. 6. Even in the kingdom of Israel they were so strict
+in the execution of this Mosaic ordinance (one from among the
+numberless proofs which are opposed to the current views of the
+religious condition of this kingdom, and of its relation to the Law of
+Moses), that, even during the siege of Samaria, the lepers were not
+allowed to leave the place before the gate assigned to them, 2 Kings
+vii. 3.--In order more fully to understand the meaning of our passage,
+it is indispensable that we should inquire into the causes of that
+regulation. _J. D. Michaelis_ (Mos. Recht. iv. Sec. 210) has his answer at
+once in readiness, and is so fully convinced of its being right and to
+the point, that he does not think it worth while to mention any other
+view. Because _to him_ the temporal objects and aims are the highest,
+he at once supposes them everywhere in the Law of the Holy God also.
+The ordinance is to him nothing but a sanitary measure intended to
+prevent contagion. But that would surely be a degree of severity
+against the sick which could the less be excused by a regard to the
+healthy, that leprosy, [Pg 452] if contagious at all, is so, at all
+events, very slightly only, and is never propagated by a single touch.
+(_Michaelis_ himself remarks: "Except in the case of cohabitation, one
+may be quite safe.") But this severity against the sick must appear in
+a still more glaring light, and the concern for the healthy becomes
+even ridiculous, when we take into consideration the other regulations
+concerning the lepers. They were obliged to go about in torn clothes,
+bare-headed, and with covered chin, and to cry out to every that came
+near them, that they were unclean. Even _Michaelis_ grants that those
+regulations could not be designed to guard against infection. He
+remarks: "But the leper should not cause disgust to any one by his
+really shocking appearance, or terror by an accidental, unexpected
+touch." But such a sentimental, unmerciful regard to the tender nerves
+is surely elsewhere not to be perceived in the Law, which regulates all
+the relations of man to his neighbour, by the principle: Thou shalt
+love thy neighbour as thyself. _Farther_--From mere sanitary or police
+considerations, the law in reference to the leprosy of the clothes and
+houses, which is closely connected with the law about the leprosy of
+men, cannot be accounted for. The reason which _Michaelis_ advances for
+the law in reference to the clothes, is of such a nature, that not even
+the most refined politicians have ever yet thought of a similar one.
+The leprosy of the houses is, according to him, the dry-rot, which,
+although not contagious, was so hateful to Moses, that, out of concern
+for the health of the possessor, and for the goods kept in them, he
+ordered them to be altogether pulled down. If Moses had entertained the
+views on the power of the magistrates which lie at the foundation of
+this, he could not have been an ambassador of God,--even apart
+altogether from the absurdity of the measure. But the shallowness and
+untenableness of _Michaelis'_ view will appear still more strongly,
+when we state the positive argument for our view. It is this: Leprosy
+is the outward image of sin; that, therefore, which is done upon the
+leper, is, in reality, done upon the sinner. Every leper, therefore,
+was a living sermon, a loud admonition to keep unspotted from the
+world. The exclusion of the lepers from the camp, from the holy city,
+conveyed figuratively quite the same lesson, as is done in Words by
+John, in Revel. xxi. 27: [Greek: Kai ou me eiselthe eis auten] [Pg 453]
+[Greek: pan koinon kai poioun bdelugma kai pseudos], and by Paul, in
+Ephes. v. 5: [Greek: touto gar iste ginoskontes, hoti pas pornos, e
+akathartos, e pleonektes ... ouk echei kleronomian en te basileia tou
+Christou kai Theou]; comp. Gal. v. 19, 21. Now it is clearly seen what
+is the Prophet's meaning in including the hill of the lepers in the
+holy city. That which hitherto was unclean becomes clean; the Kingdom
+of God now does violence to the sinners, while, hitherto, the sinners
+had done violence to the Kingdom of God. It is only when we take this
+view of leprosy, that we account for the fact, that just this disease
+so frequently occurs as the theocratic punishment of sin. The image of
+sin is best suited for reflecting it; he who is a sinner before God, is
+represented as a sinner in the eyes of man also, by the circumstance
+that he must exhibit before men the image of sin. God took care that
+ordinarily the image and the thing itself were perfectly coincident;
+although, no doubt, there were exceptions,--cases where God, according
+to His wise and holy purposes, allowed that one relatively innocent (in
+the case of a perfectly innocent man, if such an one existed, that
+would not be possible, except in the case of Christ who bore _our_
+disease), had to bear the image of sin, _e.g._, in the case of such as
+were in danger of self-righteousness. As a theocratic punishment,
+leprosy is found especially with such as had secretly sinned, or had
+surrounded their sin with a good appearance, which, in the eyes of men,
+prevents them from appearing as sinners, _e.g._, in the case of Miriam,
+Uzziah, Gehazi, 2 Kings v. 27. In the Law, there are many warnings
+against it, _e.g._, Deut. xxiv. 8; and David wishes, 2 Sam. iii. 29,
+that the threatening of the Law might be fulfilled upon the house of
+wicked Joab. The leprosy of houses, too, comes into consideration only
+as an image of spiritual leprosy, as is seen from the command in Lev.
+xiv. 49: "And he shall take to cleanse the house two birds, and cedar
+wood, and scarlet, and hyssop; ver. 53: and make an atonement for the
+house, and it shall be clean." The procedure here is quite the same as
+that which was applied in the case of sin and sinners; and since the
+house cannot sin, it follows that a symbolical action only can here be
+spoken of.--Goah, in this context, in the midst of unclean places, can
+hardly be anything else than some unclean place; and it is a very
+obvious supposition that this nature is expressed in the very [Pg 454]
+name. This signification interpreters usually endeavour to obtain by
+deriving the word from [Hebrew: geh] "to roar," of which it is properly
+the Partic. Fem., hence "the roaring one;" but it is more easily
+obtained by adopting the derivation from [Hebrew: gve], just as
+[Hebrew: wve] is derived from [Hebrew: wve], a derivation which was
+first proposed by _Hiller_, S. 127. [Hebrew: gve] is used of a violent
+death, no less than of a natural death; thus Numb. xvii. 27, 28, of a
+death like that of the company of Korah, Datham, and Abiram; comp.
+Zech. xiii. 8. This derivation being assumed, Goah would denote
+"expiring," "hill[6] of expiring," which would be a very suitable name
+of the place for the execution of criminals. _Vitringa_, in commenting
+upon Is. xxx. 33, already expressed the conjecture that Goah, [Hebrew:
+gl gveth] might perhaps be identical with Golgotha, but retracted it,
+because the Evangelists explain Golgotha by [Greek: kraniou topos]. But
+this is no sufficient and conclusive reason. When the Aramean became
+the prevailing language, the name of the place may have received a new
+etymology, just as the Fathers of the Church derive [Greek: pascha],
+from [Greek: paschein], and many similar instances. It has already been
+observed that the appellation, "place of skulls," is rather strange,
+inasmuch as the skulls did not remain in the place of execution.[7] The
+use of "skull" for "the place of skulls," as well as the omission of
+the _L_, have been found strange. But all that is easily accounted for,
+if the new signification, which substantially agreed with the former,
+was merely transferred to the word. The identity of Goah and Golgotha
+cannot be disputed,--at least, not from the situation. From Heb. xiii.
+12, it is certain that Golgotha, as an unclean place, was situated
+outside the city; that it was situated on the West side is, it is [Pg
+455] true, testified by tradition only; comp. _Krafft_, S. 168 ff.;
+_Ritter_, _Erdk._ xvi. 1, S. 422 ff.--We now come to the valley of
+carcasses and of ashes. Even from the position, it becomes probable
+that this is the valley of Hinnom. The North and West sides are already
+done, and hence the South and East sides only remain. But the valley of
+Hinnom was situated towards the South, or South-east of Jerusalem,
+comp. _Krafft_, S 2; v. _Raumer_, S. 269. The valley of the carcasses
+is here brought into immediate connection with _all_ the fields
+(_q.d._, all the other fields), unto the brook Kidron, and is hence
+designated as a portion of the valley of Kidron. But the valley of
+Hinnom was the Southern, or South-eastern continuation of the valley of
+Kidron, which extended on the East side. To this it may be added that,
+in this context, we must necessarily expect the mention of the valley
+of Hinnom, but that otherwise it would be wanting. Among all the
+unclean places around Jerusalem, this was the most unclean. There could
+be no greater victory of the Kingdom of God over the world, than if
+this strictest antithesis to the holy city, this image of hell, was
+included within the Holy City. It is only with respect to the cause of
+the appellation, that some doubt may exist, [Hebrew: pgr], [Hebrew:
+pgriM] is a common designation of dead bodies, of carcasses. There is
+not one among the twenty-two passages in which it occurs, where it
+refers to deceased righteous ones. It is used of the dead bodies of
+animals, of idols, Lev. xxvi. 30; of the dead bodies of those whom the
+Lord has smitten in His anger and wrath, Jer. xxxiii. 5; 1 Sam. xvii.
+46; Amos viii. 3; Neh. iii. 3; Is. lxvi. 24; of such as are, after
+death, treated like beasts, Jer. i. 49. Hence, opinions such as that of
+_Venema_ fall to the ground, who supposes that the valley had that
+name, because it was the public burying-ground. But there is,
+nevertheless, scope for difference of opinion. One may understand by
+[Hebrew: pgriM] the carcasses of animals;--the valley of Hinnom would,
+in that case, be the public flaying-ground. It is in itself probable,
+and it is generally held[8] that, after the defilement by Josiah (2
+Kings xxiii. 10), it received this designation. But there are not
+wanting evident traces that, [Pg 456] even in former times, the valley
+served this purpose. In Is. xxx. 33, it is said in reference to the
+Assyrians: "For Tophet (_Gesenius_ arbitrarily changes the _nomen
+proprium_ into an _appellativum_, and translates: the place for
+burning) is ordained of old; yea, for the king it is prepared, made
+deep and large; the pile thereof has fire and wood in abundance." This
+passage supposes that, even at that time, the valley of Hinnom, or
+Tophet (which properly is only a part of it, but is sometimes, however,
+used for the whole), had that destination; that piles were constantly
+burning in it, on which the carcasses of animals were burned. Such a
+place of execution and burial is already prepared for the carcasses of
+the Assyrians rebelling against God. Even the existence of the name
+Tophet, _i.e._, _horror_, _abomination_, bears witness to the impure
+destination. The second passage is Is. lxvi. 24. Outside the Holy City,
+the place where formerly the carcasses of the beasts were lying, there
+now lie the dead bodies of the transgressors. As the former were, in
+times past, food both for the worms and fire, so they are now. It is
+true, that _Vitringa's_ objection, that it can scarcely be imagined
+that the idolators should have chosen a place so unclean, is very
+plausible. But how plausible soever such an argument may appear, it
+cannot invalidate distinct historical testimonies; and it might very
+well be set aside, although it would lead us too far away from our
+purpose, to do so here. But it may also be supposed that the Prophet
+looks back to his own declarations, chap. vii. 31, and xix. 4 ff.; and
+that by [Hebrew: pgriM] here the corpses of transgressors are to be
+understood, who are destined to destruction, and therefore are to be
+buried in the flaying-ground. But this reference is, after all, too
+far-fetched; and it is more natural to say, that the nature of Tophet,
+as the flaying-ground, forms the foundation, which is common to those
+passages and that before us.--But, besides the arguments already
+advanced, there is still a grammatical reason, which shows that it is
+really the valley of Hinnom which is meant. The article in [Hebrew:
+hemq] forbids us to view it as being in the _Stat. construct._ and
+connected with the following words. We must translate: "And the whole
+valley, (viz. the valley of) the carcasses and ashes." The place is,
+hence, first designated as "the valley," without any further
+qualification, and receives this qualification only afterwards. But it
+is just the valley of Hinnom which, in Jer. ii. 23, is [Pg 457]
+designated as the valley [Greek: kat' exochen], and the gate leading to
+it, as the gate of the valley, in Neh. ii. 13, 15; comp. remarks on
+Zech. xi. 13.--In reference to [Hebrew: dwN], _Gousset_ Lex. p. 368,
+remarks: "The words [Hebrew: dwN], and [Hebrew: dwN] are used only of
+the ashes of the sacrificial animals, and their removal." This
+observation is confirmed by every careful examination of the passages
+in question. Never are [Hebrew: dwN] and [Hebrew: dwN] used otherwise
+than of the ashes of sacrificial animals; comp. Lev. i. 16; vi. 3, 4; 1
+Kings xiii. 5; Numb. iv. 13; Exod. xxvii. 3. The derivation of the
+signification "ashes," from the fundamental signification "fat," as
+advanced by _Winer_ and others (_cinis_ = _pinguefactio agrorum_), is
+therefore wrong. On the contrary, even the burnt fat was still
+considered as fat; the ashes of the fat are the [Hebrew: warit], the
+residuum of the fat. By this determination of the word, the explanation
+is very much facilitated. In Lev. vi. 3, 11, it is said: "And he (the
+priest, after having offered up the burnt-offering) shall put off his
+garments, and put on other garments, and carry forth the ashes without
+the camp into a clean place." According to this regulation, the ashes
+of the sacrificial animals were considered as relatively unclean. The
+priest had to put off his holy garments, and to put on common garments,
+and to carry the ashes without the camp,--afterwards without the Holy
+City. Hence, in contrast to the sacrifices themselves, the ashes were
+considered as the impure residuum which is found in everything which
+men do in relation to God, as the image of sinful contamination
+attaching to all, even the best works, and to the holiest elevation of
+the heart. If, then, the place where the ashes are deposited is to be
+included within the boundaries of the Holy City; is, in holiness, to be
+equal to the place where the sacrifices themselves are offered,--what
+else can be signified thereby, than that the unholy is to be
+overpowered by the holy, the earthly by the divine, by means of a more
+glorious communication of the Holy Spirit? It is quite analogous, when
+Zechariah represents the horses as being in future adorned by the Lord
+with the symbol of holiness, which formerly the High-priest only wore;
+compare remarks on Zech. xiv. 20. This one argument might be brought
+forward against the explanation which we have given, viz., that we
+cannot well imagine that this was the destination of [Pg 458] the
+valley of Hinnom, because, according to the Law, the ashes of the
+sacrifices were to be carried to a _clean_ place; because that which
+once stood in connection with that which is most holy and pure,
+although, in itself, it may be unclean, must not be mingled with that
+which is absolutely and constantly unclean. But in opposition to this
+we remark, that it was not this whole valley that was unclean, but only
+the place Tophet in it; and that if sometimes the whole is designated
+as unclean, it is only because it included this most unclean among
+all unclean places; comp. chap. vii. 31, xxxii. 35; 2 Kings xxiii.
+10.--There cannot be any doubt that "the [Hebrew: wrmvt] unto the brook
+Kidron" are identical with the fields of Kidron, [Hebrew: wdmvt qdrvN],
+mentioned in 2 Kings xxiii.; but much to be doubted is the correctness
+of the common supposition (after the example of _Kuypers_, _ad varia V.
+T. loca_, in the _Syll. Dissert. sub praes. Schultens, et Schroederi_,
+t. 1. p. 537), that [Hebrew: wrmvt] is identical with [Hebrew: wdmvt].
+If that were the case, we could not see why Jeremiah should have
+exchanged the common word for an uncommon one, which elsewhere does not
+occur. Jeremiah is fond of exchanging words of similar sounds, and
+especially words differing from one another merely by one letter, and
+especially by [Hebrew: d] and [Hebrew: r]; but these exchanges are
+always significant. (Compare _Kueper_. Jerem. p. xiv. and 43, and
+_History of Balaam_, p. 447 f.) Although we cannot, with certainty, fix
+the meaning of [Hebrew: wrmvt], yet so much seems to be sure, that this
+word was one which more accurately designated the nature of those
+places than the current _nomen proprium_, inasmuch as it would be
+absurd to substitute for it another name, if there had not been deeper
+reasons. One need only compare the [Hebrew: hr hmwHit] itself which, in
+the simple historical prose, is used of the Mount of Olives, 2 Kings
+xxiii. 13. The most simple and natural supposition is the following.
+All the significations of the verbs [Arabic: **], [Arabic: **],
+[Arabic: **] in Arabic run together in that of _cutting off_. [Hebrew:
+wdmvt] the Plural of the Feminine of the Adjective [Hebrew: wrm] are,
+accordingly, _loca abscissa_, places which are cut off and excluded
+[from the Holy City] outwardly (_Aq._: [Greek: proasteia]), and, at the
+same time, inwardly. Thus we obtain a striking contrast between their
+present nature and future destination. What is now distinctly separated
+from the holy, [Pg 459] then become holiness, [Hebrew: qdw]. From 2
+Kings xxiii. it appears, moreover, that the fields of Kidron were
+unclean. It was thither as to an unclean place, that Josiah caused all
+the abominations of idolatry to be carried, and to be burnt; comp. ver.
+4 (Josiah commanded all the vessels which had been made to Baal and
+Ashera to be brought forth out of the temple): "And he burned them
+_without Jerusalem_ in the fields of Kidron." Ver. 6: "And he brought
+out the Ashera out of the house of the Lord, _without Jerusalem_, unto
+the brook Kidron, and he burned them in the valley of Kidron.... And
+cast the powder thereof upon the graves of the children of the people."
+These last words (the children of the people = the mob, high and low,
+who had polluted themselves by idolatry, comp. 2 Chron. xxxiv. 4: "And
+he strewed the dust upon the graves of them that had sacrificed unto
+them") enable us perhaps to conjecture the cause of the uncleanness of
+these fields. They served as a burying ground to the adherents of the
+worship of Moloch, who were anxious to rest in the neighbourhood of
+their idol, which dwelt in the neighbouring Tophet; and this is the
+more easily accounted for, that it is very probable that the sacrifices
+offered up to the idol were, in a great measure, sacrifices offered for
+the dead.--[Hebrew: qdw lihvh] refers to every thing mentioned in the
+verse before us. As regards the last words, comp. Remarks on Zech. xiv.
+11.
+
+
+
+[Footnote 1: The person of the Messiah meets us as the living centre of
+the salvation in ver. 9: "And they serve the Lord their God, and David
+their King, whom I will raise up unto them;" on which words _Jonathan_
+remarks: "And the Messiah the Son of David;" and _Abarbanel_: "This is
+King Messiah, who is of the house of David, and is therefore called by
+his name." From the parallel passages, Hos. iii. 5; Is. lv. 3, our
+passage differs in this, that David here does not, as in those
+passages, designate the family of David which centres in Christ, but
+the person of the Messiah. The commentary is furnished by chap. xxiii.
+5: "I raise unto David a righteous Sprout." The circumstance, that it
+is not the Sprout of David, but David, that is spoken of here, is
+explained from a reference to the words which the ten tribes spoke at
+their rebellion, 1 Kings xii. 16: "We have no portion in David, neither
+have we inheritance in the Son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel." To
+the person of the Messiah the Prophet reverts once more towards the
+close also: "And their glorious one shall be out of themselves, and
+their governor shall proceed from the midst of them (compare Mic. v. 1,
+2, [2, 3]), and I cause him to draw near, and he approacheth unto me;
+for who is surety for his heart to approach unto me, saith the Lord?"
+God himself receives the King of the Future into the closest communion
+with Him,--"I and the Father are one"--a communion which no one can
+usurp by his own power, and which, in the case of the former kings,
+even in that of David, was frequently disturbed by their sinful
+weakness.]
+
+[Footnote 2: _Hofmann_ (_Weiss. u. Erf._ 1 S. 138) assigns to the
+phrase the meaning: "to make an arrangement." But decisive against this
+is not only the derivation, (comp. _Gesenius Thesaurus_), but the
+circumstance also, that it is almost exclusively and quite manifestly
+used of a relation resting on reciprocity, of the making of a covenant
+in the ordinary sense; and that the few instances where there is
+apparently a reference to one party, form an exception only to the
+rule.]
+
+[Footnote 3: Even the most recent interpreters, who take [Hebrew: bel]
+_ sensu malo_, still greatly differ,--a proof that this interpretation
+has a very insufficient foundation on which to rest. _Gesenius_, _De
+Wette_, _Bleek_ (on Heb. viii. 9), retain the explanation by
+_fastidire_, _rejicere_; _Maurer_ translates: _dominarer_, _domini
+partes sustinerem_, contrasting tyrannical dominion with a relation of
+love; _Ewald_: "Seeing that I am her master and protector;" _Hitzig_:
+"And I got possession of her." All these interpretations are opposed by
+the _usus loquendi_, according to which [Hebrew: bel] has only the two
+significations: "to possess," and "to take for a wife," the latter
+being the ordinary and prevailing one.]
+
+[Footnote 4: Not less than these, _Hitzig_ too has allowed himself to
+be carried away by the appearance. He says: "Then, indeed, the office
+of religious instructors must cease."]
+
+[Footnote 5: According to _Krafft_ (_sur Topographie Jerus._ S. 158),
+it is only the hill Bezetha which, by the third wall of Agrippa, was
+added to the town, that can correspond to the situation of Gareb.]
+
+[Footnote 6: _Thenius_, in the appendix to the Commentary on the Books
+of Kings, S. 24, remarks: "[Hebrew: gl] does not, in any of the
+dialects, denote the natural hill of rocks, but merely stones heaped
+up." Hence, the hill would be an artificial hill for the execution of
+criminals. (Compare the German word _Rabenstein_, lit. "raven-stone,"
+for: place of execution.)]
+
+[Footnote 7: This objection would be removed if, following _Thenius_
+and _Krafft_, S. 158, we were to explain the name from the form of the
+hill, which is that of a skull. But _none_ of the Evangelists at least
+have advanced this explanation. The fact that three of them add the
+Greek explanation to the name (Matt. xxvii. 33; Mark xv. 22; John xix.
+17), and one translated it into Greek (Luke xxiii. 33) shows that it
+stood in connection with the event in question. But this circumstance
+is quite decisive, that three Evangelists explain it by [Greek: kraniou
+topos], "place of a skull."]
+
+[Footnote 8: Compare the Book _Kosri_, p. 72. _Buxtorff_ says: "Gehenna
+was a well-known place near Jerusalem, viz., a valley in which the fire
+was never extinguished, and where unclean bones, carcasses, and other
+unclean things, were burned."]
+
+
+
+
+                         CHAPTER XXXIII. 14-26.
+
+
+Still before the destruction, but in the view of it, the Prophet, while
+in the outer court of the prison, was favoured with the revelation
+contained in chap. xxxii., and with that revelation of which our
+section forms a portion. It may appear strange that, in the
+introduction, the revelation of great things hitherto unknown to him is
+promised to the Prophet, and which he is told to seek by calling unto
+the Lord; while, after all, the subsequent prophecy contains scarcely
+any prominent, peculiar feature. But this is easily explained, when we
+take into consideration that, throughout Scripture, dead [Pg 460]
+knowledge is not regarded as knowledge; that the hope of restoration
+had, in the natural man, in the Prophet as well as in all believers, an
+enemy that strove to darken and extinguish it; that, therefore, the
+promise of restoration was ever new, and the word of God always great
+and exalted. In the first part of the revelation, after the destruction
+had been represented as unavoidable, and all human hope had been cut
+oft, the restoration is described more in general terms. In the second
+part, the Lord meets a two-fold special grief of the believers. The
+time was approaching when the house of David was to be most deeply
+humbled, when every trace of its former glory was to be done away with.
+With it, the hopes of the people seem to be buried. God himself had
+declared this house to be the medium, through which all the mercies
+were to come, which He, as the King, had promised to bestow upon His
+people. But what was to become of the mercies, if the channel was
+destroyed, through which they were to be bestowed upon the people? The
+temple which, through the guilt of the people, had been changed into a
+den of robbers, was to be destroyed. But, with the existence of the
+temple, the existence of the Levitical priesthood was bound up, and if
+the latter was done away with, how was to be obtained forgiveness of
+sins, which, in the Law, had been connected with the mediation of the
+Levitical priesthood? These fears and cares the Lord now meets by
+declaring that, in both respects, the perishing would be an arising,
+that life should arise from death.
+
+The genuineness of this section has been assailed by _Jahn_ (_Vaticinia
+Mess._ iii. p. 112, ff.[1]), after the example of _J. D. Michaelis_,
+who, in the German translation of the Bible, inclosed it within
+brackets. For the present, we mention only the internal
+reason--deferring the refutation till we come to the exposition of
+particulars--because we require it in order to set aside the external
+reason. Jahn, p. 121, sums it up in these words: "The matter stands in
+opposition to all the prophecies of Jeremiah and all the other
+Prophets. For all of them limit themselves to the one David who was to
+come [Pg 461] after the captivity, and do not mention any successor to
+him, far less such a multitude of descendants of David and of Levites,
+which is promised to the people under the name of a blessing, but which
+would, in reality, have been a very heavy burden to the people, at
+whose expense they were to be splendidly maintained." The external
+reason is the omission of the section in the Alexandrian version.
+Proceeding upon the altogether gratuitous assumption of a double
+recension of the prophecies of Jeremiah, people imagine that, by the
+omission in the Alexandrian version, they are entitled to suppose that,
+in that recension which the LXX. followed, this section was not
+contained. But the arguments are most unsatisfactory, by which the
+attempt is made to establish that many portions, not translated by the
+LXX., were not found by them in their manuscripts. Where there
+notoriously prevail negligence, ignorance, arbitrariness, entire want
+of a clear conception of the task of a translator, those inferences are
+out of place which suppose just the opposite of all these (comp.
+_e.g._, the inferences in _Jahn_, S. 116 ff.) Although we cannot
+sometimes discover and state the reason which induced the LXX. to make
+any omission, in case that that which was omitted was really in the
+text, what is it that is thereby proved? Could we, _a priori_, expect
+anything else, since we are on the territory of accident and whim? It
+is quite sufficient that in a multitude of passages we can point out
+the most insufficient reasons which induced them to make omissions,
+alterations, transpositions; for it is just these which show that we
+are in the territory of accident and whim, where it is unreasonable
+every where to expect reasons. Now, to these passages, that before us
+likewise belongs; so that, even supposing that the ground of the
+deviation sometimes lies in a different recension, our passage cannot
+be regarded as belonging to this class; and, hence, from its omission,
+nothing can be inferred against its genuineness. A twofold reason here
+presents itself, which may have induced them to the omission: 1.
+Important elements of the prophecy under consideration have already
+occurred, vers. 15, 16, almost _verbatim_, in chap. xxiii. 3, 6; vers.
+20-25, as regards the thought, altogether, and as regards the words,
+partly agree with chap. xxxi. 35-37; and it is certain that the LXX.
+often omitted [Pg 462] that which had occurred previously, because they
+were unable to perceive the deeper meaning of the repetition, and
+transferred their own ignorance to the Prophet. 2. In that which
+was peculiar to the passage before us, it was just the principal
+thought--the same which _J. D. Michaelis_ and _Jahn_ advance against
+the  genuineness--which must have been most objectionable to the LXX.,
+who  were incapable of perceiving the deeper meaning. An increase of
+the  Levites and of the family of David as the stare of the heavens and
+the  sand of the sea, is a thought of which the Prophet must be freed,
+whether he entertained it or not. The omission in the Alexandrian
+version, therefore, does not prove any thing, except that even 2000
+years before _J. D. Michaelis_, _Jahn_, _Hitzig_, and _Movers_, there
+were men who were as little able to understand the text as these
+expositors.
+
+Ver. 14. "_Behold days come, saith the Lord, and I perform the good
+word which I leave spoken unto the house of Israel, and concerning the
+house of Judah._"
+
+The "good word" may, in a more general way, be understood of all the
+gracious promises of God to Israel, in contrast to the evil word, the
+threatenings which hitherto had been fulfilled upon Israel; comp. 1
+Kings viii. 56, where Solomon, in the prayer at the consecration of the
+temple, says: "Blessed be the Lord, that has given rest unto His people
+Israel, according to all which He spoke; there has not failed (the
+opposite of [Hebrew: qvM]) one word of all His good word which He spoke
+through Moses His servant." In Deut. xxviii. the _good_ word and the
+_evil_ word are placed beside one another; and the former is blessed,
+from vers. 1-14; afterwards, the curse is declared. The centre and
+substance of this good word was the promise to David, through whose
+righteous Sprout all the promises to Israel should find their final
+fulfilment. But we may also suppose that, by the "good word," the
+Prophet specially denotes this promise to David, which he had repeated
+in chap. xxiii. 5, 6. This latter supposition is preferable, since, in
+vers. 15, 16, that repetition of it is quoted, and ver. 17 contains an
+allusion to the fundamental promise. The change of [Hebrew: al] and
+[Hebrew: el] is significant; Judah is considered as the object of the
+proclamation of salvation, because salvation cometh from the Jews. The
+correctness of this view is proved by [Pg 463] vers. 15, 16, where that
+only is spoken of, which, in the first instance, belongs to Judah; so
+that Israel is only received into the communion of the salvation, in
+the first instance, destined for Judah.
+
+Ver. 15, 16. "_In those days and at that time will I cause a righteous
+Sprout to grow up unto David, and he worketh justice and righteousness
+in the land. In those days Judah is endowed with salvation, and
+Jerusalem dwelleth safely; and this is the name by which she shall be
+called: The Lord our righteousness._"
+
+It is intentionally that the promise is here repeated in the former
+shape, in order to show that it still existed; that the glaring
+contrast presented by the present state of things was not able to annul
+it; that even in the view of the destruction, of the deepest abasement
+of the house of David, it still retained its right and power. Instead
+of [Hebrew: hqimvti], the more suitable [Hebrew: acmiH] is here used,
+because the reference to Jehoiakim does not take place in this passage,
+as it did in the previous one. Instead of Israel, which is found there,
+we have here Jerusalem, because it was just the restoration of
+Jerusalem, which it was so difficult for the faithful to believe, after
+its destruction had been described in ver. 4 ff. For the same reason,
+the Prophet here assigns the same name to Jerusalem which he did there
+to the Sprout of David. The same city, which as yet is groaning under
+the wrath of God, shall, in future, be endowed with righteousness by
+the Lord.
+
+Ver. 17. "_For thus saith the Lord: There shall not be cut of from
+David a man sitting upon the throne of the house of Israel._"
+
+The connection with what precedes is pertinently brought out by
+_Calvin_: "The Prophet had spoken of the restoration of the Church;
+that doctrine he now confirms by promising, that both the kingly and
+priestly office should be perpetual; and it was just these two things
+which constituted the salvation of the people. For, without a king,
+they were just like a cut-off tree, or a mutilated body; without a
+priest they were in a state of dispersion. For the priest was the
+mediator between God and the people, but the king represented the
+person of God." The expression [Hebrew: la ikrt], "there shall not be
+cut off," &c., is a simple repetition of the promise to David, in [Pg
+464] that form in which it had been quoted by David himself, shortly
+before his death, in his address to Solomon, 1 Kings ii. 4, and
+afterwards twice by Solomon, 1 Kings viii. 25, ix. 5. It does not
+designate an uninterrupted succession, but forms the contrast only to a
+breaking off for ever. This appears even from the circumstance that, in
+the fundamental promise, God reserves to himself the punishment of the
+apostate members of the Davidic house, and that in Jeremiah the
+announcement of its utter abasement is so frequently repeated.
+
+Ver. 18, "_And to the Levitical priests there shall not be cut off
+before me a man, offering burnt-offerings, and kindling meat-offerings,
+and doing sacrifice all days._"
+
+In order rightly to understand these words, it is necessary to go back
+to their cause; for it is from the grief only that the comfort receives
+its explanation. The Prophet has here not by any means to do with
+members of the tribe of Levi mourning over the loss of the prerogatives
+of their tribe. If such were the case, it would be necessary to hold
+fast by the letter, inasmuch as it is only when the letter is adhered
+to, that the promise can afford consolation for such grief. The
+Prophet's consolations, on the contrary, are destined for all the
+believers, who were mourning over the destruction of the relation to
+God, which hitherto had existed through the mediation of the tribe of
+Levi. If only the relation remained, it was of little importance
+whether it was realised by the tribe of Levi, as heretofore, or in some
+other way. Just as the grief has respect to the substance only, so has
+the consolation also. Israel, in future too, shall retain free access
+to his reconciled God,--that is the fundamental thought; and every
+thing by which this thought was manifested and realised in history, in
+what form soever it might be, must be viewed as comprehended in it. We
+thus obtain a threefold fulfilment: 1. In the time after the return
+from the captivity, the consolation was realised in the form in which
+it is here expressed. The fact, that God admitted and promoted the
+rebuilding of the temple, was an actual declaration that the Levitical
+priesthood was reinstated in its mediatorial office. 2. In the highest
+degree the idea of the Levitical priesthood was realised through
+Christ, who, as a High-Priest and Mediator, bore the sins of His
+people, and made intercession for the transgressors, and [Pg 465] in
+whom the Levitical priesthood ceased, just as the seed-corn disappears
+in the stalk. 3. Through Christ, the believers themselves became
+priests, and obtained free access to the Father.--The following reasons
+show that we have a right to maintain this independence of the thought
+upon the form: 1. The Prophet is so penetrated with the thought of the
+glory of the New Dispensation far outshining that of the Old, that,
+_even a priori_, we could not suppose that, as regards the priesthood,
+he expected an eternal duration of its form, hitherto so poor. It is
+the substance only which, in his view, is permanent. One need only
+compare the section, chap. xxxi. 31 ff. How intentionally does he here
+bring forward the idea that the New Covenant would not be like the Old;
+how does he point from the shadow to the substance! But it is
+especially chap. iii. 16 which, in this respect, is to be regarded. In
+that passage, the ceasing of the former dignity of the Ark of the
+Covenant is announced repeatedly, and in the strongest terms; and we
+have already seen that, along with the Ark of the Covenant, the temple,
+the Levitical priesthood, the whole sacrificial service stands in the
+closest and most indissoluble connection; so that all this must fall
+along with it. 2. A very important proof is furnished by ver. 22, which
+must be regarded as a declaration, by the Prophet himself, as to the
+manner in which he wishes to be understood. Now, in that verse, it is
+promised that all the descendants of Abraham shall be changed into
+Levites; and this is declared to form a part of the eternal acceptance
+of the tribe of Levi, promised in the verse under consideration. This
+shows then, that, in the verse under review, the Levites cannot come
+into consideration as descendants of Levi after the flesh, but only as
+regards their destination and vocation. 3. As the most ancient and
+authentic interpreter of Jeremiah, Zechariah must be considered. He was
+most anxious to obviate the same fears which Jeremiah here meets; and,
+in him, the first two of the three features which Jeremiah comprehends
+in the unity of the idea, appear separated, but in such a manner that
+the connecting unity of the idea is not lost sight of In Zech. iii.,
+God assures the people that, notwithstanding the greatness of their
+sins, He would not only allow the office of High-priest to continue as
+heretofore, and accept his mediation, but that, at some future period,
+[Pg 466] He would also send the true High-priest, who should make a
+complete and everlasting atonement. In ver. 8, the High-priest and his
+colleagues in the priestly office are designated as types of Christ
+who, putting most completely to shame the people's despair in God's
+mercy, should fully accomplish the expiation and atonement which the
+former had effected only imperfectly. In chap. iv. the priestly is,
+along with the royal order, designated as one of the two sons of the
+oil, the two anointed ones of the Lord, whose anointing remaineth for
+ever; and from chap. vi. 13, where the Messiah appears as the true
+High-priest and King at the same time, it appears that, here too, the
+shadow only belongs to the Levitical priesthood, but the substance to
+Christ. 4. Elsewhere, too, plain examples are not wanting, in which the
+idea of the priesthood only is regarded, while the peculiar form of its
+manifestation under the Old Testament is lost sight of. Among those is
+Is. lxi. 6, where, in reference to all Israel, it is said: "And ye
+shall be named priests of Jehovah, ministers of our God shall they call
+you." Here the change of all Israel into the tribe of Levi is
+announced; and the objection which, perhaps, might be brought forward,
+that here only priests in general are spoken of, while Jeremiah speaks
+of Levitical priests, is met by the second passage, chap. lxvi. 21:
+"And from them also will I take for _Levitical_ priests saith the
+Lord." It makes no difference for our purpose whether "from them" be
+referred to the Gentiles (which is the correct view, compare p. 360),
+as is done by _Vitringa_ and _Gesenius_, or to the Israelites living in
+exile. For, although the latter interpretation be received, yet so much
+is certain, that such shall be taken for Levitical priests as were not
+descendants of Levi: for, otherwise, no _taking_, no special divine
+mercy would have taken place. Even the Law already knows an _ideal_
+priesthood by the side of the ordinary one; and such an one meets us
+also in Ps. xcix. 6; compare my Commentary on that passage.--After
+having thus fixed the sense of the promise referring to the Levitical
+priesthood, it will not be difficult to discover the right view in
+reference to the family of David. Here, too, a threefold fulfilment
+takes place. 1. It was realized in the times immediately after the
+captivity, when Zerubbabel, a scion of the Davidic house, became the
+mediator of the mercies which God [Pg 467] as King, vouchsafed to His
+people. To a certain degree, that mercy too comes in here which, at a
+later period, God, in His capacity as King, bestowed upon the people by
+means of civil rulers, who were not from the house of David. For, since
+the dominion had been for ever transferred to the house of David, these
+rulers can be considered only as being engrafted into it, as
+representatives and vice-regents,--much in the same way as the
+blessing, which was bestowed upon the people by the priestly office of
+the non-priest Samuel, must be considered as being included in the
+promise in reference to the Aaronic priesthood. For all that God
+vouchsafed through those rulers, was for the sake of the Davidic house
+only, which for ever had been destined to be the channel of His regal
+blessings. If the kingdom of David had really been at an end, He would
+not have given to the people even those rulers, and the deliverance and
+prosperity granted to them,--as is clearly seen from a comparison of
+the times, after the great Hero of David's race ascended the throne,
+when every trace of the regal grace of God in raising other rulers
+ceased; for now, that the race of David itself rules again, and for
+ever, no representation of it can any more take place. But, in the
+passage under consideration, it would the less be suitable to separate
+everything which does not, in the strictest sense, belong to it, that
+here the promise to David is not viewed with reference to him and his
+house, but solely with reference to the people. Hence, the
+manifestation of the regal grace of God forms the centre; and the house
+of David comes into consideration, only in so far as it was destined to
+be the mediator of this grace. 2. It was fulfilled in Christ; and from
+vers. 15, 16, it appears that the Prophet had this fulfilment chiefly
+in view. These two fulfilments are connected with one another by
+Zechariah also, in chap. iv.--3. It was realized by the raising of the
+whole true posterity of Abraham to the royal dignity, through Christ.
+This most striking antithesis to the despair--the despair saying: there
+is no king in Israel; the consolation: all Israel are kings--is
+expressly brought forward in ver. 22.--We still remark that we must
+not, by any means, as is commonly done, translate: "To the priests and
+Levites," but, as also in Is. lxvi. 21: To the Levitical priests;
+compare the arguments in proof in _Genuineness of the Pentateuch_, p.
+329 ff. The epithet, [Pg 468] "Levitical," is added in order to prevent
+the thought that, perhaps, priests in another than the literal sense
+are spoken of, compare p. 360. It serves therefore the same purpose as
+the expression: "He ruleth as a king," in chap. xxxiii. 5.--As regards
+the sacrifices, we must not by any means suppose, as is done by the
+ancient interpreters, that spiritual sacrifices are here simply spoken
+of. The correct view rather is, that the Prophet represents the
+substance under its present form, in and with which it would now soon
+be lost for a season; and as he has to do with the substance only, he
+does not say anything as to whether this substance would, in future,
+rise again in the same form, and whether it was to continue for ever in
+that form. History has answered the first in the affirmative, and the
+second in the negative; and from chap. iii. 16, it appears that the
+Prophet, too, would, upon _inquiry_, have answered in the negative as
+regards the last point. Moreover, how well they knew, even under the
+Old Testament dispensation, to distinguish, in reference to the
+sacrifices, between the substance and the form, considering the latter
+as a thing merely accidental, is seen from passages such as Hosea xiv.
+3 (2): "Take with you words, and turn to the Lord and say unto Him:
+_Take_ all iniquity, and _give_ good, and we will recompense to thee
+bulls, our lips." Here the thanks are represented as the substance of
+the thank-offering, and, indeed, so perfectly, that the thank-offering,
+the bullocks, is _entirely_ where only thanks, the lips, are. The
+outward sacrifice is the vessel only in which the gift is presented to
+God. _Farther_--Ps. iv. 14, where, in contrast to the merely external
+sacrifices, it is said: "Offer unto God thanksgivings;" Mal. i. 11, and
+many other passages.
+
+Vers. 19, 20. "_And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying: Thus
+saith the Lord, If ye will make void my covenant, the day, and my
+covenant, the night, so that there shall be no more day and night in
+their season_; Ver. 21. _Then also shall be void my covenant with
+David, my servant, that he shall not have one who reigns on his throne,
+and with the Levitical priests, my servants._"
+
+The word [Hebrew: tprv] is very significant. _Calvin_ says: "The
+Prophet indirectly reproves the wickedness of the people, because, as
+much as lay with them, they destroyed the covenant [Pg 469] of God by
+their obstreperous cries.... This incredulity, therefore, the Prophet
+blames, and it is as if he were saying: To what are these complaints to
+lead? It is just as if you were trying to draw down sun and moon from
+heaven, and to do away with the difference between day and night, and
+overturn all the laws of nature, because it is I, the same God, whose
+will it was that the night should follow the day, who have also
+promised, &c."--[Hebrew: hivM] and [Hebrew: hlilh] are appositions to:
+My covenant. The day and night in their regular succession are the
+covenant which is here spoken of The phrase [Hebrew: ivmM vlilh], which
+signifies "by day and night," "daily and nightly," stands here for:
+_tempus diurnum et nocturnum_. "The covenant," [Hebrew: brit], does not
+by any means stand here in the signification _stabilis ordinatio_; nor
+is it be considered as being entered into with the day and night;
+these, on the contrary, are the covenant-blessings. God, who vouchsafed
+_them_, and all that is connected with them, that the sun shines by
+day, and the moon by night, enters thereby, according to the
+explanation given on chap. xxxi. 32, into a covenant with man. By the
+inviolable maintenance of the course of nature, He binds himself to the
+inviolable maintenance of the moral order. This clearly appears when we
+consider that, after the great flood, the covenant with nature is anew
+entered into, and its inviolability anew established; comp. Gen. ix. 9:
+"Behold, I establish my covenant _with you_, and with your seed after
+you;" viii. 22: "All the days of the earth, seed time and harvest, and
+heat and cold, and summer and autumn, and day and night shall not cease
+any more." With these covenant-promises, covenant-laws and obligations
+are connected, which the covenant imposes. With this covenant of
+nature, which is common to all men, and which, at Noah's time, was not
+made for the first time, but only renewed, the covenant of grace, which
+is peculiar to Israel only, stands on a level. To assert that the
+latter has become void, is nothing else than to attempt to pull sun and
+moon down from heaven. For it is one and the same God who has made both
+covenants.
+
+Ver. 22. "_As the host of heaven is not numbered, and as the sand of
+the sea is not measured, so will I increase the seed of David, my
+servant, and the Levites that minister unto me._"
+
+Even considered in itself, the literal fulfilment of this verse [Pg
+470] involves an absurdity. Such an increase of the bodily descendants
+of David lies beyond the bounds of possibility; and even if this were
+not the case, yet this increase, just as the similar increase of the
+Levites, would not have the nature of a promise, but that of a
+threatening. At all events, the consolation would have no relation to,
+or connection with, the grief For the latter did not refer to the
+number of the descendants of David, and that of the Levites, but to
+their acceptance with God, and, in them, to the acceptance of the
+people; but that acceptance has nothing to do with number. To this,
+another reason is still to be added. It cannot be denied that there is
+a verbal reference to the promise to Abraham in Gen. xv. 5, xxii. 17.
+Since, then, these words, which originally referred to all Israel, are
+here transferred to the family of David, and to the Levites, it is
+thereby sufficiently intimated that all Israel shall be changed into
+the family of David, and into the tribe of Levi. This idea need not at
+all surprise us. It has its foundation in the Law itself All that is
+announced here is, that the vocation and destination of the
+covenant-people, which is already expressed in the Law, but which
+hitherto was realised only very imperfectly, is, at some future period,
+to be perfectly realised. In Exod. xix. 6, God says of Israel: "Ye
+shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, [Hebrew: mmlkt khniM]."[2]
+Hence, first a kingdom. The nature of a kingdom is, not to have any
+power over it other than the Divine power, and to have everything else
+under its authority. By this declaration, the dominion of the world was
+secured to the people of God. This high prerogative always remained
+with the covenant-people so long as they had not, by their guilt,
+spontaneously got under a moral servitude to the world. The outward
+servitude was always a reflection of the inward only. It never was
+inflicted upon the covenant-people as such, but always upon that
+covenant-people which had become like the world. And even when this
+_unnatural_ condition took place, this high dignity was not forfeited
+by the single individuals who, knowing that they were purchased at a
+high price, had kept themselves inwardly free from the bondage of the
+world. Although in fetters and bonds, they yet remained inwardly free.
+World, [Pg 471] sin, death, and hell, could do them no harm. Yea,
+notwithstanding all outward appearance of victory, those enemies were,
+in reality, ruled by them; and even their outward servitude was, when
+more deeply considered, a sign of their dominion. For the Law of the
+Lord of Hosts was in their inward parts; it was the living principle of
+their existence. It was according to this Law that the whole world was
+governed; and it was according to it that the servitude of their people
+also took place. They were thus co-regents with God, and, as such,
+ruled over their rulers.--All the single members of this kingdom, which
+consists entirely of kings, were, at the same time, to be priests. In
+these words it was already implied and declared, that the Levitical
+priesthood, which was instituted at a later period, could not have that
+importance which the priesthood had with other nations of antiquity,
+where priests and people stood in an absolute antithesis, which
+admitted of no mediation, and where it was the priests only who stood
+in an immediate relation to God. It was thereby implied and declared,
+that the priests, in one aspect, (in other respects, they were types
+and foreshadowings of Christ) possessed rights that were only
+transferred to them; that they were representatives of Christ, and
+that, hence, their mediation would, at some future period, disappear
+altogether. And in order that the people might always remain fully
+conscious of this; in order that they might know that they themselves
+were the real bearers of the priestly dignity, they retained, even
+after the institution of the Levitical priesthood, that priestly
+function which formed the root and foundation of all others, viz., the
+slaying of the covenant-sacrifice, of the paschal lamb, which formed
+the centre of all other sacrifices, inasmuch as the latter served only
+as a supplement to it. That, even under the Old Testament dispensation,
+this importance of the paschal rite was duly recognized, is seen from
+_Philo_, _de vita Mos._ (p. 686, Francf.): "In offering up the paschal
+lamb, the office of the laymen is by no means simply to bring the
+sacrificial animals to the altar, that they may be slain and offered up
+by the priests; but, according to the regulations of the Law, the whole
+people exercise priestly functions, inasmuch as every one in his own
+behalf offers up the prescribed sacrifice."--We have thus here before
+[Pg 472] us the highest completion of the comfort for the mourning
+covenant-people. They are not merely to receive back their king, their
+priests; nay, they are altogether to be changed into a kingly and
+priestly generation. It must not be overlooked that, in substance, this
+was already contained in the promise to Abraham. We have already proved
+in Vol. i. p. 211, ff., that this promise to Abraham does not refer to
+a great number of bodily descendants, _tales quales_, but that, on the
+contrary, it refers only to such sons of Abraham as are, at the same
+time, sons of God; hence, to a royal and priestly generation.--If now
+we look to the fulfilment, the passage which, above all, presents
+itself, is 1 Pet. ii. 9: [Greek: humeis de genos eklekton, basileion
+hierateuma k.t.l.] Here that passage of Exodus is represented as a
+prophecy which, in the present only, was fulfilled. Israel has now
+become that which, according to its destiny, it ought always to have
+been, a host of royal priests,--priests who at the same time have a
+royal nature and character. That which now already exists perfectly in
+the germ, shall, at some future period, come forth in full development,
+according to Rev. v. 10: [Greek: kai epoiesas autous to theo hemon
+basileis kai hiereis, kai basileusousin epi tes ges.] Believers, when
+sin has been extirpated in them, shall have the freest access to God.
+When His will shall have become theirs, and when, at the same time, His
+dominion over the whole world appears more visibly, they shall
+unconditionally rule with Him. How this dignity of theirs has its
+foundation in Christ, is seen from Rev. i. 5, 6, where the words:
+[Greek: kai epoiesen hemas basileian, hiereis to theo kai patri
+hautou], stand in close connection to [Greek: ho archon ton basileon
+tes ges], and to [Greek: kai lusanti hemas apo ton hamartion hemon en
+to haimati hautou.]
+
+Ver. 23. "_And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying:_ Ver. 24.
+_Dost thou not see what this people are speaking, and say: The two
+families which the Lord hath chosen, He hath now rejected them, and my
+people they despise, that they should still be a people before them._"
+
+It is scarcely conceivable how modern interpreters can assert that by
+"this people," not the Israelites, but Gentiles, the Egyptians or
+Chaldeans, or the "neighbours of the Jews on the Chaboras," (_Hitzig_),
+or the Samaritans (_Movers_), are to be understood. In advancing such
+assertions, it is overlooked [Pg 473] that the Prophet has here quite
+the same persons in view as in the whole remaining section, and as in
+these chapter's throughout, viz., those among Israel--and to them more
+or less all belonged, even those most faithful--who, because they saw
+Israel prostrate, for ever despaired of its deliverance and salvation;
+and, indeed, for the most part, in such a manner as to give to this
+despair a good aspect, viz., that of humility. They imagined, and said
+that the people had sinned in such a manner against God, that He was
+free from all his obligations, and could not at all receive them again.
+To those the Prophet shows that such a thought is, notwithstanding the
+fair appearance, blasphemy. All despair abases God into an idol, into a
+creature. Faith holds fast by the word, by the promise. It says:
+Although sin abounds with us, the grace of God does much more abound.
+As truly as God always remains God, so surely His people will always
+remain His people. He indeed chastises them, but He does not give them
+over to death. One need only consider the [Hebrew: tprv] in ver.
+20.--The expression "this people," is contemptuous, comp. Is. viii. 11.
+The Prophet thereby intimates that those who use such language, cease
+thereby to be members of the people of God. The "two families" are
+Judah and Israel. These had, in the preceding verses, likewise been, in
+substance, the subject of discourse; for the election and rejection of
+the tribe of Levi, and of the house of David, had been treated of in so
+far only, as they stood in relation to the election or rejection of the
+people; so that here only the same thing is repeated in a different
+form, in consideration of the fact, that weak faith and despair are so
+slow to hear. The words: "He hath now rejected them," were, in a
+certain sense, true; but not in the sense of the speakers. They, on the
+contrary, maintained, in opposition to the election, a rejection for
+ever, which was tantamount to: Jehovah, the eternal and unchangeable
+One, is no more Jehovah; He is a man that He lieth, and a son of man
+that He repenteth. As surely as God is Jehovah, so surely also [Greek:
+ametameleta ta charismata kai he klesis tou theou], Rom. xi. 29. The
+expression "_my_ people," directs attention to how God is now despised
+in Israel. On the contrast between "_my_ people" and "a people,"
+compare remarks on chap. xxxi. 36.
+
+Ver. 25. "_Thus saith the Lord: If not my covenant daily_ [Pg 474] _and
+nightly, if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and
+earth_;"--
+
+Compare ver. 20. The covenant daily and nightly, _i.e._, the covenant
+which refers to the constant and regular alternation of day and night.
+The ordinances of heaven and earth denote the whole course of
+nature,--especially the relations of sun, moon, and stars, to the
+earth, comp. chap. xxxi. 35--in so far as it is regulated by God's
+ordinance, and is, therefore, a lasting one.
+
+Ver. 26. "_So will I also cast away the seed of Jacob, and of David, my
+servant, that I do not take farther from his seed rulers over the seed
+of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For I will turn to their captivity, and
+have mercy upon them._"
+
+The casting away of the seed of Jacob, and that of the seed of David,
+are inseparably connected. For since, by the promise to David, the
+kingdom had been for ever bound together with his race, Israel was no
+more the people of God, and no more a people at all, if David was no
+more the servant of God. The Plural [Hebrew: mwliM] is easily accounted
+for, from the circumstance that it was not the number, but only the
+_fact_ that was here concerned (comp. remarks on chap. xxiii. 4, and,
+at the same time, those on ver. 18); but it is beyond any doubt, that
+the Prophet has here in view the revival of the dominion of David in
+the Messiah,--has it, at least, chiefly in view. The enumeration of the
+three Patriarchs recalls to mind the whole series of the promises
+granted to them. The words: "I will turn to their captivity" (not: "I
+will turn their captivity," compare remarks on Ps. xiv. 7; captivity is
+an image of misery), rest on Deut. xxx. 3.
+
+
+
+[Footnote 1: They have been joined by _Movers_ (_de utriusque recens.
+Jerem. indole_), who declares ver. 18 and 21-24 to be a later
+interpolation (comp. against this view _Kueper_, S. 173, and
+_Wichelhaus_, de Jerem. Vers. Alex., p. 170), and _Hitzig_, according
+to whom the whole portion, vers. 14-26, consists of "a series of single
+additions from a later period."]
+
+[Footnote 2: Compare the discussions on this passage in my Commentary
+on Rev. i. 6.]
+
+
+
+
+                         END OF VOLUME SECOND.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Christology of the Old Testament: And
+a Commentary on the Messianic Predictions. Vol. 2, by Ernst Hengstenberg
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHRISTOLOGY OF OLD TESTAMENT, V2 ***
+
+***** This file should be named 30608.txt or 30608.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        https://www.gutenberg.org/3/0/6/0/30608/
+
+Produced by Charles Bowen, from images obtained from Google Books.
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+https://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+https://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at https://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit https://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including including checks, online payments and credit card
+donations.  To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     https://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.