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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Christology of the Old Testament: And a
+Commentary on the Messianic Predictions, 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: UTF-8
+
+*** 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 ê and omega as ô.
+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: φοβηθῶμεν οὖν μῄποτε καταλειπομένης
+ἐπαγγελίας ... δοκῇ τις ἐξ ὑμῶν ὐστερηκέναι. 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 ἤγγικε ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν of the first part
+serves as a foundation to the μετανοεῖτε οὗν 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 (בְּעדָּנָא הַהוּא יְהֵי מְשִׁיחָא דַיָי
+לְחֶדְוָה וְלִיקָר), 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 צמח 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 צבי
+and תפארת 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
+Erfüllung._ Th. 1, S. 214): "צמח is an intransitive verb, so that צֶמַח
+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 צמח 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 פרי הארץ 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 פרי הארץ 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 הארץ 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
+ἀνατέλλειν is commonly used of the sprouting forth of the plants (see
+_Bleek_ on this passage)--it is said: ἐξ Ἰούδα ἀνατέταλκεν ὁ Κύριος
+ἡμῶν, _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 צבי
+ישראל; _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 צבי and תפארת 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 (צבי) 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
+פליטה, 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 ל before
+לצבי and לכבור must be understood differently from what it is in לגאון,
+and לתפארת which immediately follow and exactly correspond with them.
+There are, _secondly_, the parallel passages chap. xxviii. 5, xxiv. 16,
+according to which צבי "beauty" is conferred upon the escaped, but they
+themselves do not become beauty. _Finally_--It is always most natural
+to suppose that צמח יהוה and פרי הארץ correspond with one another, and
+denote the same subject which is here described after his various
+aspects only. For in the same manner as צמח and פרי go hand in hand,
+both being taken from the territory of botany, so יהוה and הארץ 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 צמח
+יהוה, 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 חיים 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
+משפט, 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: αὐτὸς ὑμᾶς βαπτίσει ἐν
+πνεύματι ἁγίῳ καὶ πυρί, 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 בער 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 בער is, in
+Deuteronomy, used as the _terminus technicus_ of the extirpation of the
+wicked. If the Church does not comply with the command: ἐξάρεῖτε τὸν
+πονηρὸν ἐξ ὑμῶν αὐτῶν, 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."
+מקרא 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 כל־כבוד 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 לכו ונלכה there is a clear
+reference to לכו ונעלה 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 צמח יהוה 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 פרי הארץ, 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 Cæsar,' 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 יכל 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 לבבו 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 נוח 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 שוב 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_).--קוץ 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.--בקע 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: εἰ ἀρνούμεθα, κἀκεῖνος
+ἀρνήσεται ἡμᾶς• εἰ ἀπιστοῦμεν, ἐκεῖνος πιστὸς μένει·--ἀρνήσασθαι γὰρ
+ἑαυτὸν οὐ δύναται 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,--העמק and הגבה are
+_Infin. absol._ "going high," "going low." The Imperat. שאלה must be
+understood after הגבה also. Some explain שאלה 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 לכן the signification, "nevertheless," which is not supported by the
+_usus loquendi_.--יתן 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.--הוא _He_, _i.e._, of His own accord without
+any co-operation, such as would have taken place if Ahaz had asked the
+sign.--לכם 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.--הנה "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_: μόνον γὰρ οὐκ ὁρῶντος ἦν τὰ
+γινόμενα καὶ φανταζομένου καὶ πολλὴν ἔχοντος ὑπερ τῶν εἰρημένων
+πληροφορίαν, τῶν γὰρ ἡμετέρων ὀφθαλμῶν ἐκεῖνοι σαφέστερον τὰ μὴ ὁρώμενα
+ἔβλεπον.--The article in העלמה 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 הנה, the article in העלמה 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) יולדה "a bearing woman" is used without the article.--עלמה is, by
+old expositors, commonly derived from עלם 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 עלם, 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 עלמה is distinguished from בתולה, 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 עלמה 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 עלם, "to
+grow up," "to become marriageable," עלמה 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 עלמה. 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 עלמות 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 עלמה
+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 דרך, 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.--הָרָה is the femin. of the verbal adj. הָרֶה. 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 קראת may be
+3d fem. for קראה, 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. καλέσουσι, _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 ארץ, 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"
+(_Rosenmüller_) 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 אות is elsewhere used in Scripture, is
+altogether disregarded by this interpretation. For, according to it,
+אות would refer to a future event; but according to the _usus loquendi_
+elsewhere observed, אות '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_ אות is not used of future things; but this has its reason
+not in the idea of אות, 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 העלמה, 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
+אל גבור, 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 _Irenænus_, _Chrysostom_, _Basil_, and, in our century,
+_Kleuker_ and _Rosenmüller_ speak.--But this explanation [Pg 55] is
+altogether overthrown by ver. 16. Most interpreters assume, in the
+latter verse, a change of subject; by נער, 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
+נער; 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, לדעתו by "(only) until he knows"
+(comp. against this interpretation _Drechsler's Comment._). לדעתו 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 מאס and בחר
+with ב points to the affection which accompanies the action.--כי 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. האדמה 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. _Rosenmüller_ 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 עלמה 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 עלמה 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 über 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, Tübingen, 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_, _Stähelin_, 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 עלמה
+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 _Plüschke_ 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
+עלמה, "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, אות 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. _Plüschke_, 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_, _Blätter für höhere 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 ויצר, in Gen.
+ii. 19. The progress lies first in ותלה; 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._"
+
+כי 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 כי with the verse
+immediately preceding instead of referring it to the main contents of
+the preceding section, have proved futile. כי 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 כי without any meaning at all, if משא
+be falsely interpreted.--Ver. 22, where the phrase מעוף צוקה "darkness
+of distress" is equivalent to "darkness which consists in distress"
+(compare also: "behold trouble and darkness" in the same verse), shows
+that מועף and מוצק 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.--לא 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, אין 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 לה refers, just as the suffix, in בה in ver. 21, to the
+omitted ארץ.--The כ in כעת is, by many interpreters, asserted to stand
+in the signification of כאשר: "Just as the former time has brought
+disgrace," &c. But as it cannot be proved that כ has ever the meaning,
+"just as;" and as, on the other hand, כעת 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 כ 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 אחרון, either כעת may be
+supplied,--and this is simplest and most natural--or it may be taken as
+an Accusative, "for the whole after-time."--הקל means properly to "make
+light," then "to make contemptible," "to cover with disgrace," and
+הכביד 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 ה
+_locale_ in ארצה (the word does not occur in Isaiah with the ה
+_paragog._) shews that a certain modification of the verbal notion must
+be assumed: "to bring disgrace and honour." ארצה 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.--ים can, in this context which serves for
+a more definite qualification, mean the sea of Gennesareth only (ים
+כנרת Numb. xxxiv. 11, and other passages), just as, in Matt. iv. 13,
+the designation of Capernaum as ἡ παραθαλασσία receives its definite
+meaning from the context.--דרך occurs elsewhere also in the
+signification of _versus_, _e.g._, Ezek. viii. 5, xl. 20, 46; it will
+be necessary to supply after it ארץ, just as in the case of the עבר
+הירדן following. It is without any instance that דרך "way" should stand
+for "region," "country." The region on the sea is then divided into its
+two parts עבר הירדן, πέραν τοῦ Ἰορδάνου, 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 עבר הירדן 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: בארעת דגליל יתגלי מלכא משיתא. "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.--צלמות, "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. Ἀκούσας δὲ--thus the section
+begins--ὅτι Ἰωάννης παρεδόθη, ἀνεχώρησεν εἰς τὴν Γαλιλαίαν. 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 ἀναχώρεῖν 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.--Καὶ καταλιπὼν τὴν
+Ναζαρὲτ--it is said in ver. 13--ἐλθὼν κατῴκησεν εἰς Καπερναοὺμ τὴν
+παραθαλασσίαν, ἐν ὁρίοις Ζαβουλὼν καὶ Νεφθαλείμ. 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 τὴν
+παραθαλασσίαν stands in reference to ὁδὸν θαλάσσης, in ver. 15. Ἐν
+ὁρίοις, &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 τὰ ὅρια may, according to the analogy of the Hebrew גבולים,
+denote the borders in the sense of "territory," as in Matt. ii. 16.
+From a comparison of γῆ Ζαβουλὼν καὶ Νεφαλείμ 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 ἵνα πληρωθῇ 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 ἵνα πληρωθῆ 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 ἀνεχώρησεν εἰν τὴν Γαλιλαίαν. 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 ὁδὸν θαλάσσης
+of the prophecy was found again, and that, therefore, thence the πέραν
+τοῦ Ἰορδάνου 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 γῆ--τῶν ἐθνῶν 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 ὁ λαός, which
+has become an apposition, they form [Pg 80] the subject of the
+following sentence. At all events, ὁδόν 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" (גוי as in the passage before us, and not עם), 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
+הגוי "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 לו, "_to him_" hast thou
+increased the joy. According to many modern interpreters, לא is
+supposed to be a different mode of writing for לו. 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 לא stands here in a
+different sense from what it does in chap. viii. 23, and it would
+indeed be strange that לו 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: μὴ φοβεῖσθε, ἰδοὺ γὰρ
+εὐαγγελίζομαι ὑμῖν χαρὰν μεγάλην ἥτις ἔσται παντὶ τῷ λαῷ ὅτι ἐτέχθη ὑμῖν
+σήμερον σωτὴρ, ὅς ἐστι Χριστὸς Κύριος; 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: θαρσεῖτε,
+ἐγὼ νενίκηκα τὸν κόσμον, 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.--שכם "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 ילד and נתן. 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: οὕτω
+γὰρ ἠγάπησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν κόσμον ("The zeal of the Lord of hosts will
+perform this,") vers. 6 [7], ὥστε τὸν υἱὸν τὸν μονογενῆ ἔδωκεν.--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, ἐδόθη μοι πᾶσα ἐξουσία. 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 ἐντεῦθεν 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 שמו קרא 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 פלא יועץ. That these two words must be _connected_ with
+one another (_Theodor._--θαυμαστῶς βουλεύων) appears from the analogy
+of the other names, especially of אל גבּור with whom פלא יועץ forms one
+pair; and then from the circumstance that יועץ 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
+פלא אדם in Gen. xvi. 12. יועץ designates the attribute which is here
+concerned, while פלא 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 פלא 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 אל 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 פלא יועץ "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," פלאי, _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 הפליא עצה, "He shows himself wonderful in His
+counsel."--The second name is אל גבּור "God-Hero." Besides the ability
+of giving good counsel, a good government requires also גבורה 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_, אל גבור 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 אל גבור is said of the Most High,
+appears a very inconvenient obstacle,--a parallel passage which does
+not occur by chance, but where שאר ישוב 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 אל 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 אל, but from איל, 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 אלי גבּורים 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 גבּור, 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 אלהים, "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 אל גבּור only, and that, according to chap. x.
+21, the Messiah cannot be אל גבּור 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 אל גבּור 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, גבור אל. It is farther obvious that by this explanation the
+גבור אל 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._, טוב אבי.
+"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_, § 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
+שכן עד "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 עד
+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 ל with קץ occurs in the very same sense--clearly show that the ל
+in לשלום and למרבה may very well be understood as a mere sign of the
+Dative. And the objection that the following להכין, &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_ § 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 ל 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.--הכין "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 עתה 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. § 6), by
+Rabbi _Jose Galilaeus_ in the book _Ekha Rabbati_, a Commentary on
+Lamentations (see _Raim. Matt._ iii. 3 chap. 4, § 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: ויפק מלכא מבנוהי דישי ומשיחא מבני
+בנוהי יתרבי. 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 ויצא 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 גזע does not mean "stem" in general, as
+several rationalistic interpreters, and _Meier_ last, have asserted,
+but rather stump, _truncus_, κορμός, as _Aquila_, _Symmachus_,
+_Theodotion_, translate. This is proved from the following reasons: (1)
+the derivation from גזע, in Arabic _secuit_, equivalent to גדע, "to cut
+off," chap. ix. 9; x. 33. The גדעים in latter passage clearly refers to
+the גזע 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 גזע 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 גזע 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 שרש "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 גזע has the meaning, "stump,"
+that it can be accounted for why the גזע 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 גזע 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 גזע
+with גדעים 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 גזע: Jesse is mentioned and not
+David, because the Davidic dignity had become a גזע. 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_. פרה is never
+equivalent to פרח "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 פרה 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, עשה פרי corresponds to the יפרה here. The change of
+the tense, too, suggests that יפרה 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. יפרה 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.
+
+
+Καὶ ἐλθὼν κατῴκησεν εἰς πόλιν λεγομένην Ναζαρέτ• ὅπως πληρωθῇ τὸ ῥηθὲν
+διὰ τῶν προφητῶν, ὅτι Ναζωραῖος κληθήσεται.
+
+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 נצר. Being the name of a
+town, it received, in Aramean, in addition, the feminine termination א.
+And, finally, on account of the original appellative signification of
+the word, a ת, the designation of the _status emphaticus_ of feminine
+nouns in א, was sometimes added. We have an analogous case in the name
+_Dalmanutha_, the same place which, with the Talmudist, is called
+צַלְמוֹן. Compare _Lightfoot decas chorog. Marc. praem., opp._ II., p. 411
+sqq. So it is likewise probably that γαββαθὰ, גַבְתָא is formed from the
+masculine גַב, _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
+ת added, and that this ת 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 ה 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:
+נצרי מי שנולד בעיר נֵצָר הגליל רחוק מירושלים דרך שלשת ימים "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
+בן נצר, 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 נצר announced by Isaiah, just
+as, for the very same reason, they also assign to Him the names נצר
+נאפוף "adulterous branch," and נצר נתעב "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 כוכב in Numb. xxiv. 17, the name בן כוכב or בר כוכבא,
+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: "נצר נצרי המקלל 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 ת 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 ענתת we could
+not by any means form ענתי, but only ענתתי. In the New Testament the
+two forms Ναζωραῖος and Ναζαρηνὸς only occur, never the form
+Ναζαρεταῖος. _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 נצר which the first Christians were
+accustomed to bring into connection with נצרת. But this conjecture
+would, at most, be admissible, only if, with the Jews too, the form
+נצרי were not found throughout without a ת, and if the Arabic form also
+were not entirely analogous.[1]
+
+[Pg 109]
+
+The question now is:--In what sense was נצר 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 נצר never occurs in this
+signification; partly because it is not conceivable that the place
+received a name which is due to it κατʼ ἀντί φρασιν 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 נצר occurs in Is. xi. 1, xiv. 19, and in the Talmudical
+_usus loquendi_ where נצרים 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 נצר, in chap. xi., corresponds יונק in chap. liii.; to חטר
+the שרש; 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: τὸ ῥηθὲν διὰ τῶν προφητῶν 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 ὅτι
+Ναζωραῖος κληθήσεται, 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_, _Beiträge 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 ὅτι κληθήσεται 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 ὅτι κληθήσεται
+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 אל גבור 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: καὶ εἶδε τὸ πνεῦμα
+θεοῦ καταβαῖνον ὡσεὶ περιστερὰν καὶ ἐρχόμενον ἐπ' αὐτόν, 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: οὗτος
+ἐστιν ὁ υἱός μου ὁ ἀγαπητὸς ἐν ᾧ εὐδόκησα. But a reference to the
+passage before us we meet most decidedly in John i. 32, 33: Τεθέαμαι τὸ
+πνεῦμα καταβαῖνον ὡσεὶ περιστερὰν ἐξ οὐρανοῦ, καὶ ἔμεινεν ἐπ' αὐτόν·
+Κᾀγὼ οὐκ ᾕδειν αὐτόν· ἀλλ' ὁ πέμψας με βαπτίζειν ἐν ὕδατι, ἐκεῖνος μοι
+εἶπεν• ἐφ' ὃν ἂν ἴδῃς τὸ πνεῦμα καταβαῖνον καὶ μένον ἐπ' αὐτόν, οὗτος
+ἐστιν ὁ βαπτίζων ἐν πνεύματι ἁγίῳ. The word נוח, which in Numb. xi. 25
+also is used of the Spirit, combines in itself both the καταβαίνειν and
+the μένειν; 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: καὶ ὤφθησαν αὐτοῖς
+διαμεριζόμεναι γλῶσσαι ὡσεὶ πυρός, ἐκάθισέ τε ἐφ' ἕνα ἕκαστον αὐτῶν;
+comp. 1 Pet. iv. 14: ὅτε τὸ τῆς δόξης καὶ τὸ τοῦ θεοῦ πνεῦμα ἐφ' ὑμᾶς
+ἀναπαύεται (this most exactly answers נוח). 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 נבלה,
+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 בינה, 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, הריח
+with the accusative is "to smell something;" with ב, 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: αὐτὸς δὲ Ἰησοῦς, οὐκ ἐπίστευεν ἑαυτὸν αὐτοῖς, διὰ τὸ
+αὐτὸν γινώσκειν πάντας, καὶ ὅτι οὐ χρείαν εἶχεν ἵνα τὶς μαρτυρήση περὶ
+τοῦ ἀνθρώπου• αὐτὸς γὰρ ἐγίνωσκεν τί ἦν ἕν ἀνθρῴπῳ. Farther--chap. xxi.
+17 where Peter says to Christ: Κύριε σὺ πάντα οἶδας· σὺ γινώσκεις ὅτι
+φιλῶ σε. 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 ארץ
+does not by any means stand in contrast to דלים and ענוים, and, in
+parallelism to רשע, designate the wicked ones; but ארץ "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 ארץ 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.--שבט, 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): ἀκούων δὲ Ἁνανίας τοὺς λόγους τούτους πεσὼν
+ἐξέψυξε, comp. ver. 10; xiii. 11. The Chaldee translates: "And by the
+word of His lips wicked Armillus shall die." He refers רשע not to the
+ideal person of the wicked, but to an individual, _Armillus_,
+(ἐρημόλαος, corresponding to the name of Balaam, compounded of בלע
+"devouring," "destruction," and עם "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: ὃν ὁ Κύριος Ἰησοῦς
+ἀναλώσει τῷ πνεύματι τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ, there is an intentional and
+significant allusion to the passage before us, Antichrist there being,
+like רשע 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 παλιγγενεσία, 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 הארץ 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 παλιγγενεσία 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 הארץ 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."--דרש
+with ל, אל, and את, 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 ἐπ αὐτῷ ἔθνη ἐλπιοῦσι,
+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.--מנוחה "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_
+(מנוחתי) 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 עמים and גוים 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 עמים 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.
+יוסיף must be connected with לקנות, comp. 2 Sam. xxiv. 1: "And the Lord
+continued to kill," להרג. It is unnecessary and arbitrary to supply
+לשלח. ידו 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 לקנות, but with
+ישאר, 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 לקנות; 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 Phœnicians, 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 _supposee_ 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 פרס 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: καὶ οὐχ ὑπὲρ τοῦ ἔθνους
+μόνον, ἀλλ' ἵνα καὶ τὰ τέκνα τοῦ Θεοῦ τὰ διεσκορπισμένα συναγάγῃ εἰς
+ἕν. 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.--משלח יד 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, החרום, 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 רוח 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 נצר. _Ebrard_
+without even attempting to refute them, assumes, in favour of a
+far-fetched conjecture, that the name of the place was written נזרת
+(_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 ז is, in Greek, rendered by ζ, צ by σ is, in this case,
+where the special arguments in favour of נצר are so strong, of no
+consequence.]
+
+[Footnote 2: _Hofmann_ (_Weissagung und Erfüllung._, 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
+Ναζωραῖος 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 נצר nor חטר 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
+יפרה.]
+
+[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 יהוה 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 כי 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 משא "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 שי 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 מן from the second clause is to be supplied before עם ממשך. 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.--ממשך properly "_drawn out_," "_stretched_," Prov. xiii.
+12, corresponds to the אנשי מדה "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 מורט "_closely
+shorn_," comp. chap. l. 6, where מרט 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 מימי היא 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--קו קו "law-law" is explained from chap. xxviii. 10, 13, where it
+stands beside צו צו, 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., νόμος ἐπὶ
+νόμον, 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 זרים, 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. βασιλεῖς
+σκληροί. For, the fact that the unity is merely an _ideal_ one, is most
+distinctly and intentionally pointed at by the אדנים 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," הרס, one shall be called, there is contained an allusion
+to קיר הרס, "_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._"
+
+עבד with את has commonly the signification "to serve some one;" here,
+however, את is used as a preposition: Egypt serves God _with_ Asshur.
+Yet there is an allusion to the ordinary use of עבד with את 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: ἡ σωτηρία ἐκ τῶν Ἰουδαίων ἐστί, 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 ברמ 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
+_Hävernick_ 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: εἰ ἡμεῖς ὑμῖν τὰ πνευματικὰ ἐσπείραμεν, μέγα,
+εἰ ἡμεῖς ὑμῶν τὰ σαρκικὰ θερίσομεν; 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 ארים denotes the _fulness_ of light or salvation, comp.
+chap. xxvi. 19; ב 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. מרום 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: λέγω δὲ ὑμῖν ὅτι πολλοὶ ἀπὸ ἀνατολῶν καὶ δυσμῶν ἥξουσι καὶ
+ἀνακλιθήσονται μετὰ Ἀβραὰμ καὶ Ἰσαὰκ καὶ Ἰακωβ ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τῶν
+οὐρανῶν; 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 בלע 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 רפאים "giants" are identical with the ישבי תבל 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. רפאים,
+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 האמין here corresponds with the חסה with ב 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:
+λέγει γὰρ ἡ γραφή• πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων ἐπ' αὐτῷ οὐ καταισχυνθήσεται. In
+chap. ix. ver. 3, we have chap. viii. 14, and the passage under
+consideration blended in a remarkable manner: ἰδού τίθημι ἐν Σιὼν λίθον
+προκόμματος καὶ πέτραν σκανδάλου· καὶ πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων ἐπ' αὐτῷ οὐ
+καταισχυνθήσεται, 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: διότί περιέχει ἐν τῇ γραφῇ: ἰδοὺ
+τίθημι ἐν Σιὼν λίθον ἀκρογωνιαῖον, ἐκλεκτὸν, ἔντιμον, καὶ ὁ πιστεύων
+ἐπ' αὐτῷ οὐ μὴ καταισχυνθῇ. ὑμῖν οὖν ἡ τιμὴ τοῖς πιστεύουσιν.
+ἀπεῖστοῦσι δὲ λίθον ὃν ἀπεδοκίμασαν οἱ οἰκοδομοῦντες, οὗτος ἐγενήθη εἰς
+κεφαλὴν γωνίας, καὶ λίθος προσκόμματος καὶ πέτρα σκανδάλου, 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 מלך 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 מלך רב. 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_.--נקם and גמול are Accusatives, used
+in the same manner as in verbs of motion, to designate the object of
+the motion.--On גמול, "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: ὥστε τοὺς
+ὄχλους θαυμάσαι βλέποντας κωφοὺς λαλοῦτας, κυλλοὺς ὑγιεῖς, χωλοὺς
+περιπατοῦντας καὶ τυφλοὺς βλέποντας; xxi. 14; καὶ προσῆλθον αὐτῷ τυφλοὶ
+καὶ χωλοὶ ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ καὶ ἐθεράπευσεν αὐτούς; Mark vii. 37, where after
+the healing of the deaf and dumb, the people say: καλῶς πάντα πεποίηκε•
+καὶ τοὺς κωφοὺς ποιεῖ ἀκούειν, καὶ τοὺς ἀλάλους λαλεῖν. 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 βλέπομεν ἄρτι
+δι' ἐσόπτρου ἐν αἰνίγματι.
+
+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: καὶ ἐξαλλόμενος ἔστη καὶ περιεπάτει,
+καὶ εἰσῆλθε σὺν αὐτοῖς εἰς τὸ ἱερὸν, περιπατῶν καὶ ἀλλόμενος καὶ αἰνῶν
+τὸν θεόν; farther. Acts viii. 7: πολλοὶ δὲ παραλελυμένοι καὶ χωλοὶ
+ἐθεραπεύθησαν; 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: τότε προσηνέχθη αὐτῷ
+δαιμονζόμενος, τυφλὸς καὶ κωφός· καὶ ἐθεράπευσεν αὐτόν, ὥστε τὸν τυφλὸν
+καὶ κωφὸν καὶ λαλεῖν καὶ βλέπειν. _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 רבצה 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; חציר 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 μετανοεῖτε, 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. Rückert_, 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 _Beiträge 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 ואחלל is the common Future, and to ואתנה
+the ה _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 לנקבציו, 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 שור 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_ (יבואו, 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. _Münter_, _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. הבאות "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 מראש "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 מראש 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 ראשנות, 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 ראשית and
+קדם, 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. קום 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. _Bürnouf_ and others
+in _Hävernick'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 _Hävernick'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. § 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_, _über 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 _Königsberg_ 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 (ἐκλογή); 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 _Küper_ 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, שכל אלה [Pg 198] החכמים הכו בסנורים "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 φῶς εἰς ἀποκάλυψιν ἐθνῶν, 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 ὅτι εἶδον οἱ ὀφθαλμοί μου τὸ σωτήριον σου ὃ
+ἡτοίμασας κατὰ πρόσωπον πάντων τῶν λαῶν, 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: οὗτος ἐστιν ὁ υἱός μου ὁ ἀγαπητός, ἐν ᾧ
+εὐδόκησα, 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: οὗτος ἐστιν ὁ υἱός μου
+ὁ ἀγαπητός, ἐν ᾧ εὐδόκησα· αὐτοῦ ἀκούετε 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 αὐτοῦ ἀκούετε 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 παῖς Θεοῦ. In Acts iii. 13: ἐδόξασε
+τὸν παῖδα [Pg 199] αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦν, 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 עבד by παῖς; 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 ἐδόξασε (LXX. δοῦλός μου εἶ σὺ [Ἰσραήλ] καὶ ἐν σοὶ
+εὐδοξασθήσομαι). And so likewise in Acts iii. 26; iv. 27: ἐπὶ τὸν ἅγιον
+παῖδά σου Ἰησοῦν, ὃν ἔχρισας, where the last words refer to chap. lxi.
+1; farther, in Acts iv. 30. In all these passages it is not the more
+obvious δοῦλος, but παῖς which is put, in order to remove the low
+notions which, in Greek, attach to the word δοῦλος.
+
+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 παῖς Θεοῦ. Phil. ii. 7, μορφὴν δούλου λαβών
+comes as near the עבד יהוה, as it was possible, considering the low
+notion attached to the Greek δοῦλος. The passages which treat of the
+obedience of Christ, such as Rom, v. 19; Phil. ii. 8; Heb. v. 8; John
+xvii. 4: τὸν ἔργον ἐτελειώσα, ὃ δέδωκάς μοι ἵνα ποιήσω, 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 ὑπακοὴ, ὑποταγή, be represented as the perfect
+manifestation of the עבד--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: Ἰακὼβ, ὁ παῖς μου, ἀντιλήψομαι αὐτοῦ, Ἰσραήλ, ὁ,
+ἐκλεκτός μου, προσεδέξατο αὐτὸν ἡ ψυχή μου. 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 _Köster_ 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 עבד יהוה 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 _Köster_:
+"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_, _Tübinger 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 עבד, 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. Müller_ 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 κατ᾽ ἐζοχήν, 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 עבדי, 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 אלה "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."--תמך "to take,"
+"to seize," "to hold," when followed by ב, 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: ὁ πέμψας με μετ' ἐμοῦ ἐστιν• οὐκ ἀφῆκέ με μόνον ὁ Πατὴρ, ὅτι ἐγὼ τὰ
+ἀρεστὰ αὐτῷ ποιῶ πάντοτε; comp. John iii. 2; Acts x. 38. The Preterite
+נתתי 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 יצא 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 הוציא 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,"
+יצא 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 הוציא here can mean only "to bring to light," "to bring
+forth." משפט 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 ישא "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 יצעק by ἐρίσει, "He shall
+contend"), to the earnestly sought publicity, to the intention of
+causing sensation, as it proceeds from vanity or pride. The κραυγάσει,
+by which Matthew renders the ישא, has nothing in common with the ἔκραξε
+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 (οἱ δὲ φαρισαῖοι
+συμβούλιον ἔλαβον κατ' αὐτοῦ ἐξελθόντες, ὅπως αὐτὸν ἀπολέσωσιν), in His
+not exciting against them the masses who were devoted to Him, but in
+withdrawing from them (ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς γνοὺς ἀνεχώρησεν ἐκεῖθεν, 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 (καὶ
+ἐπετίμησεν αὐτοῖς ἵνα μὴ φανερὸν αὐτὸν ποιήσωσιν, 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 (καὶ ἐθεράπευσεν αὐτοὺς
+πάντας, 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, קנה רצוץ, Pharaoh appears on
+account of his broken power, in chap. xxxvi. 6, and in chap. lviii. 6,
+the רצוצים 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 πτωχοί, Matt. v. 3, of the πενθοῦντες, ver. 4, and in
+Matt. xi. 28, the invitation of the κοπιῶντες καὶ πεφορτισμένοι,
+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 τῷ πνεύματι, "in their consciousness," which in
+Matthew is added to the simple πτωχοί, 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 לאמת must not be
+translated: "For truth" (LXX: εἰς ἀλήθειαν); for there is a thorough
+difference between ל and אל; the former does not, like the latter,
+designate the motion towards some object, but is rather, here also, a
+preposition signifying "belonging to;" hence לאמת 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: ἕως ἂν ἐκβάλῃ εἰς νῖκος τὴν κρίσιν, "until He has
+led right to victory." By the addition of ἕως 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. Εἰς νῖκος is
+a free translation of לאמת; κρίσις 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 _Köster_: "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 (כהה) 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 לא ירוץ "He shall
+not run away" (properly, "He shall not _run_") is qualified and fixed
+by the parallelism with לא יכהה "He shall not fail." רוץ 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: ὦ γενεὰ
+ἄπιστος καὶ διεστραμμένη, ἕως πότε ἔσομαι μεθ' ὑμῶν; ἕως πότε ἀνέξομαι
+ὑμῶν.--According to the current opinion, ירוץ is here assumed to be the
+Future of רצץ, for יָרֹץ, and that in the appropriate signification: "He
+shall not be broken." (Thus it was probably [Pg 218] viewed by the
+Chaldean Paraphrast who renders לא ילאי _non laborabit_; by the LXX.,
+who translate οὐ θραυθσησεται, while _Aquila_ and _Symmachus_,
+according to the account of _Jerome_, render, _non curret_, thus
+following the derivation from רוץ). As יכהה points back to כהה in the
+preceding verse, so, in that case ירוץ would point back to רצוץ "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 רצץ
+and רוץ 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, רוץ "to
+run," "to flee away," being in parallelism with נרחק "to be removed,"
+is quite appropriate; just as in the second clause of that verse רוץ
+"to be crushed," is in parallelism with נשבר "to be broken."--איים
+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 תורה 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 בצדק 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," עם and גוים 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 עם (compare
+_Gesenius'_ [Pg 221] Thesaurus _s.v._ גוי), because it is only the
+people of God that is a people in the full sense, connected by an
+internal unity; the Gentiles are לא עם, _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, ὧν αἱ διαθῆκαι, 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, διαθήκης ἔγγυος, 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: ἡ σωτηρία ἐκ τῶν Ἰουδαίων ἐστίν 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 עם is used collectively, and refer it to the Gentile nations. But
+opposed to this explanation is the evident antithesis of עם and גוים;
+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 אור גוים shows that ברית עם is the
+_status constructus_. But _fœdus alicujus_, is, according to the remark
+of _Gesenius_, _fœdus 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 ברית עם, 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_, ראשנות,
+"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 משפט, 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 σωτήριον 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
+φῶς εἰς ἀποκάλυψιν ἐθνῶν καὶ δόξαν λαοῦ σου Ἰσραήλ; 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: Καὶ ἐκλήθη τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦς, τὸ κληθὲν
+ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀγγέλου πρὸ τοῦ συλληφθῆναι αὐτὸν ἐν τῇ κοιλίᾳ (comp. i. 31:
+συλλήψῃ ἐν γαστρὶ καὶ τέξῃ υἱόν καὶ καλέσεις τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦν) as
+is sufficiently evident from ἐν τῇ κοιλίᾳ _sc. matris_, which exactly
+answers to the מבטן 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: ἰδοὺ
+στρεφόμεθα εἰς τὰ ἔθνη· οὕτω γὰρ ἐντέταλται ἡμῖν ὁ Κύριος• τέθεικά σε
+εἰς φῶς ἐθνῶν τοῦ εἶναί σε εἰς σωτηρίαν ἕως ἐσχάτου τῆς γῆς 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 κατ' ἐξοχήν 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 ἐκλογή, 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:
+ὁ θεὸς ὁ ἀφορίσας (corresponding to: I have _sanctified_ thee) με ἐκ
+κοιλίας μητρός μου. 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: τέξεται δὲ υἱὸν καὶ καλέσεις τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ
+Ἰησοῦν· αὐτὸς γὰρ σώσει τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν αὐτῶν, 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.) _Hävernick_ 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: ἀπ᾽ ἄρτι ὄψεσθε τὸν οὐρανὸν ἀνεῳγότα, καὶ τοὺς ἀγγέλους
+του̂ θεου̂ ἀναβαίνοντας καὶ καταβαίνοντας ἐπὶ τὸν υἱὸν του̂ ἀνθρώπου
+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:
+ἐλήλυθεν ἡ ὥρα ἵνα δοξασθῇ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου; xvii. 5: καὶ νῦν
+δοξασόν με σύ πάτερ. The verb פאר 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: Πάτερ δόξασόν σου τὸ ὄνομα. The Father, by glorifying the Son,
+glorifies at the same time His name. Those who explain אתפאר 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: οὐκ
+ἀπεστάλην εἰ μὴ εἰς τὰ πρόβατα τὰ ἀπολωλότα οἴκου Ἰσραήλ. 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: πορεύεσθε δὲ μᾶλλον πρὸς τὰ προβατα τὰ ἀπολωλότα οἴκου
+Ἰσραήλ. Paul and Barnabas say, in Acts xiii. 46: ὑμῖν ἦν ἀναγκαῖον
+πρῶτον λαληθῆναι τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ• ἐπειδὴ δε ἀπωθεῖσθε αὐτὸν καὶ οὐκ
+ἀξίους κρίνετε ἑαυτοὺς τῆς αἰωνίου ζωῆς, ἰδοὺ στρεφόμεθα εἰς τὰ ἔθνη.
+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 לשיבב 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 ל in the following verse, as also in
+chap. li. 16. But although the Infinit. with ל 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 לשובב יעקב אליו 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 אשר, לא 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: Ἰερουσαλήμ ... ποσάκις ἠθέλησα ἐπι συναγαγεῖν τὰ τέκνα
+σου ὃν τρόπον ἐπισυναγει ὄρνις τὰ νοσσία ἐαὐτῆς ὑπὸ τὰς πτέρυγας καὶ
+οὐκ ἠθελήσατε.; comp. also Matt. ix. 36: ἰδὼν δὲ τοὺς ὄχλους
+ἐσπλαγχνίσθη περὶ αὐτῶν ὅτι ἦσαν ἐσκυλμένοι καὶ ἐρριμμένοι ὡσεὶ πρόβατα
+μὴ ἔχοντα ποιμένα. On account of chap. xi. 12, it will not do to take
+אסף in the signification of "to snatch away," "to carry off," as is
+done by _Hitzig_. Moreover נאסף means, indeed, "to be gathered,"
+but never "to be carried off" The Mazoreths would read לא for לו: "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 לא is only a different writing for לו, 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 אסף in the
+signification "to gather" has the person to whom it is gathered never
+joined to it by means of ל, but commonly by means of אל, is of so much
+the greater importance, that ל has nothing to do with אל. 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." שוב 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_ נעירי is an adjective form with a passive signification; the
+marginal reading נצורי 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 נצר, "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 ל 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
+διάκονος περιτομῆς ὑπὲρ ἀληθείας θεοῦ εἰς τὸ βεβαιῶσαι τὰς ἐπαγγελίας
+τῶν πατέρων, Rom. xv. 8; but still more, because He himself is the
+concentration of Israel (ver. 3), the κεφαλὴ τοῦ σώματος τῆς ἐκκλησίας,
+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 בְּזֹה 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 בָּזֹה with a passive signification.
+This latter view is more natural; and the reason which _Stier_ adduces
+against it, viz., that of verbs לה no such forms are found, cannot be
+considered as conclusive. בזה־נפש, 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 נפש is _here_ parallel to נוי, and that
+the latter corresponds to the עם 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._" תעב 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" (_Rödiger_: _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. גוי 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 עם 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 נפש and
+גוי designate the generality of this hatred, משלים 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: λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ
+Πιλᾶτος• ἐμοὶ οὐ λαλεῖς; οὐκ οἶδας ὅτι ἐξουσίαν ἔχω σταυρῶσαί σε καὶ
+ἐξουσίαν ἔχω ἀπολῦσαί σε 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.:
+οἱ δε παραπορευόμενοι ἔβλασφήμουν αὐτὸν κ.τ.λ. ὁμοίως δέ καὶ οἱ
+ἀρχιερεῖς ἐμπαίζοντες μετὰ τῶν γραμματέων καὶ πρεσβυτέρων ἔλεγον•
+ἄλλους ἔσωσεν κ.τ.λ. τὸ δ᾽ αὐτὸ καὶ οἱ λῃσταὶ οἱ συσταυρωθέντες αὐτῷ
+ὠνείδιζον αὐτόν.--After יראו "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, καιρῷ δεκτῷ, 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 עם 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, παραλαβὼν δὲ τοὺς
+δώδεκα εἶπε πρὸς αὐτούς• ἰδοὺ ἀναβαίνομεν εἰς Ἰεροσόλυμα καὶ
+τελεσθήσεται πάντα τὰ γεγραμμένα διὰ τῶν προφητῶν τῷ υἱῷ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου•
+παραδοθήσεται γὰρ τοῖς ἔθνεσι καὶ ἐμπαιχθήσεται καὶ ὑβρισθήσεται καὶ
+ἐμπτυσθήσεται καὶ μαστιγώσαντες ἀποκτενοῦσιν αὐτόν. 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 (μαστιγώσαντες,
+LXX. εἰς μαστιγας), and my cheeks to those plucking (ἐμπαιχθήσεται--the
+plucking of the beard, an act of degrading wantonness), my face I hid
+not from shame (ὑβρισθήσεται) 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: Τότε ἐνέπτυσαν εἰς τὸ πρόσωπον άὐτοῦ καὶ ἐκολάφισαν αὐτόν, Οἱ
+δὲ ἐῤῥάπισαν λέγοντες• προφήτευσον ἡμῖν, χριστέ, τίς ἐστιν ὁ παίσας σε;
+xxvii. 30: καὶ ἐμπτύσαντες εἰς αὐτὸν ἔλαβον τὸν κάλαμον καὶ ἔτυπτον εἰς
+τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ,--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 למד, 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: κᾀγὼ ἃ ἤκουσα παρʼ αὐτοῦ ταῦτα λαλῶ εἰς τὸν κόσμον, comp.
+iii. 34: ὃν γὰρ ἀπέστειλεν ὁ θεὸς τὰ ῥήματα τοῦ θεοῦ λαλεῖ. The verb
+סמך, which occurs only here, means, according to the Arabic, "to help,"
+"to support;" _Aquila_: ὑποστηρίσαι, Vulg. _sustentare_. Like other
+similar verbs, _e.g._, סמך, 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_: גלה
+סודו לי "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: πλὴν οὐχ ὡς ἐγὼ θέλω ἀλλʼ ὡς σύ, 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._"
+
+נכלמתי refers to כלמות 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: ἐγένετο δὲ τῷ
+συμπληροῦσθαι τὰς ἡμέρας τῆς ἀναλήψεως αὐτοῦ, καὶ αὐτὸς τὸ πρόσωπον
+αὐτοῦ ἐστήριξε τοῦ πορεύεσθαι εἰς Ἱερουσαλήμ.
+
+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.--בעל משפטי 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 ἐν ἐμοὶ οὐκ ἔχει
+οὔδέν 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 ἅπαξ
+λεγόμενον זיקות 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
+(φλόγα), and Vulg. (_flammas_). In Syriac זיקא has the signification
+"lightning." Those who explain it by "fiery darts" are not at liberty
+to refer it to the זקים 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.--לכו "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 ל in למעצבה serves for designating the
+condition: so that you belong to pain, שכב 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 ל 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 παλιγγενεσία 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._"
+
+השכיל always means "to act wisely" (LXX. συνήσει; _Aquil. Sym._:
+ἐπισθημονισθήσεται), never "to be successful" (the Chaldean, whom most
+of the modern interpreters follow, renders it by יצלח), 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 מאד "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. _Hävernick_ 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 כן, 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. שמם "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. משחת, 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 חדל אישים 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 מן 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 נזה 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 ῥαντισμὸς αἵματος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. Farther, in Heb. x. 22:
+ἐῤῥαντισμένοι τὰς καρδίας ἀπὸ συνειδήσεως πονηρᾶς; xii. 24: καὶ αἵματι
+ῥαντισμοῦ κρεῖττον λαλοῦντι παρὰ τὸν Ἅβελ, 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. _Schröder observ. ad
+origin. Hebr._ c. viii. § 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 על." _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 את is there not the [Pg 270] sign
+of the Accusative, but a Preposition. את ףני 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 יזיה 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
+הצדיק, which everywhere else is construed with the Accusative, is
+followed by ל; and likewise in רפא, followed by ל in chap. liii. 5. The
+signification of the verb, in such cases, undergoes a slight
+modification. הזה with על 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 נזח, which
+corresponds to the Hebrew נזה, 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 _Köcher_--"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 על had to be
+avoided, because, had it been put, the perception of the correspondence
+of the subsequent עליו with the עליך, in ver. 14, would have become
+more difficult.--2. It is asserted that it is against the connection;
+that the contrast to משם 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 שממו is not יזה, but rather יקפצו, is clearly shown by עליו, which
+corresponds with עליך. The יזה 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 יזה.--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: εἰ γὰρ τὸ αἷμα [Pg 272] ταύρων καὶ τράγων καὶ σποδὸς δαμάλεως
+ῥαντίζουσα τοὺς κεκοινωμένους ἁγιάζει πρὸς τὴν τῆς σαρκὸς καθαρότητα·
+μᾶλλον τὸ αἷμα τοῦ Χριστοῦ ... καθαριεῖ τὴν συνείδησιν ἡμῶν ἀπὸ νεκρῶν
+ἔργων εἰς τὸ λατρεύειν θεῷ ζῶντι. 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 יזה from נזה 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 יזה." 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 נזה 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 יזה, 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
+שממו, 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 עליו to עליך, shows that _Ewald_ is
+wrong in explaining it by "besides Him." Since the preceding על
+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.: οἷς οὐκ ἀνηγγέλη περὶ αὐτοῦ, ὄψονται,
+καὶ οἱ οὔκ ἀκηκόασι, συνήσουσι, 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
+שממו "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--שמועה 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_,
+שמועה is that which the Prophet hears from God. The mockers who
+exclaim: "Whom will he make to understand שמועה?" 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,
+Ἀκοή too, by which, in the New Testament, שמועה is rendered, has not at
+all the signification, "discourse," "preaching." Ἀκοή in Rom. x. 16,
+17, is not the preaching, but the hearing, as is shown by the μὴ οὐκ
+ἤκουσαν in ver. 18. The ἀκοή, according to ver. 17: ἡ δὲ ἀκοὴ διὰ
+ῥήματος Θεοῦ, is the passive to the active to the word of God. "Who
+believes our ἀκοή, our hearing," _i.e._, that which we hear, which is
+made known to us by the Word of God. In a passive sense, ἀκοή 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) λόγος ἀκοῆς, is the word which they
+heard. That passage: οὐκ ὠφέλησεν ὁ λόγος τῆς ἀκοῆς ἐκείνους, μὴ
+συγκεκεραμένους τῇ πίστει τοῖς ἀκούσασι, 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 שמועה 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 δύναμις θεοῦ εἰς σωτηρίαν παντὶ τῷ πιστεύοντι. גלה is
+elsewhere commonly construed with אל or ל, here with על. 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 עליו 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, גזע. in
+chap. xi. 8. יונק elsewhere always signifies "suckling;" comp. here
+chap. xi. 8. Of the sprout, elsewhere, the feminine יונקת 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.: ὡς παιδίον. The suffix in לפניו "before
+Him" refers to the immediately preceding יהוה, 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 ונראהו 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 ראה with the Accusat., without ב, 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" (חדל 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 החלי in ver. 10, evidently refers
+to the חלי 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." הסתיר always means "to hide;" the whole phrase
+occurs in chap. l. 6, in the signification "to hide the face." מסתר 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 חדל אישים 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 נגוע 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 כ must not be overlooked. The comparison with the
+leper, the culminating point of all contempt, is highly suitable to the
+parallelism with נבזה. Ordinarily מסתר 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.--נבזה 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 חלי and מכאב 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, נשא חלי 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: πάντας τοὺς κακῶς ἔχοντας ἐθεράπευσεν, ὅπως πληρωθῇ
+τὸ ῥηθὲν διὰ Ἠσαΐου τοῦ προφήτου λέγοντος• αὐτὸς τὰς ἀσθενείας ἡμῶν
+ἔλαβε καὶ τὰς νόσους ἐβάστασε; and this deserves a consideration so
+much the more careful, that the Evangelist here intentionally deviates
+from the Alexandrine version (οὗτος τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν φέρει καὶ περὶ
+ἡμῶν ὀδυνᾶται). 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 נשא by "to
+take away;" but even the parallel סבל is conclusive against such a
+view; and, farther, the ordinary use of נשא 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: ὃς τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν αὐτὸς
+ἀνήνεγκεν ἐν τῷ σώματι αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὸ ξύλον.--_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." נגע "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.--הכה 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._"
+
+הוא "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 חלל, from the original
+signification "to pierce," and adopting the general signification "to
+wound;" the LXX. ἐτραυματίσθη. _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; δικαιωθέντες ἐκ πίστεως εἰρήνην ἔχομεν πρὸς τὸν
+θεὸν διὰ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, 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 עליו, "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 מוסר 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 מוסר 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.--נרפא, Preter. Niph., hence "healing has been bestowed
+upon us;"--רפא with ל, 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: ἰδὼν δὲ τοὺς ὄχλους ἐσπλαγχνίσθη περὶ αὐτῶν, ὅτι ἦσαν
+ἐσκυλμένοι καὶ ἐῤῥιμένοι ὡσεὶ πρόβατα μὴ ἔχοντα ποιμένα. 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: πάντες ὅσοι πρὸ ἐμοῦ ἦλθον, κλέπται εἰσὶ καὶ λῃσταί--פגע with ב
+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 נגש, "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.--נגש 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. נגש and נענה "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 נענה 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 יפתח, 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 רחל 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] ὃς
+λοιδορούμενος οὐκ ἀντελοιδόρει, πάσχων οὐκ ἠπείλει, παρεδίδου δὲ τῷ
+κρίνοντι δικαίως; and likewise Matt. xxvii. 12-14: καὶ ἐν τῷ
+κατηγορεῖσθαι αὐτὸν ὑπὸ τῶν ἀρχιερέων καὶ πρεσβυτέρων οὐὲν ἀπεκρίνατο.
+Τότε λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ Πιλᾶτος• οὐκ ἀκούεις πόσασου καταμαρτυροῦσιν; καὶ οὐκ
+ἀπεκρίθη αὐτῷ πρὸς οὐδὲν ἓν ῥῆμα, ὥστε θαυμάζειν τὸν ἡγεμόνα λίαν.
+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: κᾀγὼ ἑὰν ὑψωθῶ ἐκ
+τῆς γῆς πάντας ἑλκύσω πρὸς ἐμαυτόν), 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.--עצר
+"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.--משפט is commonly referred to
+the judgment which the enemies of the Servant of God passed upon Him,
+The premised עצר 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, משפט serves as a limitation for עצר.
+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.--לקח with מן "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; לקח
+cannot, by itself, signify "to be dragged to execution"--in that case,
+as in Prov. xxiv. 11, "to death" would have been added; מן must be
+taken in the signification, "from," "out of," as in the subsequent
+מארץ, compare 2 Kings iii. 9, where לקח with מן 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?_
+דור, 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. שוח and שיח "to meditate," is
+commonly connected with ב 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.: τὴν γενέαν αὐτοῦ τίς διηγήσεται.
+Next to it, comes the explanation: "Who can think out His _posterity_;"
+but against this, it is conclusive that דור 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 דור
+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 דור. In Isaiah xxxviii. 12, דור 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 את, 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. נגזר "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 נגרז also has, in Psa. xxxi.
+23, the signification of extermination. למו, poetical form for להם,
+refers to the collective עם. 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 למו 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 מו 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 עמי "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. σώσει τὸν λαὸν αὑτοῦ ἀπὸ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν αὐτῶν,
+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._"
+
+ויתן is intentionally without a definite Subject, _q.d._: it was given
+to Him, _Ewald_ § 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, § 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. ויתן,
+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 ἄνθρωπος πλούσιος 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 ב 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 מותים "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 חיים, for which
+reason it commends itself to explain ארץ חיים 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. על 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 על 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:
+ὅτι ἀνομίαν οὐκ ἐποίησε. The innocence is designated negatively, and in
+an external manner (חמס and מרמה 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: ὃς ἁμαρτίαν οὐκ
+ἐποίησε οὐδὲ εὑρέθε δόλος ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτοῦ. 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 רשעים and
+עשיר. 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 עשיר. 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: δυσκόλως πλούσιος εἰσελεύσεται εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν
+οὐρανῶν. 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: ἀπέθανε δὲ καὶ ὁ πλούσιος καὶ ἐτάφη, 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 עשיר 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_ עשר "_caespitavit_." _Tum enim haec radix nullam
+prorsum cum verbo_ עשר _necessitudinem habet, ita ut_ עשיר _h. l._ απ.
+λεγ. _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_, עשיר
+is another form for עריץ. Others would change the reading. _Ewald_
+proposes עשיק; Böttcher, עשי רע. 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 בְמותיו "in His death," _Gesenius_ and others
+propose to read בָמותיו, 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 במה
+never occurs of the grave. According to _Gesenius_, במות, 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 חפץ יהוה of the close stands to יהוה חפץ 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._ חלה "to be sick," "to suffer
+pains." In this sense the _Niphal_ occurs in Amos vi. 6, and the
+participle נחלה 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 החלי, 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_; שים is not a reflective verb. As little can we suppose with
+_Hofmann_ that תשים 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 נפש "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
+διὰ πνεύματος αἰωνίου ἑαυτὸν προσήνεγκεν ἄμωμον τῷ θεῷ; 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: ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ποιμὴν ὁ καλός· ὁ ποιμὴν
+ὁ καλὸς τὴν χυχὴν αὑτοῦ τίθησιν ὑπὲρ τῶν προβάτων. Ver. 15: καὶ τὴν
+χυχήν μου τίθημι ὑπὲρ τῶν προβάτων. Vers. 17, 18: διὰ τοῦτο ὁ
+πατὴρ με ἀγαπᾷ, ὅτι ἐγὼ τίθημι τὴν ψυχήν μου ἵνα πάλιν λάβω αὐτήν.
+Οὐδεὶς αἴρει αὐτὴν ἀπʼ ἐμοῦ, ἀλλʼ ἐγὼ τίθημι αὐτὴν ἀπʼ ἐμαυτοῦ·
+ἐξουσίαν ἔχω θεῖναι αὐτήν, καὶ ἐξουσίαν ἔχω πάλιν λαβεῖν αὐτήν.
+In John xv. 13: μείζονα ταύτης ἀγάπην οὐδεὶς ἔχει ἵνα τὶς τὴν ψυχὴν
+αὐτοῦ θῇ ὑπὲρ φίλων αὑτοῦ. 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 _Lücke_ erroneously take θεῖναι 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 δοῦναι τὴν ψυχὴν αὑτοῦ 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: δοῦναι τὴν
+ψυχὴν αὑτοῦ λύτρον ἀντὶ πολλῶν, where the λύτρον clearly points to the
+אשם 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.--אשם 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 אשם, 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 ἁμαρτρία for us, that in
+Him we might be made righteous before God; Rom. viii. 3, according to
+which God sent Christ περὶ ἁμαρτρίας, as a sin-offering; Rom. iii. 25,
+where Christ is called ἱλαστήριον, propitiation; 1 John ii. 2: καὶ
+αὐτὸς ἱλασμός ἐστι περὶ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἡμῶν, iv. 10; Heb. ix. 14.--The אִם
+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 אשם, 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 τέκνον. Matt. ix. 2; and with special
+emphasis. His apostles as _little children_, τεκνία ἔτι μικρὸν μεθʼ
+ὑμῶν εἰμι, 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. חפץ
+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 חפץ here, at the close, evidently refers to the חפץ 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 מן in מעמל 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:  ἀπὸ του̂ πόνου τη̂ς ψυχη̂ς αὐτου̂. With יראה 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. בדעתו 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 ἀγάπη τοῦ θεοῦ 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 צדיק to הצדיק 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 דעת never means
+"doctrine." The explanation: "By His full, absolute knowledge of the
+divine counsel" (_Hävernick_), 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), הצדיק must not
+be translated "to convert," but to "justify." In favour of this
+translation is also the construction with ל, which is to be accounted
+for from a modification of the signification: "to bring righteousness."
+But it is specially the position of צדיק 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, משכילים, 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 משכילים of
+Daniel with the ישכיל 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._ _Hävernick_
+refers, for a comparison, to 1 Tim. iv. 16: "For, in doing this, thou
+shalt save both thyself and them that hear thee." עדיק must not be
+immediately connected with עבדי; for, in that case, it ought to have
+stood after it, and been qualified [Pg 306] by the article. On the
+contrary, עדיק 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, בגירה, her sister Judah." By thus making צדיק
+prominent, and connecting it immediately with הצדיק, 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 יזה, 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 יצדיק
+shows that we must translate as the LXX. do: καὶ τὰς ἁμαρτίας αὐτω̂ν
+αὐτὸς ἀνοίσει. 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 וסבל 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 חלק with ב cannot mean simply "to allot,"
+(although, indeed, this explanation is given by the LXX.;  διὰ του̂το
+αὐτὸς κληρονομήσει πολλοὺς; Vulg.: _ideo dispertiam ei plurimos_); it
+only signifies "to give a portion in," Job xxxix. 17. From the
+comparison with רבים 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 רבים here, too, cannot mean "mighty ones," but "many."
+Even elsewhere, the signification "great ones," "mighty ones," appears
+oftentimes to be only forced upon רבים. 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 את
+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 את commonly stands before qualified nouns only; and, farther
+from the corresponding; "with the transgressors." But what is
+conclusive is, that the phrase חלק שלל always means "to divide spoil,"
+never "to distribute as spoil," and that the phrase חלק שלל את גאים "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,"
+ערה 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." נמנה, "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 פשעים here, just as the רשעים 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: λέγω γὰρ ὑμῖν, ὅτι ἕτι τοῦτο τὸ
+γεγραμμένον δεῖ τελεσθῆναι ἐν ἐμοί, τό• καὶ μετὰ ἀνόμων ἐλογίσθη, καὶ
+γὰρ τὸ περὶ ἐμοῦ τέλος ἔχει; 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: πῶς οὖν
+πληρωθῶσιν αἱ γραφαὶ, ὅτι οὕτω δεῖ γενέσθαι; ver. 56, where, after
+having reproached the guards for having numbered Him with criminals: ὡς
+ἐπὶ λῃστὴν ἐξήλθετε μετὰ μαχαιρῶν καὶ ξύλων συλλαβεῖν με, He says to
+them: τοῦτο δὲ ὅλον γέγονεν ἵνα πληρωθῶσιν αἱ γραφαὶ τῶν προφητῶν..
+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 והוא,
+it is indicated that the subsequent words are no more to be viewed as
+depending on תחת אשר.--יפגיע 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 נשא must therefore
+be viewed as a _Praeteritum propheticum_. It corresponds with יסבל 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: ὃς καὶ ἐντυγχάνει ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν;
+Hebr. ix. 24, according to which passage Christ is entered into the
+holy places νῦν ἐμφανισθῆναι τῷ προσώπῳ τοῦ θεοῦ ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν; 1 John ii.
+1: παράκλητον ἔχομεν πρὸς τὸν πατέρα Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν δίκαιον.
+
+
+                           * * * * * * * * * *
+
+
+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._: יזיה, _quem aspergat_, _i.e._,
+_purificet et expiet Domimus_; _Gesenius_: _quod vix aliter explicari
+potest quam_: _quem consperget_, _i.e._, _expiabit Jehova._ _Fürst_
+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: οὕτω θαυμάσονται ἔθνη πολλὰ ἐπʼ αὐτῳ̂; 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 למו in Deut. xxxiii. 2 refers to Israel, not to
+God. In reference to the למו in Is. xliv. 15, _J. H. Michaelis_
+remarks: _iis talibus diis._ ver. 7. But the suffix rather refers to
+the trees, ver. 14; comp. מהם in ver. 15. If construed thus, the sense
+is much more expressive. In Job xxii. 2, משכיל 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 § 247 d.]
+
+[Footnote 8: Thus _Bähr_, _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 נפש which is connected with it, which is in it, whose
+instrument and bearer it is, which gives to it atoning power. The נפש
+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 נפש in the sacrificial
+blood, is, according to this passage, the נפש 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: הא
+יצלח עבדי משיהא "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: הֵנִּה יַשְֹכִּיל עַבְדִּי (ed. Cracov. f. 53, c.
+3, l. 7): המשיח ירום וגבה ונשא מאוד ורים מן אברהם ונשא ממשה וגדה מן
+מלאכי השרת זה מלך ("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_
+(אבקת רוכל, 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 חיוורא "_the leper_," and, in
+proof, ver. 4 is quoted according to the erroneous interpretation of
+נגוע 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 (משיח סובל
+עונות ישראל)." 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; _Auszüge 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 עבד יהוה 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_ (ספר נצחון, 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 עבד יהוה, the pious portion only
+of the people who remained faithful to Jehovah; but this makes no
+material difference, inasmuch as they, too, contrast the עבד יהוה 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 עבד יהוה 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 עין
+יעקב or עין ישראל, 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, Göttingen 1794); by _Stephani_
+(_Gedanken über die Entstehung u. Ausbildung der Idee von inem
+Messias_, _Nürnberg_ 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 _Rosenmüller_ (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 _Köster_ (_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. Beiträge_, [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 Cölln_ 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: _Ausführliche Erklärung der sämmtlichen
+Weissagungen des A. T._ 1801.
+
+(_e._) The hypothesis which makes the collective body of the prophets
+the subject, was first advanced by _Rosenmüller_ 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 יזה גוים, 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, (_Stäudlin_), 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_, Tübingen,
+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); _Krüger_, _Comment. de Jes. liii., interpret_; _Jahn_,
+_Append. ad Hermen. fasc ii._; _Steudel_, [Pg 327] _Observ. ad Jes.
+liii._, _Tübingen_ 1825, 26; _Sack_, in the _Apologetik_; _Reinke_,
+_exegesis in Jes. liii._, Münster 1836; _Tholuck_, in his work: _Das A.
+T. in N. T._; _Hävernick_, 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 משיחא ויתגלי "_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 יפתח in ver. 7, תשים in ver. 10, and, according to the
+explanations of _Gesenius_ and others, also יפגיע in ver. 12 while, on
+the other hand, he sometimes speaks of the glorification in the
+Preterite.[1] Compare לקח in ver. 8, נשא 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: ἐκστήσονται--ἀδοξήσει; _Aqui._ and _Theod._,
+ver. 2, ἀναβήσεται.--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 κατʼ ἐξοχήν 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: ἴδε ὁ ἀμνὸς τοῦ θεοῦ ὁ
+αἴρων τῆν ἁμαρτίαν τοῦ κόσμου. 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 ἀμνὸς: "The
+article looks back to the prophecy which was given concerning Him under
+this figure, in Is. liii. 7." As regards θεοῦ, compare ver. 10: "It
+pleased the Lord painfully to crush Him," and ver. 2: "Before Him;" as
+regards ὁ αἴρων, &c. comp. ver. 4, rendered by the LXX.: οὗ̂τος τὰς
+ἁμαρτίας ἡμω̂ν φέρει; 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
+(τὰ περὶ ἐμοῦ τέλος ἔχει), 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: πῶς γέγραπται ἐπὶ τὸν
+υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, ἵνα πολλὰ πάθῃ καὶ ἐξουδενηθῇ, 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," נבזה, which, by _Symmachus_
+and _Theodotian_ is rendered by ἐξουδενωμένος, 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 (יזה), liii. 10
+(אשם), and ver. 12: "He bears the sins of many," (compare Levit. xvi.
+21, 22; _Michaelis_: "_Ut typice hircus pro Israëlitis_") 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. _Rosenmüller_
+(_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 נביא, 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 איש; 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 בהם refers rather to the משכילים
+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: πάντας ὑφʼ ἁμαρτίαν εἶναι, 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. _Rosenmüller_ 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 עמי 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 κατακυριεύοντες τῶν κληρων, 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: ἐάν τις διψᾷ ἐρχέσθω πρός με καὶ πινέτω, where the πρός με 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: ἐγὼ τῷ διψῶντι δώσω ἐκ τῆς πηγῆς τοῦ ὕδατος τῆς ζωῆς δωρεάν.
+Similarly in Rev. xxii. 17: καὶ ὁ διψῶν ἐρχέσθω, ὁ θέλων λαβέτω ὕδωρ
+ζωῆς δωρεάν. In a somewhat more distant relation to the words before
+us, but yet undeniably depending upon them, is John iv. 10: σὺ ἂν
+ᾔτησας αὐτὸν καὶ ἔδωκεν ἄν σοι ὕδωρ ζῶν. Vers. 13, 14: πᾶς ὁ πίνων ἐκ
+τοῦ ὕδατος τούτου διψήσει πάλιν• ὃς δʼ ἂν πίῃ ἐκ τοῦ ὕδατος, οὗ ἐγὼ
+δώσω αὐτῷ οὐ μὴ διψήσῃ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα. And so does, in another aspect.
+Matt. xi. 28: δεῦτε πρός με οἱ κοπιῶντες καὶ πεφορτισμένοι κᾀγὼ
+ἀναπαύσω ὑμᾶς, which, however, has still nearer points of resemblance
+to ver. 3; for δεῦτε πρός με corresponds to לכו אלי in that verse; the
+words κᾀγὼ ἀναπαύσω ὑμᾶς, 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 κοπιῶντες καὶ πεφορτισμένοι 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: μακάριοι οἱ
+πεινῶντες καὶ διψῶντες τὴν δικαιοσύνην comes into a close relation to
+our passage, as soon as it is recognized that δικαιοσύνην 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._" שבר "to break," is used of the appeasing of thirst (comp.
+Ps. civ. 11), and hunger (comp. Gen. xlii. 19); and corn is called שֶׁבֶר
+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 שֶׁבֶר, 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
+שברו alludes; and from this circumstance also the fact is to be
+explained, that it is first used in reference to food; comp. שברו ואכלו
+in our verse, with שבר אכל 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: ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ἄρτος τῆς
+ζωῆς• ὁ ἐρχόμενος πρὸς με οὐ μὴ πεινάσῃ (שברו) καὶ ὁ πιστεύων εἰς ἐμὲ
+οὐ μὴ διψήσῃ πώποτε. Ver. 55: ἡ γὰρ σάρξ μου ἀληθῶς ἐστι βρῶσις, καὶ τὸ
+αἷμά μου ἀληθῶς ἐστι πόσις. From the sequel (comp. vers. 6, 7), it
+appears that the thrice repeated _coming_ and the _buying_ are
+accomplished by true repentance, the μετάνοια, which is the
+indispensable condition of the participation in the salvation. In John
+vi. 35, the words: ὁ ἐρχόμενος πρὸς με are explained by: ὁ πιστεύων εἰς
+ἐμὲ. 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. כרת
+ברית 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 ל, 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_, אכרתה 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 (נאמן) 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: ὅτι δὲ
+ἀνέστησεν αὐτὸν ἐκ νεκρῶν, μηκέτι μέλλοντα ὑποστρέφειν εἰς διαφθοράν
+οὕτως, εἴρηκεν · ὅτι δώσω ὑμῖν τὰ ὅσια Δαυὶδ τὰ πιστά. Ὅσια Δαυὶδ,
+_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 נתתיו 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. עד 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, α μὴ
+ἑώρακεν ἐμβατεύων, 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 עד 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
+עד is never applied to him, it is just the subsequent נגיד 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 נגיד, 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, נגיד 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, נאמנים 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 _naïve_ that _Knobel_, after having endeavoured to explain עב 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. יען 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 משח 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 ענוים are the πρᾳεῖς in Matt. v. 5; עני and ענו are
+never confounded with one another. The LXX., whom Luke follows, have
+πτωχοῖς. 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 ענוים, 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 קרא דרור 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 פקחקוח, 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 פקח occurs, with especial frequency, of
+the opening of the eyes, translate: καὶ τυφλοι̂ς ἀνάβλεψιν. 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: ἀποστεῖλαι τεθραυσμένους ἐν ἀφέσει, 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 שום and
+נתן 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
+שום is understood in the sense, "to put upon," or, "to put on," that
+there is a sufficient reason for adding נתן; but that is not the case
+when it is taken in the signification "to grant," "to appoint." פאר
+"crown," and אפר "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. עתר 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 בהם 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.
+כי 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 _resumé_ 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 כי
+אנכי בעלתי אתכם, 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
+בעל 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 בעל 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 בעל, 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, בעלונו אדונים זולתיך, 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 בעל is completed. And, finally, it is
+seen from the Arabic, where the wife is also called, בעלה, [Arabic:
+**], just as the husband is called בעל, [Arabic: **].--It is farther
+obvious that, in the frequent compositions of בַּעַל 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._, בעל
+חלמות, _the dreamer_, בעל אף, _the angry one_, בעל נפש, _the covetous
+one_, בעל מזמזת, _the deceitful one_, בעלי עיר _oppidani_, בעלי ברית,
+_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: **], בעל, 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 עליה _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, בעל with
+על 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 בעל 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 כי not so much to בעלתי, as
+rather to לקהתי: "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 כי 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_. לקחתי and בעלתי 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
+בעל, in the signification "to take in marriage" is construed with the
+Accusative only, is of no weight. In a manner altogether similar, זכר,
+which else is connected with the simple Accusative, is, in ver. 16,
+followed by the Preposition ב. בעל with ב 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: ἀμεταμέλητα τὰ
+χαρίσματα καὶ ἡ κλῆσις τοῦ θεοῦ, 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 punishment 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 ἐπιτυγχάνειν of the ἐκλογή
+(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 δωδεκάφυλον, 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 כלבי 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.--דֵּעָה and הַשְׂכֵּיל
+stand adverbially. הִשְכִּיל "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 השכיל 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 fœderis 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 אמר with the Accusative should mean "to speak of
+something?"--עלה על־לב is, in a similar context, just as it is here,
+connected with זכר 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. זכר with ב
+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. פקד 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 כַּפּרֶת 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_, _Rosenmüller_, and _Bähr_,
+(_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 πτωχὰ στοιχεῖα, 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, נבוכו כל המפרשים "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, § 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 δόξα (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: καὶ ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο
+καὶ ἐσκήνωσεν ἐν ἡμῖν, καὶ ἐθεασάμεθα τὴν δόξαν αὐτοῦ, δόξαν ὡς
+μονογενοῦς παρὰ πατρός; 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 πνεῦμα Χριστοῦ must not be separated from the
+personal manifestation of God in Christ, in whom dwelt the fulness of
+the Godhead bodily, σωματικῶς. 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 σκιὰ τῶν μελλόντων, τὸ δὲ σῶμα Χριστοῦ, Col.
+ii. 17; comp. Rev. xxi. 22: καὶ ναὸν οὐκ εἶδον ἐν αὐτῇ· ὁ γὰρ Κύριος, ὁ
+Θεὸς ὁ παντοκράτωρ ναὸς αὐτῆς ἐστι, καὶ τὸ ἀρνίον. 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:
+προσερχώμεθα δὲ μετὰ παῤῥησίας τῷ θρόνῳ τῆς χάριτος, 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 (לשם) 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."--לשם
+יהוה לירושלים 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 θεὸς
+ἄγνωστος, 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 שרירות occurs, the covenant-people are
+spoken of; everywhere the walking after שרירות of the heart is opposed
+to the walking after the revealed law of Jehovah, which Israel alone
+possessed. שרירות, which properly means "firmness," is then used of
+hardness in sin, of wickedness.[5]
+
+
+
+[Footnote 1: _Vitringa_ very correctly remarks on this passage: "בעל,
+properly ὁ ἔχων, he who has any thing in his possession is, by an
+ellipsis, applied to the husband who, in Exod. xxi. 3, is rightly
+called בעל אשה _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 בעל never means "to be Lord," far less "to take under protection."
+בעל, 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: _Bähr_ 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 _Bähr_ has been given by _W. Neumann_: _Beiträge zur Symbolik des
+Mos. Cultus_, _Zeitschr. f. Luth. Theol._, 1851, i.]
+
+[Footnote 5: In a certain sense, one may say that שרירות לב is a ἅπαξ
+λεγόμενον. 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 שרירות 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. _Küper_ (_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 _Fürst_
+(comp. _Ewald_ § 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 (והקימתי) thy seed after thee, which
+shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish (והכינתי) 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 י, the sign of the Future, he might cut off hope; a
+Jeconiah without the י 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_ § 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 רֹעִים 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") צאן מרעיתי must not be explained by: "the flock of my
+feeding," _i.e._, which I feed. For, wherever מרעית 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 צאן,
+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 לא פקדתם 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 רע מעללים occurs, which, in later
+times, had become obsolete; compare chap. iv. 4 and xxi. 12 (in both of
+these passages מפני, 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 לכן 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 ἐκλογή
+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 πᾶς in Paul, which must
+just be interpreted and qualified by the contrast to the _small_
+ἐκλογή, 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.
+פקד must be taken in the signification "to be missing," "lacking."
+(Compare the Remarks on chap. iii. 16.) There is an allusion to לא
+פקדתם 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 (פקד עליכם); 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 צמח, compare Isa. iv. 2, and the passages of Zechariah there
+quoted, צדיק 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 מֶלֶךְ must not be
+overlooked. It shows that מָלַךְ, 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 השכיל, 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
+השכיל 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 (ויושע) to David in all his ways." But if השכיל,
+wherever it occurs of David, must be taken in this sense, then the LXX.
+are right also in translating Is. lii. 13 by συνήσει: for, in that
+passage, just as in the verse under consideration, David is referred to
+as the type of the Messiah. The phrase עשה משפט וצדקה 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. עשה must rather be explained by
+"to work," "to establish." משפט is here, as everywhere else, the
+objective right and justice; צדקה, 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: אתן אמר יי ואקים הא יומיא לדוד משיח דצדקה
+"Behold the days shall come, and I will raise up to David the righteous
+Messiah, (not דצדקיא '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 Ἰωσεδέκ of the following verse in the Alexandrian
+version (καὶ τοῦτο τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ, ὃ καλέσει αὐτὸν κύριος, Ἰωσεδέκ). 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 צדיק ונושע
+"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 (וישכן ישראל בטח),
+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 תושע has there its analogy in ver. 29: [Pg
+417] "Happy art thou, O Israel, who is like unto thee, a people saved
+(נֹושַׁע) 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 יִקְרְאוֹ 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. יִקְרְאוּ. 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," יִקְרְאוּ, as we read it, but "he shall call him,"
+יִקְרְאוֹ; 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 יִקְרְאוֹ 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 יהוה צדקנו to be the name of the Messiah. The reading
+יִקְרְאוּ 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
+gewöhnlichen_ [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 יִקְרְאוֹ. 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 יִקְרְאוּ 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 וֹ
+instead of the common ־ֵהוּ--But from internal reasons, too, the reading
+יִקְרְאוּ 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 יִקְרְאוֹ 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
+יהוה צדקנו. 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 יהוה צדקנו 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 ספר עקרים (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 אל
+אלהי ישראל. _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;" אל
+אלהי ישראל 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_ לה = לו, "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 יקרא 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 אשר 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 צדקנו, "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 צדיק
+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 וּמָלַךְ מֶלֶךְ וְהִשְׂכִּיל) 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.--חי־יהוה "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 _Rosenmüller_, 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 _Küper_, 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 אחרית הימים. 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 גבר
+and נקבה are a designation of the sex; the fact that the woman brings
+forth the man (since גבר 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_, _Rosenmüller_, _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
+surrefender, which alone, being the only natural relation, can be
+productive of happiness! In favour of this explanation is also the
+clear reference of תסובב to תתחמקין, and to השובבה, 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 יום, "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 ברית "does not
+only signify a covenant entered upon by two or several parties, but
+also πρόθεσιν, _propositum Dei_, ἐπαγγελίας, His gratuitous and
+unconditional promises, as well as His constant ordinances?" That might
+after all be objectionable. כרת ברית 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 כרת ברית 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; λέγω δε--so the Apostle
+writes in Rom. xv. 8--Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν διάκονον γεγενῆσθαι περιτομῆς ὑπὲρ
+ἀληθείας θεοῦ εἰς τὸ βεβαιῶσαι τὰς ἐπαγγελίας τῶν πατέρων· τὰ δε ἔθνη
+ὑπὲρ ἐλέους δοξάσαι τὸν θεόν. 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: ἐν τῷ λέγειν· Καινὴν, πεπαλαίωκε τὴν
+πρώτην• τὸ δὲ παλαιούμενον καὶ γηράσκον, ἐγγὺς ἀφανισμοῦ), is, in
+substance, the realization of the Old. These remarks are in perfect
+harmony with that which was formerly said concerning the meaning of כרת
+ברית. 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 אשר by "_quia_," which is found with most expositors,
+is of less consequence. אשר 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, אשר 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 בעלתי. By far the greater
+number of interpreters understand this _sensu malo_; the ancient
+interpreters in doing so refer to the words κᾳγὼ ἠμέλησα αὐτῶν, (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
+בעל 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, ἠμέλησα αὐτῶν, _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 געלתי, and
+_Grotius_, who would read בהלתי.[3] The signification "to betroth
+onesself," "to [Pg 435] take in marriage," which in that passage we
+vindicated for בעל with ב, is, here too, quite applicable; comp. Jer.
+ii. 1. This signification the Chaldee Paraphrast too seems to have had
+in view; for he translates אתרעיתי "_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: εἰ γὰρ ἡ πρώτη ἐκείνη ἦν ἄμεμπτος, οὐκ ἂν δευτέρας
+ἐζητεῖτο τόπος (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:
+μεμφόμενος γὰρ αὐτοῖς λέγει, in Heb. viii. 8, which by _De Wette_ and
+_Bleek_ are erroneously translated: "For reprovingly He says to them."
+The Dative αὐτοῖς belongs to μεμφόμενος (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 ἥτις ἐπὶ
+κρείττοσιν ἐπαγγελίαις νενομοθέτηται, 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. המה and אנכי 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._"
+
+כי 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. ההם 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 באחרית
+הימים "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 כי, in ver. 34: "_For_ I
+will forgive their sin," proves the correctness of this division, which
+is also pointed out by the _Athnach_.--תורה is, by many interpreters,
+here understood to signify "doctrine." Thus _Buddeus_: "By the word
+תורה, the whole New Testament doctrine is to be understood." This
+interpretation, however, is objectionable, and destructive of the
+sense, תורה 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 ἀνακαινίζειν
+εἰς μετάνοιαν. 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 _naïve_, 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 θεοδίδακτοι, 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: Καὶ ὑμεῖς χρῖσμα ἔχετε ἀπὸ τοῦ ἁγίου, καὶ οἴδατε πάντα. Οὐκ ἔγραψα
+ὑμῖν, ὅτι οὐκ οἴδατε τὴν ἀληθείαν, ἀλλ' ὅτι οἴδατε αὐτήν. Ver. 27: Καὶ
+ὑμεῖς τὸ χρῖσμα, ὃ ἐλάβατε ἀπ' αὐτοῦ, ἐν ὑμῖν, μένει καὶ οὐ χρείαν
+ἔχετε, ἵνα τις διδάσκῃ ὑμᾶς, ἀλλ' ὡς τὸ αὐτὸ χρῖσμα διδάσκει ὑμᾶς περὶ
+πάντων κ. τ. λ. The διδάσκειν 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 παρὰκλητος, 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 χαρίσματα, 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 θεοδίδακτοι; 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 כי be referred only to that which
+immediately precedes, or to every thing which goes before (_Venema_:
+_vocala_ כי _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 πληροφορία"--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 καιροὶ ἀναψύξεως 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
+(עמי) that they should be still a nation (גוי) before them" it appears
+why it is that גוי is here used, and not עם. 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 Α and Ω; 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 ימים, the _Keri_ inserts באים. 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 נגדו refers to the Corner-gate; the measuring line, קֶוֶה
+according to the _Kethibh_, קו הַּמִּדָּה, 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. על "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, גרב 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. § 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: Καὶ οὐ μὴ εἰσέλθῃ εἰς αὐτὴν [Pg 453] πᾶν
+κοινὸν καὶ ποιοῦν βδέλυγμα καὶ ψεῦδος, and by Paul, in Ephes. v. 5:
+τοῦτο γὰρ ἴστε γινώσκοντες, ὅτι πᾶς πόρνος, ἢ ἀκάθαρτος, ἢ πλεονέκτης
+... οὐκ ἔχει κληρονομίαν ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ Θεοῦ; 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 געה "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 גָוַע, just as שׁוֹעַ is derived from שָׁוַע, a derivation
+which was first proposed by _Hiller_, S. 127. גוע 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, גל גועתה
+might perhaps be identical with Golgotha, but retracted it, because the
+Evangelists explain Golgotha by κρανίου τόπος. 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 πάσχα, from
+πάσχειν, 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, פגר, פגרים 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 פגרים 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 פגרים 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 העמק 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 κατʼ
+ἐξοχήν, 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 דּשׁן,
+_Gousset_ Lex. p. 368, remarks: "The words דֶּשֶׁן, and דִּשֵׁן 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 דֶּשֶׁן and דִּשֵׁן 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 שארית, 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 שְׁרמוֹת unto the
+brook Kidron" are identical with the fields of Kidron, שַׁדְמוֹת קִדִרוֹן,
+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 שְׁרמוֹת is identical with שְׁדֵמוֹת. 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 ד
+and ר; but these exchanges are always significant. (Compare _Küper_.
+Jerem. p. xiv. and 43, and _History of Balaam_, p. 447 f.) Although we
+cannot, with certainty, fix the meaning of שרמות, 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 הר המשחית 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: **] in Arabic run together
+in that of _cutting off_. שַׁדְמוֹת the Plural of the Feminine of the
+Adjective שָׁרֵמ are, accordingly, _loca abscissa_, places which are cut
+off and excluded [from the Holy City] outwardly (_Aq._: προάσπεια),
+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, קדש.
+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.--קדש ליהוה 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 בעל _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 בעל 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: "גל 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 κρανίου τόπος,
+"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 קום) 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 אל and על 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 הקימותי, the more suitable אצמיח 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 לא יכרת, "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 תפרו 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."--היום and הלילה are appositions to: My covenant. The day and night
+in their regular succession are the covenant which is here spoken of
+The phrase יומם ולילה, which signifies "by day and night," "daily and
+nightly," stands here for: _tempus diurnum et nocturnum_. "The
+covenant," ברית, 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, ממלכת כהנים."[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: ὑμεῖς δὲ γένος ἐκλεκτόν, βασίλειον ἱεράτευμα
+κ.τ.λ. 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: καὶ ἐποίησας αὐτοὺς τῷ θεῷ ἡμῶν βασιλεῖς καὶ ἱερεῖς, καὶ
+βασιλεύσουσιν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς 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: καὶ ἐποίησεν ἡμᾶς βασιλείαν, ἱερεῖς τῷ
+θεῷ καὶ πατρὶ αὑτοῦ, stand in close connection to ὁ ἄρχων τῶν βασιλέων
+τῆς γῆς, and to καί λύσαντι ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ τῶν ἁμρτιῶν ἡμῶν ἐν τῷ αἵματι
+αὑτοῦ.
+
+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 תפרו 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
+ἀμεταμέλητα τὰ χαρίσματα καὶ ἡ κλῆσις τοῦ θεοῦ, 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 משלים 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 _Küper_, 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 Predict, by Ernst Hengstenberg
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diff --git a/30608-0.zip b/30608-0.zip
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+++ b/30608-0.zip
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+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: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** 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 � and omega as �.
+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: phob�th�men oun m�pote
+kataleipomen�s epangelias ... dok� tis ex hum�n huster�kenai.] 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: �ngike h�
+basileia t�n ouran�n] 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 Erf�llung._ 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 h�m�n], _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 hagi� 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 pon�ron ex hum�n aut�n], 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 C�sar,'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 arn�setai h�mas. ei apistoumen, ekeinos pistos
+menei--arn�sasthai 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 hor�ntos �n ta ginomena
+kai phantazomenou kai poll�n echontos huper t�n eir�men�n pl�rophorian,
+t�n gar h�meter�n ophthalm�n ekeinoi saphesteron ta m� hor�mena
+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" (_Rosenm�ller_) 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 _Iren�nus_, _Chrysostom_, _Basil_, and, in our century,
+_Kleuker_ and _Rosenm�ller_ 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. _Rosenm�ller_ 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 �ber 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, T�bingen, 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_, _St�helin_, 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 _Pl�schke_ 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.
+_Pl�schke_, 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_, _Bl�tter f�r h�here 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: h� 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 I�ann�s paredoth�, anech�r�sen eis t�n
+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: anach�rein]
+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 katalip�n t�n Nazaret]--it is said in ver. 13--[Greek: elth�n
+kat�k�sen eis Kapernaoum t�n parathalassian, en horiois Zaboul�n 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: t�n parathalassian]
+stands in reference to [Greek: hodon thalass�s], 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: g�
+Zaboul�n 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 pl�r�th�] 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
+pl�r�th�] 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: anech�r�sen eis t�n 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 thalass�s] 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: g�--t�n ethn�n]
+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: m� phobeisthe, idou
+gar euangelizomai humin charan megal�n h�tis estai panti t� la� hoti
+etechth� humin s�meron s�t�r, 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, eg� nenik�ka 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: hout� gar �gap�sen ho theos ton kosmon]
+("The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this,") vers. 6 [7],
+[Greek: h�ste ton huion autou ton monogen� ed�ken].--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: edoth� 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: thaumast�s bouleu�n]) 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_, � 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_ � 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. � 6), by
+Rabbi _Jose Galilaeus_ in the book _Ekha Rabbati_, a Commentary on
+Lamentations (see _Raim. Matt._ iii. 3 chap. 4, � 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 elth�n kat�k�sen eis polin legomen�n Nazaret. hop�s
+pl�r�th� to rh�then dia t�n proph�t�n, hoti Naz�raios kl�th�setai.]
+
+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: Naz�raios]
+and [Greek: Nazar�nos] 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 rh�then dia t�n proph�t�n] 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 Naz�raios kl�th�stai], 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_, _Beitr�ge 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 kl�th�setai] 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
+kl�th�setai] 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 h�sei 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 agap�tos
+en h� eudok�sa]. But a reference to the passage before us we meet most
+decidedly in John i. 32, 33: [Greek: Tetheamai to pneuma katabainon
+h�sei peristeran ex ouranou, kai emeinen ep'auton. Kag� ouk �dein
+auton. all'ho pempsas me baptizein en hudati, ekeinos moi eipen. eph'hon
+an id�s to pneuma katabainon kai menon ep'auton, houtos estin ho
+baptiz�n en pneumati hagi�]. 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 �phth�san autois diamerizomenai gl�ssai h�sei puros,
+ekathise te eph'hena hekaston aut�n]; comp. 1 Pet. iv. 14: [Greek:
+hote to t�s dox�s 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 I�sous, ouk episteuen heaut�n
+autois, dia to auton gin�skein pantas, kai hoti ou chreian eichen hina
+tis martur�s� peri tou anthr�pou. autos gar egin�ske ti �n hen
+anthr�p�.] Farther--chap. xxi. 17 where Peter says to Christ: [Greek:
+Kurie su panta oidas. su gin�skeis hoti phil� 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: akou�n de Ananias tous logous toutous pes�n 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:
+er�molaos], 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 I�sous anal�sei t� 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'aut� ethn�
+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
+sunagag� 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 Erf�llung._, 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: Naz�raios] 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 skl�roi]. 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: h� s�t�ria ek t�n Ioudai�n 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
+_H�vernick_ 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 h�meis humin ta pneumatika
+espeiramen, mega, ei �meis hum�n 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: leg� de humin hoti polloi apo anatol�n kai dusm�n
+h�xousi kai anaklith�sontai meta Abraam kai Isaak kai Iak�b en t�
+basileia t�n ouran�n]; 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 h� graph�. pas ho pisteu�n ep'aut� ou
+kataischunth�setai.] In chap. ix. ver. 3, we have chap. viii. 14, and
+the passage under consideration blended in a remarkable manner: [Greek:
+idou tith�mi en Si�n lithon prokommatos kai petran skandalou. kai pas
+ho pisteu�n ep'aut� ou kataischunth�setai], 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 t� graph�: idou tith�mi en Si�n lithon
+akrog�niaion, eklekton, entimon, kai ho pisteu�n ep'aut� ou m�
+kataischunth�. humin houn h� tim� tois pisteuousin. apeithousi de
+lithon hon apedokimasan hoi oikodomountes, houtos egen�th� eis kephal�n
+g�nias, 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: h�ste
+tous ochlous thaumasai blepontas k�phous laloutas, kullous hugieis,
+ch�lous peripatountas kai tuphlous blepontas]; xxi. 14; [Greek: kai
+pros�lthon aut� tuphloi kai ch�loi en t� hier� kai etherapeusen
+autous]; Mark vii. 37, where after the healing of the deaf and dumb,
+the people say: [Greek: kal�s panta pepoi�ke. kai tous k�phous 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 est� kai
+periepatei, kai eis�lthe sun autois eis to hieron, peripat�n kai
+allomenos kai ain�n ton theon]; farther. Acts viii. 7: [Greek: polloi
+de paralelumenoi kai ch�loi etherapeuth�san]; 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 pros�nechth� aut� daimonzomenos, tuphlos kai
+k�phos. kai etherapeusen auton, h�ste ton tuphlon kai k�phon 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. R�ckert_, 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 _Beitr�ge 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. _M�nter_, _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. _B�rnouf_ and others
+in _H�vernick'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 _H�vernick'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. � 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_, _�ber 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 _K�nigsberg_ 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: eklog�]);
+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 _K�per_ 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: ph�s
+eis apokalupsin ethn�n], 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 s�t�rion sou ho
+h�toimasas kata pros�pon pant�n t�n la�n], 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
+agap�tos, en h� eudok�sa], 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 agap�tos, en h� eudok�sa. 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 I�soun], 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 [Isra�l] kai en soi eudoxasth�somai]). And so likewise
+in Acts iii. 26; iv. 27: [Greek: epi ton hagion paida sou I�soun, 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:
+morph�n doulou lab�n] 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
+etelei�sa, ho ded�kas moi hina poi�s�], 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:
+hupako�], [Greek: hupotag�], 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: Iak�b, ho pais mou, antil�psomai autou,
+Isra�l, ho eklektos mou, prosedexato auton h� psuch� 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 _K�ster_ 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 _K�ster_:
+"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_, _T�binger 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. M�ller_ 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'ezoch�n], 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
+aph�ke me monon ho Pat�r, hoti eg� ta aresta aut� poi� 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,
+hop�s auton apoles�sin]), in His not exciting against them the masses
+who were devoted to Him, but in withdrawing from them ([Greek: ho de
+I�sous gnous anech�r�sen 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 epetim�sen
+autois hina m� phan�ron auton poi�s�sin], 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: pt�choi],
+Matt. v. 3, of the [Greek: penthountes], ver. 4, and in Matt. xi. 28,
+the invitation of the [Greek: kopi�ntes 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: t� pneumati], "in their consciousness," which in Matthew is
+added to the simple [Greek: pt�choi], 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 al�theian]); 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: he�s an ekbal� eis nikos t�n krisin], "until He has led right
+to victory." By the addition of [Greek: he�s] 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 _K�ster_: "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: � genea apistos kai diestrammen�, he�s pote esomi meth'
+hum�n; he�s pote anexomai hum�n.]--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 thrauths�setai], 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: h�n hai diath�kai],
+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:
+diath�k�s 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: h� s�t�ria ek t�n Ioudai�n 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: s�t�rion] 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: ph�s eis apokalupsin ethn�n kai doxan laou sou Isra�l];
+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 ekl�th�
+to onoma autou I�sous, to kl�then hupo tou angelou pro tou
+sull�phth�nai auton en t� koilia] (comp. i. 31: [Greek: sull�ps� en
+gastri kai tex� huion kai kaleseis to onoma autou I�soun]) as is
+sufficiently evident from [Greek: en t� 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 ethn�. hout� gar entetaltai h�min ho
+Kurios. tetheika se eis ph�s ethn�n tou einai se eis s�t�rian he�s
+eschatou t�s g�s.] 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'exoch�n] 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: eklog�], 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 m�tros 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 I�soun. autos gar s�sei ton laon autou apo
+t�n hamarti�n aut�n], 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.) _H�vernick_ 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 ane�gota, kai tous
+angelous tou theou anabainontas kai katabainontas epi ton huion tou
+anthr�pou.] 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: el�luthen h� h�ra hina
+doxasth� ho huios tou anthr�pou]; 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 apestal�n ei m� eis ta probata ta apol�lota oikou Isra�l.]
+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
+apol�lota oikou Isra�l.] Paul and Barnabas say, in Acts xiii. 46:
+[Greek: humin �n anankaion pr�ton lal�th�nai ton logon tou Theou.
+epeid� de ap�theisthe auton kai ouk axious krinete heautous t�s ai�niou
+z��s, idou strephometha eis ta ethn�.] 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: hIerousal�m ... posakis
+�thel�sa epi sunagagein ta tekna sou hon tropon episunagei ornis ta
+nossia heaut�s hupo tas pterugas kai ouk �thel�sate]; comp. also Matt.
+ix. 36: [Greek: id�n de tous ochlous esplanchnisthe peri aut�n hoti
+�san eskulmenoi kai erhrimmenoi h�sei probata m� 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 peritom�s huper al�theias theou eis to bebai�sai tas
+epangelias t�n pater�n], Rom. xv. 8; but still more, because He himself
+is the concentration of Israel (ver. 3), the [Greek: kephal� tou
+s�matos t�s ekkl�sias], 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" (_R�diger_: _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 aut� ho Pilatos. emoi ou
+laleis; ouk oidas hoti exousian ech� staur�sai se kai exousian ech�
+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 eblasph�moun auton k.t.l. homoi�s de kai hoi archiereis
+empaizontes meta t�n grammate�n kai presbuter�n elegon. allous es�sen
+k.t.l. to d'auto kai hoi l�stai hoi susaur�thentes aut� h�neidizon
+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: kair� dekt�], 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: paralab�n de
+tous d�deka eipe pros autous. idou anabainomen eis hIerosoluma kai
+telesth�setai panta ta gegrammena dia t�n proph�t�n t� hui� tou
+anthr�pou. paradoth�setai gar tois ethnesi kai empaichth�setai kai
+hubristh�setai kai emptusth�setai kai mastig�santes 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: mastig�santes], LXX. [Greek: eis mastigas]), and my cheeks to
+those plucking ( [Greek: empaichth�setai]--the plucking of the beard,
+an act of degrading wantonness), my face I hid not from shame ( [Greek:
+hubristh�setai]) 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 pros�pon autou kai ekolaphisan
+auton. hOi de erhrapisan legontes. proph�teuson h�min, christe, tis
+estin ho paisas se]; xxvii. 30: [Greek: kai emptusantes eis auton
+elabon ton kalamon kai etupton eis t�n kephal�n 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: kag� ha �kousa par'autou tauta lal�
+eis ton kosmon], comp. iii. 34: [Greek: hon gar apesteilen ho theos ta
+rh�mata tou theou lalei.] The verb [Hebrew: smK], which occurs only
+here, means, according to the Arabic, "to help," "to support;"
+_Aquila_: [Greek: hupost�risai], 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: pl�n ouch h�s eg� thel� all'h�s
+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 t� sumpl�rousthai tas
+h�meras t�s anal�pse�s autou, kai autos to pros�pon autou est�rixe tou
+poreuesthai eis hIerousal�m.]
+
+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: sun�sei];
+_Aquil. Sym._: [Greek: episth�monisth�setai]), 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. _H�vernick_ 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 I�sou Christou]. Farther, in
+Heb. x. 22: [Greek: erhrantismenoi tas kardias apo suneid�se�s
+pon�ras]; 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. _Schr�der observ. ad origin. Hebr._ c. viii. �
+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 _K�cher_--"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: taur�n kai trag�n kai
+spodos damale�s rhantizousa tous kekoin�menous hagiazei pros t�n t�s
+sarkos katharot�ta. mallon to haima tou Christou ... kathariei t�n
+suneid�sin h�m�n apo nekr�n erg�n eis to latreuein The� z�nti.] 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
+an�ngel� peri autou, opsontai, kai hoi ouk ak�koasi, sun�sousi], 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: Ako�] too, by
+which, in the New Testament, [Hebrew: wmveh] is rendered, has not at
+all the signification, "discourse," "preaching." [Greek: Ako�] in Rom.
+x. 16, 17, is not the preaching, but the hearing, as is shown by the
+[Greek: m� ouk �kousan] in ver. 18. The [Greek: ako�], according to
+ver. 17: [Greek: h� de ako� dia rh�matos Theou], is the passive to the
+active to the word of God. "Who believes our [Greek: ako�], our
+hearing," _i.e._, that which we hear, which is made known to us by the
+Word of God. In a passive sense, [Greek: ako�] 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 ako�s], is the word which they heard. That
+passage: [Greek: ouk �phel�sen ho logos t�s ako�s ekeinous, m�
+sunkekramenos t� 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 s�t�rian panti t� 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: h�s 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 kak�s echontas etherapeusen, hop�s pl�r�th� to rh�then dia
+�saiou tou proph�tou legontos. autos tas astheneias h�m�n 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 h�m�n pherei kai
+peri h�m�n 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 h�m�n autos an�nenken en t� s�mati
+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: etraumatisth�]. _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:
+dikai�thentes ek piste�s eir�n�n echomen pros ton Theo dia tou kuriou
+h�m�n I�sou 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: id�n de tous ochlous esplanchnisthe peri aut�n, hoti
+�san eskulmenoi kai erhrimenoi h�sei probata m� 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 �lthon, kleptai
+eisi kai l�stai.]--[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, pasch�n ouk
+�peilei, paredidou de t� krinonti dikai�s]; and likewise Matt. xxvii.
+12-14: [Greek: kai en t� kat�goreisthai auton hupo t�n archiere�n kai
+t�n presbuter�n ouen apekrinato. Tote legei aut� ho Pilatos. ouk
+akoueis posasou katamarturousi; kai ouk apekrith� aut� pros ouden hen
+rh�ma, h�ste thaumazein ton h�gemona 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: kag�
+hean hups�th� ek t�s g�s pantas helkus� 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: t�n
+genean autou tis di�g�setai.] 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: s�sei ton laon hautou apo t�n hamarti�n aut�n],
+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_ � 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, �
+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:
+anthr�pos 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 epoi�se.] 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 epoi�se oude heurethe
+dolos en t� 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: duskol�s plousios eiseleusetai eis t�n
+basileian t�n ouran�n.] 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
+etaph�], 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]; B�ttcher,
+[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 ai�niou heauton pros�nenken
+am�mon t� The�]; 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: eg� eimi
+ho poim�n ho kalos. ho poim�n ho kalos t�n chuch�n hautou tith�sin
+huper t�n probat�n.] Ver. 15: [Greek: kai t�n chuch�n mou tith�mi huper
+t�n probat�n.] Vers. 17, 18: [Greek: dia touto ho pat�r me agapa, hoti
+eg� tith�mi t�n psuch�n mou hina palin lab� aut�n. Oudeis airei aut�n
+ap'emou, all'eg� tith�mi aut�n ap'emautou. exousian ech� theinai
+aut�n, kai exousian ech� palin labein aut�n.] In John xv. 13: [Greek:
+meizona taut�s agap�n oudeis echei hina tis t�n psuch�n autou th� huper
+phil�n 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 _L�cke_ 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 t�n psuch�n
+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 t�n psuch�n hautou lutron anti poll�n], 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:
+hilast�rion], propitiation; 1 John ii. 2: [Greek: kai autos hilasmos
+esti peri t�n hamarti�n h�m�n], 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'hum�n 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 t�s psuch�s 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: agap�
+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" (_H�vernick_), 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._ _H�vernick_
+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 aut�n 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 kl�ronom�sei 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: leg� gar humin, hoti heti
+touto to gegrammenon dei telesth�nai en emoi, to. kai meta anom�n
+elogisth�, 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: p�s oun pl�r�th�sin hai graphai, hoti hout� dei genesthai];
+ver. 56, where, after having reproached the guards for having numbered
+Him with criminals: [Greek: h�s epi l�st�n ex�lthete meta machair�n kai
+xul�n sullabein me], He says to them: [Greek: touto de holon gegonen
+hina pl�r�th�sin hai graphai t�n proph�t�n]. 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 h�m�n]; Hebr.
+ix. 24, according to which passage Christ is entered into the holy
+places [Greek: nun emphanisth�nai t� pros�p� tou Theou huper h�m�n]; 1
+John ii. 1: [Greek: parakl�ton echomen pros ton patera I�soun 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._ _F�rst_
+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: hout� thaumasontai ethn� polla ep'aut�];
+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 � 247 d.]
+
+[Footnote 8: Thus _B�hr_, _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; _Ausz�ge 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, G�ttingen 1794); by _Stephani_
+(_Gedanken �ber die Entstehung u. Ausbildung der Idee von inem
+Messias_, _N�rnberg_ 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 _Rosenm�ller_ (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 _K�ster_ (_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. Beitr�ge_, [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 C�lln_ 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: _Ausf�hrliche Erkl�rung der s�mmtlichen
+Weissagungen des A. T._ 1801.
+
+(_e._) The hypothesis which makes the collective body of the prophets
+the subject, was first advanced by _Rosenm�ller_ 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, (_St�udlin_), 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_, T�bingen,
+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); _Kr�ger_, _Comment. de Jes. liii., interpret_; _Jahn_,
+_Append. ad Hermen. fasc ii._; _Steudel_, [Pg 327] _Observ. ad Jes.
+liii._, _T�bingen_ 1825, 26; _Sack_, in the _Apologetik_; _Reinke_,
+_exegesis in Jes. liii._, M�nster 1836; _Tholuck_, in his work: _Das A.
+T. in N. T._; _H�vernick_, 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:
+ekst�sontai--adox�sei]; _Aqui._ and _Theod._, ver. 2, [Greek:
+anab�setai].--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'exoch�n]
+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 air�n t�n 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 air�n], &c. comp. ver. 4, rendered by the LXX.: [Greek: houtos tas
+hamartias h�m�n 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: p�s gegraptai epi ton huion tou anthr�pou, hina polla path� kai
+exouden�th�], 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: exouden�menos], 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
+Isra�litis_") 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. _Rosenm�ller_ (_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. _Rosenm�ller_ 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 t�n kl�r�n], 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 erchesth� pros me kai pinet�], 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: eg� t� dips�nti d�s� ek
+t�s p�g�s tou hudatos t�s z��s d�rean]. Similarly in Rev. xxii. 17:
+[Greek: kai ho dips�n erchesth�, ho thel�n labet� hud�r z��s d�rean].
+In a somewhat more distant relation to the words before us, but yet
+undeniably depending upon them, is John iv. 10: [Greek: su an �t�sas
+auton kai ed�ken an soi hud�r z�n]. Vers. 13, 14: [Greek: pas ho pin�n
+ek tou hudatos toutou dips�sei palin. hos d'an pi� ek tou hudatos, hou
+eg� d�s� aut� ou m� dips�s� eis ton ai�na]. And so does, in another
+aspect. Matt. xi. 28: [Greek: deute pros me hoi kopi�ntes kai
+pephortismenoi kag� anapaus� 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: kag� anapaus�
+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:
+kopi�ntes 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 pein�ntes kai dips�ntes t�n dikaiosun�n] comes into a close
+relation to our passage, as soon as it is recognized that [Greek:
+dikaiosun�n] 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: eg� eimi ho artos t�s z��s. ho
+erchomenos pros me ou m� peinas�] [Hebrew: wbrv] [Greek: kai ho
+pisteu�n eis eme ou m� dips�s� p�pote]. Ver. 55: [Greek: h� gar
+sarx mou al�th�s esti br�sis, kai to hima mou al�th�s 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 pisteu�n 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 anest�sen auton ek nekr�n,
+m�keti mellonta hupostrephein eis diaphthoran hout�s, eir�ken. hoti
+d�s� 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 m� e�raken embateu�n], 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 _na�ve_ 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: pt�chois]. 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 _resum�_ 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: ametamel�ta ta
+charismata kai h� kl�sis 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: eklog�] (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:
+d�dekaphulon], 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_, _Rosenm�ller_, and
+_B�hr_, (_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: pt�cha 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, � 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 esk�n�sen en h�min, kai etheasametha t�n doxan autou,
+doxan h�s 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: s�matik�s]. 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 t�n
+mellont�n, to de s�ma Christou], Col. ii. 17; comp. Rev. xxi. 22:
+[Greek: kai naon ouk eidon en aut�. ho gar Kurios, ho Theos ho
+pantokrat�r naos aut�s 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:
+proserch�mtha de meta parhr�sias t� thron� t�s 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 agn�stos], 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 ech�n], 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: _B�hr_ 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 _B�hr_ has been given by _W. Neumann_: _Beitr�ge 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. _K�per_ (_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 _F�rst_
+(comp. _Ewald_ � 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_ � 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:
+eklog�] 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: eklog�], 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: sun�sei]: 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: I�sedek] of the following verse in the
+Alexandrian version ([Greek: kai touto to onoma autou, ho kalesei auton
+kurios, I�sedek]). 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 gew�hnlichen_ [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 _Rosenm�ller_, 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 _K�per_, 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_,
+_Rosenm�ller_, _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: leg� de]--so the
+Apostle writes in Rom. xv. 8--[Greek: I�soun Christon diakonon
+gegen�sthai peritom�s huper al�theias theou eis to bebai�sai tas
+epangelias t�n pater�n. ta de ethn� 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 t� legein. Kain�n, pepalai�ke t�n pr�t�n. to de
+palaioumenon kai g�raskon, 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: kag� �mel�sa aut�n], (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:
+�mel�sa aut�n], _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 h� pr�t� ekein� �n amemptos, ouk an
+deuteras ez�teito 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: h�tis epi kreittosin epangeliais
+nenomothet�tai], 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 _na�ve_, 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 t�n
+al�theian, all'hoti oidate aut�n.] Ver. 27: [Greek: Kai humeis to
+chrisma, ho elabete ap'autou, en humin, menei kai ou chreian echete,
+hina tis didask� humas, all'hos to auto chrisma didaskei humas peri
+pant�n 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:
+parakl�tos], 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: pl�rophoria]"--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 anapsuxe�s] 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: �]; 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. � 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 m� eiselth� eis aut�n] [Pg 453]
+[Greek: pan koinon kai poioun bdelugma kai pseudos], and by Paul, in
+Ephes. v. 5: [Greek: touto gar iste gin�skontes, hoti pas pornos, �
+akathartos, � pleonekt�s ... ouk echei kl�ronomian en t� 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' exoch�n], 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 _K�per_. 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 epoi�sas autous t� the� h�m�n
+basileis kai hiereis, kai basileusousin epi t�s g�s.] 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 epoi�sen h�mas basileian, hiereis t� the� kai patri
+hautou], stand in close connection to [Greek: ho arch�n t�n basile�n
+t�s g�s], and to [Greek: kai lusanti h�mas apo t�n hamarti�n h�m�n en
+t� 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:
+ametamel�ta ta charismata kai h� kl�sis 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 _K�per_, 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
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+<title>Christology of the Old Testament, and a Commentary on the Messianic
+Predictions. Vol. II.</title>
+<meta name="Author" content="Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg">
+<meta name="Publisher" content="T. & T. Clark">
+<meta name="Date" content="1861">
+<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1">
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+
+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: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHRISTOLOGY OF OLD TESTAMENT, V2 ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Charles Bowen, from images obtained from Google Books.
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+<p class="normal">Transcriber&#39;s Note: Images taken from the 1861 edition, found
+at http://Books.Google.com., is the source of the text used for this ebook.</p>
+<p class="normal">Unclear or missing punctuation marks were corrected by reference
+to the 1856 edition of this work.</p>
+
+<p class="continue"><span class="pagenum">[Pg i]</span></p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h1><span class="space">CLARK</span>&#39;S</h1>
+<br>
+<h2>FOREIGN</h2>
+<br>
+<h1>THEOLOGICAL LIBRARY</h1>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2>NEW SERIES.<br>
+VOL. IX.</h2>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2>Hengstenberg&#39;s Christology of the Old Testament.<br>
+VOL. II.</h2>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2>EDINBURGH:</h2>
+<h2>T. &amp; T. CLARK, 38, GEORGE STREET.</h2>
+<h3>LONDON: J. GLADDING; WARD AND CO.; AND JACKSON AND WALFORD.<br>
+DUBLIN: JOHN ROBERTSON.</h3>
+<hr class="W10">
+<h3>MDCCCLXI.</h3>
+<p class="continue"><span class="pagenum">[Pg ii]</span></p>
+<p class="continue">[Blank Page] </p>
+<p class="continue"><span class="pagenum">[Pg iii]</span></p>
+<h1><span class="space">CHRISTOLOGY</span></h1>
+<h4>OF</h4>
+<h1><span class="space">THE OLD TESTAMENT</span>,</h1>
+<h4>AND A</h4>
+<h2>COMMENTARY ON THE MESSIANIC PREDICTIONS</h2>
+<br>
+<h4>BY</h4>
+<h2>E. W. HENGSTENBERG,</h2>
+<h5>DR. AND PROF. OF THEOL. IN BERLIN.</h5>
+<br>
+<hr class="W20">
+<h3>SECOND EDITION GREATLY IMPROVED.</h3>
+<hr class="W20"><br>
+<h3>TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN</h3>
+<h5>BY</h5>
+<h2><span class="space">THE REV. THEOD. MEYER,</span></h2>
+<h5>HEBREW TUTOR IN THE NEW COLLEGE, EDINBURGH.</h5>
+<h2>VOL. II.</h2>
+<hr class="W20">
+<h2>EDINBURGH:</h2>
+<h2>T. &amp; T. CLARK, 38, GEORGE STREET.</h2>
+<h3>LONDON: HAMILTON, ADAMS, AND CO.; SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, AND CO.; WARD AND CO.;
+JACKSON AND WALFORD, ETC. DUBLIN: JOHN ROBERTSON, AND HODGES AND SMITH.</h3>
+<hr class="W10">
+<h3>MDCCCLXI.</h3>
+<p class="continue"><span class="pagenum">[Pg iv]</span></p>
+<h2>NOTICE.</h2>
+<h3><i>This Work is copyright in this country by arrangement with the Author.</i></h3>
+<p class="continue"><span class="pagenum">[Pg v]</span></p>
+<h2>LIST OF CONTENTS.</h2>
+<hr class="W20">
+<table cellpadding="0" class="page2">
+	<colgroup>
+		<col style="width:1em"><col style="width:1em"><col style="90%">
+		<col style="width:5%; vertical-align: top; text-align:right">
+	</colgroup>
+	<tr>
+		<td colspan="3"></td>
+		<td><span class="sc">Page</span></td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td colspan="4"><span class="sc">Messianic Predictions in the Prophets.</span></td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td></td>
+		<td colspan="3"><a name="div1Ref_1" href="#div1_1"><span class="sc">The
+		Prophet Isaiah.</span></a></td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td></td>
+		<td></td>
+		<td><a name="div2Ref_1" href="#div2_1">General Preliminary Remarks,</a></td>
+		<td>1</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td></td>
+		<td></td>
+		<td><a name="div2Ref_10" href="#div2_10">Chap. ii.-iv.--The Sprout of the
+		Lord,</a></td>
+		<td>10</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td></td>
+		<td></td>
+		<td><a name="div2Ref_26" href="#div2_26">Chap. vii.--Immanuel,</a></td>
+		<td>26</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td></td>
+		<td></td>
+		<td><a name="div2Ref_66" href="#div2_66">Chap. viii. 23-ix. 6--Unto us a
+		Child is born,</a></td>
+		<td>66</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td></td>
+		<td></td>
+		<td><a name="div2Ref_75" href="#div2_75">Chap. ix. 1-7,</a></td>
+		<td>75</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td></td>
+		<td></td>
+		<td><a name="div2Ref_94" href="#div2_94">Chap. xi., xii.--The Twig of Jesse,</a></td>
+		<td>94</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td></td>
+		<td></td>
+		<td><a name="div2Ref_106" href="#div2_106">On Matthew ii. 23,</a></td>
+		<td>106</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td></td>
+		<td></td>
+		<td><a name="div2Ref_133" href="#div2_133">Chap. xii.,</a></td>
+		<td>133</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td></td>
+		<td></td>
+		<td><a name="div2Ref_135" href="#div2_135">Chaps. xiii. 1-xiv. 27,</a></td>
+		<td>135</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td></td>
+		<td></td>
+		<td><a name="div2Ref_137" href="#div2_137">Chaps. xvii., xviii.,</a></td>
+		<td>137</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td></td>
+		<td></td>
+		<td><a name="div2Ref_141" href="#div2_141">Chap. xix.,</a></td>
+		<td>141</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td></td>
+		<td></td>
+		<td><a name="div2Ref_146" href="#div2_146">Chap. xxiii.--The Burden upon
+		Tyre,</a></td>
+		<td>146</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td></td>
+		<td></td>
+		<td><a name="div2Ref_149" href="#div2_149">Chaps. xxiv.-xxvii.,</a></td>
+		<td>149</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td></td>
+		<td></td>
+		<td><a name="div2Ref_154" href="#div2_154">Chaps. xxviii.-xxxiii.,</a></td>
+		<td>154</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td></td>
+		<td></td>
+		<td><a name="div2Ref_158" href="#div2_158">Chap. xxxv.,</a></td>
+		<td>158</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td></td>
+		<td></td>
+		<td><a name="div2Ref_163" href="#div2_163">General Preliminary Remarks on
+		Chaps, xl.-lxvi.,</a></td>
+		<td>163</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td></td>
+		<td></td>
+		<td><a name="div2Ref_196" href="#div2_196">Chap. xlii. 1-9,</a></td>
+		<td>196</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td></td>
+		<td></td>
+		<td><a name="div2Ref_226" href="#div2_226">Chap. xlix. 1-9</a>,</td>
+		<td>226</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td></td>
+		<td></td>
+		<td><a name="div2Ref_247" href="#div2_247">Chap. 1. 4-11,</a></td>
+		<td>246</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td></td>
+		<td></td>
+		<td><a name="div2Ref_257" href="#div2_257">Chap. li. 16,</a></td>
+		<td>256</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td></td>
+		<td></td>
+		<td><a name="div2Ref_260" href="#div2_260">Chaps. lii. 13-liii. 12,</a></td>
+		<td>259</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td></td>
+		<td></td>
+		<td colspan="2"><a name="div2Ref_311" href="#div2_311">I. History of the
+		Interpretation.</a></td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td></td>
+		<td></td>
+		<td><p style="margin-left:1em;">
+		<a name="div3Ref_311" href="#div3_311">A. With the Jews,</a></p></td>
+		<td>311</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td></td>
+		<td></td>
+		<td><p style="margin-left:1em;">
+		<a name="div3Ref_319" href="#div3_319">B. History of the Interpretation
+		with the Christians,</a></p></td>
+		<td>319</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td></td>
+		<td></td>
+		<td><a name="div2Ref_327" href="#div2_327">II. The Arguments against the
+		Messianic Interpretation,</a></td>
+		<td>327</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td></td>
+		<td></td>
+		<td><a name="div2Ref_330" href="#div2_330">III. The Arguments in favour
+		of the Messianic Interpretation,</a></td>
+		<td>330</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td></td>
+		<td></td>
+		<td><a name="div2Ref_334" href="#div2_334">IV. Examination of the Non-Messianic
+		Interpretation,</a></td>
+		<td>334</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td></td>
+		<td></td>
+		<td><a name="div2Ref_342" href="#div2_342">Chap. lv. 1-5,</a></td>
+		<td>343</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td></td>
+		<td></td>
+		<td><a name="div2Ref_351" href="#div2_351">Chap. lxi. 1-3,</a></td>
+		<td>351</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td></td>
+		<td colspan="2"><a name="div1Ref_356" href="#div1_356"><span class="sc">
+		The Prophet Zephaniah,</span></a></td>
+		<td>356</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td></td>
+		<td colspan="3"><a name="div1Ref_362" href="#div1_362"><span class="sc">
+		The Prophet Jeremiah.</span></a></td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td></td>
+		<td></td>
+		<td><a name="div2Ref_362" href="#div2_362">General Preliminary Remarks,</a></td>
+		<td>362</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td></td>
+		<td></td>
+		<td><a name="div2Ref_373" href="#div2_373">Chap. iii. 14-17,</a></td>
+		<td>373</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td></td>
+		<td></td>
+		<td><a name="div2Ref_398" href="#div2_398">Chap. xxiii. 1-8,</a></td>
+		<td>398</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td></td>
+		<td></td>
+		<td><a name="div2Ref_424" href="#div2_424">Chap. xxxi. 31-40,</a></td>
+		<td>424</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td></td>
+		<td></td>
+		<td><a name="div2Ref_459" href="#div2_459">Chap. xxxiii. 14-26,</a></td>
+		<td>459</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+<p class="continue"><span class="pagenum">[Pg vi]</span></p>
+<p class="continue">[Blank Page]</p>
+<p class="continue"><span class="pagenum">[Pg 1]</span></p>
+<h2><a name="div1_1" href="#div1Ref_1">THE PROPHET ISAIAH.</a></h2>
+<h3><a name="div2_1" href="#div2Ref_1">GENERAL PRELIMINARY REMARKS.</a></h3>
+<p class="normal">Isaiah is the principal prophetical figure in the first period
+of canonical prophetism, <i>i.e.</i>, the Assyrian period, just as Jeremiah is in
+the second, <i>i.e.</i>, the Babylonian. With Isaiah are connected in the kingdom
+of Judah: Joel, Obadiah, and Micah; in the kingdom of Israel: Hosea, Amos, and Jonah.</p>
+<p class="normal">The name &quot;Isaiah&quot; signifies the &quot;Salvation of the Lord.&quot; In this
+name we have the key-note of his prophecies, just as the name Jeremiah: &quot;The Lord
+casts down,&quot; 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. <i>
+Jerome</i> says: &quot;I shall expound Isaiah in such a manner that he shall appear not
+as a prophet only, but as an Evangelist and an Apostle;&quot; and in another passage:
+&quot;Isaiah seems to me to have uttered not a prophecy but a Gospel.&quot; And <i>Augustine</i>
+says, <i>De Civ. Dei</i>, 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, <i>Augustine</i>
+applied to <i>Ambrose</i> with the question, which among the Sacred Books he should
+read in preference to all others, he proposed to him Isaiah, &quot;because before all
+others it was he who had more openly declared the Gospel and the calling of the
+Gentiles.&quot; (<i>Aug. Conf.</i> ix. 5.) With the Fathers of the Church <i>Luther</i>
+coincides. He says in commendation of Isaiah: &quot;He is full of loving, comforting,
+cheering words for all poor consciences, and wretched, afflicted hearts.&quot; Of course,
+there is in Isaiah no want of severe reproofs and threatenings. If it were
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 2]</span> otherwise, he would have gone beyond the boundary
+by which true prophetism is separated from false. &quot;There is in it,&quot; as Luther says,
+&quot;enough of threatenings and terrors against the hardened, haughty, obdurate heads
+of the wicked, if it might be of some use.&quot; 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&#39;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, <i>e.
+g.</i>, iv. 27: &quot;Yet will I not make a full end,&quot;--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 &quot;election&quot; which gathered
+round the prophet as their spiritual centre. With a view to this circle, Isaiah
+utters the words: &quot;Comfort ye, comfort ye my people.&quot; 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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&#39;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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 3]</span> 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&#39;s
+deliverance from Asshur. In this most remarkable year of the Prophet&#39;s life--a year
+rich in the manifestation of God&#39;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 <i>Koresh</i> (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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 4]</span>
+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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 5]</span> 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: &quot;In
+order that thy (Israel&#39;s) days may be long in the land which the Lord thy God giveth
+thee.&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <i>second</i> judgment which will not less make an end,
+in ver. 13: &quot;But yet there is a tenth part in it, and it shall again be destroyed;&quot;
+and this goes hand in hand with the promise that the <i>election</i> shall become
+partakers of the Messianic salvation.</p>
+<p class="normal">The Prophet clearly sees that, by the <i>Syrico-Ephraemitic</i>
+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: &quot;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,&quot; the Lord speaks in chap. vii.
+7: &quot;It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass.&quot; 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: &quot;Fear not, let not thy heart be tender for the
+tails of those two smoking firebrands.&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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: &quot;Before the child shall be able to cry: &#39;My father and my mother,&#39; the riches
+of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be carried before the King of
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 6]</span> Assyria.&quot; 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; &quot;Within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken
+that it shall not be a people any more,&quot; 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: &quot;He shall cut down
+the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon shall fall by the mighty one,&quot;
+chap. x. 34. &quot;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,&quot; chap. xiv. 25. &quot;And Asshur shall fall with the sword
+not of a man,&quot; chap. xxxi. 8. These prophecies found their fulfilment in the destruction
+of Sennacherib&#39;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: &quot;And I will
+deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the King of Assyria, and I will defend
+this city.&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 7]</span> closely and intimately interwoven
+with the historical context, that even <i>Gesenius</i> 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">The Prophet sees distinctly and definitely that Egypt, the rival
+African world&#39;s power, on which the sharp-sighted politicians of his time founded
+their hope for deliverance, would not be equal to the Asiatic world&#39;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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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
+<i>usus loquendi</i> 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.<sup class="ftnRef"><a name="ftnRef_7a" href="#ftn_7a">[1]</a></sup>
+Nevertheless Elam appears in chap. xxii. 16 as the representative of the world&#39;s
+power oppressing Judah in the future; and from chap. xi. 11 we are likewise led
+to expect that the world&#39;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.</p>
+<p class="normal">An intimation of an European phasis of the world&#39;s power, hostile
+to the kingdom of God, is to be found in chap. xi. 11.</p>
+<p class="normal">After the Kingdom of God has, for such protracted periods, been
+subject to the world&#39;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.</p>
+<p class="normal">This great change shall be accomplished by the Messiah, chaps.
+iv., ix., xi., xxxiii. 17, who proceeds from the house of <span class="pagenum">
+[Pg 8]</span> 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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&#39;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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 9]</span> 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: &quot;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;&quot; 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 <i>Witness</i>,
+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.</p>
+<hr class="ftn">
+<div class="ftn">
+	<p class="ftnText"><a name="ftn_7a" href="#ftnRef_7a"><sup class="ftnRef">[1]</sup></a>
+	<i>Vitringa</i>: 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.]</p>
+</div>
+<p class="continue"><span class="pagenum">[Pg 10]</span></p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="div2_10" href="#div2Ref_10">THE PROPHECY--CHAP. II.-IV.</a></h2>
+<h3>THE SPROUT OF THE LORD.</h3>
+<p class="normal">It has been already proved, in Vol. i., p. 416 ff., that this discourse belongs
+to the first period of the Prophet&#39;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
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 11]</span> obstinate sinners have been exterminated by
+His judgment, ver. 3, 4. God&#39;s gracious presence affords them protection from their
+enemies, and from all tribulation and danger, ver. 5, 6.</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <i>Kleinert</i> and <i>Ewald</i>,
+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 <i>indeed</i>,
+but <i>only</i> after severe, rigorous judgments upon all who had forsaken Jehovah.
+It is especially ver. 5 which militates against this interpretation, where, in the
+words: &quot;Come ye and let us walk in the light of the Lord,&quot;<sup class="ftnRef"><a name="ftnRef_11a" href="#ftn_11a">[1]</a></sup>
+the prophet gives an <i>express declaration</i> as to the object of the description
+which he has placed in front, and expresses himself in regard to it in perfect harmony
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 12]</span> with Heb. iv. 1:
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#966;&#959;&#946;&#951;&#952;&#8182;&#956;&#949;&#957; &#959;&#8022;&#957; &#956;&#8132;&#960;&#959;&#964;&#949; &#954;&#945;&#964;&#945;&#955;&#949;&#953;&#960;&#959;&#956;&#941;&#957;&#951;&#962; &#7952;&#960;&#945;&#947;&#947;&#949;&#955;&#943;&#945;&#962; ...
+&#948;&#959;&#954;&#8135; &#964;&#953;&#962; &#7952;&#958; &#8017;&#956;&#8182;&#957; &#8016;&#963;&#964;&#949;&#961;&#951;&#954;&#941;&#957;&#945;&#953;.</span> 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
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7972;&#947;&#947;&#953;&#954;&#949; &#7969; &#946;&#945;&#963;&#953;&#955;&#949;&#943;&#945; &#964;&#8182;&#957; &#959;&#8016;&#961;&#945;&#957;&#8182;&#957;</span> of the first
+part serves as a foundation to the <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#956;&#949;&#964;&#945;&#957;&#959;&#949;&#8150;&#964;&#949; &#959;&#8023;&#957;</span>
+of the second.</p>
+<p class="normal">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.</p>
+<p class="normal">It is with the third part only that we have here more particularly
+to employ ourselves.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 2. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 3. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 4. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 5. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 6. &quot;<i>And a tabernacle shall be for a shadow by day from
+the heat, and, for a refuge and covert from storm and from rain.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal" dir="ltr">Ver. 2. &quot;<i>In that day</i>&quot; <i>i.e.</i>, not by any
+means <i>after</i> the suffering, but <i>in the midst of it</i>, comp. chap. iii.
+18; iv. 1, where, by <span class="pagenum">[Pg 13]</span> the words &quot;in that day,&quot;
+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&#39;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 &quot;<i>Sprout of the Lord</i>&quot; the
+Messiah is designated,--an explanation which we meet with so early as in the Chaldee
+Paraphrast (<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1468;&#1456;&#1506;&#1491;&#1468;&#1464;&#1504;&#1464;&#1488; &#1492;&#1463;&#1492;&#1493;&#1468;&#1488; &#1497;&#1456;&#1492;&#1461;&#1497; &#1502;&#1456;&#1513;&#1473;&#1460;&#1497;&#1495;&#1464;&#1488; &#1491;&#1463;&#1497;&#1464;&#1497;
+&#1500;&#1456;&#1495;&#1462;&#1491;&#1456;&#1493;&#1464;&#1492; &#1493;&#1456;&#1500;&#1460;&#1497;&#1511;&#1464;&#1512;</span>), from which even <i>Kimchi</i> 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, <i>a priori</i>, 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.
+<i>Farther</i>--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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1510;&#1502;&#1495;</span> occurs as a designation of the Messiah.
+The two passages, Jer. xxiii. 5: &quot;Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, and I raise
+unto David a righteous Sprout;&quot; and xxxiii. 15: &quot;In those days, and at that time,
+shall I cause the Sprout of righteousness to grow up unto David,&quot; may at once and
+plainly be considered as an <i>interpretation</i> 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: &quot;In
+His days Judah <span class="pagenum">[Pg 14]</span> shall be saved, and Israel shall
+dwell safely, and this is His name whereby he shall be called: The Lord our righteousness.&quot;
+The two other passages, Zech. iii. 8: &quot;Behold, I bring my servant <i>Zemach</i>,&quot;
+and vi. 12: &quot;Behold, a man whose name is <i>Zemach</i>&quot; are of so much the greater
+consequence that in them <i>Zemach</i> (<i>i.e.</i>, Sprout) occurs as a kind of
+<i>nomen proprium</i>, the sense of which is supposed as being known from former
+prophecies to which the Prophet all but expressly refers; or as <i>Vitringa</i>
+remarks on these passages: &quot;That man who, in the oracles of the preceding Prophets
+(Is. and Jer.) bears the name of &#39;Sprout.&#39;&quot; Of no less consequence, <i>finally</i>,
+is the parallel passage, chap. xxviii. 5: &quot;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.&quot;
+The words <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1510;&#1489;&#1497;</span> and
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1514;&#1508;&#1488;&#1512;&#1514;</span> 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: &quot;I dwell in the midst of them,&quot; is most
+perfectly realized. &quot;This is the name whereby He shall be called: The Lord our righteousness,&quot;
+says Jeremiah, in the passage quoted.--The &quot;Sprout of the Lord&quot; may designate either
+him whom the Lord causes to sprout, or him who has sprouted forth from the Lord,
+<i>i.e.</i>, the Son of God. Against the latter interpretation it is objected by
+<i>Hoffmann</i> (<i>Weissagung und Erf�llung.</i> Th. 1, S. 214): &quot;<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1510;&#1502;&#1495;</span>
+is an intransitive verb, so that <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1510;&#1462;&#1502;&#1463;&#1495;</span> 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1510;&#1502;&#1495;</span>
+can be connected.&quot; 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
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 15]</span> 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&#39;s, that he
+does not sprout forth out of Him, but through Him. In Zech. iii. 8 the Lord brings
+his servant <i>Zemach</i>; in Ps. cxxxii. 17, it is said: &quot;There I cause a horn
+to sprout to David,&quot; and already in the fundamental passage, 2 Sam. xxiii. 5, which
+contains the first germ of our passage, David says: &quot;For all my salvation and all
+my pleasure should He not make it to <i>sprout</i> forth.&quot;--As the words &quot;Sprout
+of the Lord&quot; denote the heavenly origin of the Redeemer, so do the words
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1508;&#1512;&#1497; &#1492;&#1488;&#1512;&#1509;</span> the earthly one, the soil from which
+the Lord causes the Saviour to sprout up. These words are, by <i>Vitringa</i> and
+others, translated: &quot;the fruit of the earth,&quot; but the correct translation is &quot;the
+fruit of the <i>land</i>.&quot; The passages, Num. xiii. 26: &quot;And shewed them the fruit
+of the land;&quot; and Deut. i. 25: &quot;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,&quot;--these two passages are, besides that under
+consideration, the only ones in which the phrase <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">
+&#1508;&#1512;&#1497; &#1492;&#1488;&#1512;&#1509;</span> 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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1488;&#1512;&#1509;</span> 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 <i>David</i>, and Zech.
+vi. 12, where the man whose name is <i>Zemach</i> (Sprout) grows up out of its soil;
+comp. Heb. vii. 14, where, in allusion to the Old Testament passages of the Sprout--the
+verb <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7936;&#957;&#945;&#964;&#941;&#955;&#955;&#949;&#953;&#957;</span> is commonly used of the sprouting
+forth of the plants (see <i>Bleek</i> on this passage)--it is said:
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7952;&#958; &#7992;&#959;&#973;&#948;&#945; &#7936;&#957;&#945;&#964;&#941;&#964;&#945;&#955;&#954;&#949;&#957; &#8001; &#922;&#973;&#961;&#953;&#959;&#962; &#7969;&#956;&#8182;&#957;</span>, <i>Bengel</i>:
+<i>ut germen justitiae</i>; farther, Mic. v. 1 (2), where the eternal existence
+of the Messiah, <span class="pagenum">[Pg 16]</span> and His birth in Bethlehem
+are contrasted with one another; Is. ix. 5, (6), where the words: &quot;Unto <i>us</i>
+a child is born, unto <i>us</i> a son is given,&quot; 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. &quot;The Sprout of the Lord,&quot; &quot;the fruit of the
+land,&quot; 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 <i>beauty</i> and <i>glory</i>, for <i>exaltation</i> and <i>ornament</i>. The
+passages to be compared are 2 Sam. i. 19, where Saul and Jonathan are called
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1510;&#1489;&#1497; &#1497;&#1513;&#1512;&#1488;&#1500;</span>; <i>farther</i>, Is. xxviii. 5:
+&quot;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,&quot; where the words
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1510;&#1489;&#1497;</span> and <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1514;&#1508;&#1488;&#1512;&#1514;</span><!--see Biblos web site; fnal 'h' not 't'-->
+are likewise used; <i>finally</i>, chap. xxiv. 16, where, in reference to the Messianic
+time, it is said: &quot;From the uttermost part of the earth do we hear songs of praise:
+beauty (<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1510;&#1489;&#1497;</span>) to the righteous.&quot; By the appearance
+of Christ, the covenant-people, hitherto despised, were placed in the centre of
+the world&#39;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: &quot;In that day the
+Lord will take away the ornament,&quot; &amp;c.: But <i>Drechsler</i> is wrong in fixing
+and expressing this reference thus: &quot;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.&quot; 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 <i>taking away</i>; He takes
+those seeming blessings, only in order to be able to give the true ones. Every taking
+away is a prophecy of giving.--&quot;<i>To the escaped of Israel</i>,&quot; who, according
+to the idea of a people of God, and according to <span class="pagenum">[Pg 17]</span>
+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 <i>mass</i>
+of the people; sifting judgments must necessarily go before and along with it. True
+prophetism everywhere knows of salvation for a remnant only. On
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1508;&#1500;&#1497;&#1496;&#1492;</span>, which does not mean &quot;deliverance,&quot;
+so that the abstract would thus here stand for the concrete, but &quot;that which has
+escaped,&quot; comp. remarks on Joel iii. 5, Vol. 1, p. 338.</p>
+<p class="normal">All which now remains is to examine those explanations of this
+verse which differ from the Messianic interpretation. 1. Following the interpretation
+of <i>Grotius</i> and others, <i>Gesenius</i>, in his Commentary, understands by
+the Sprout of the Lord the new growth of the people after their various defeats.
+His explanation is: &quot;Then the sprout of Jehovah will be splendid and glorious, and
+the fruit of the land excellent and beautiful for the escaped of Israel.&quot; <i>Fruit
+of the land</i> he takes in its literal sense, and understands it to mean the product
+of the land. The same view is held by <i>Knobel</i>: &quot;<i>He becomes for beauty and
+glory</i>,<!--deleted quote--> <i>i.e.</i>, the people, having reformed, prosper
+and form a splendid, glorious state.&quot; And <i>Maurer</i> in his Dictionary says:
+&quot;The Sprout of Jehovah seems to be the morally improved remnant, the new, sanctified
+increase of the people.&quot; But in opposition to such a view there is, <i>first</i>,
+the circumstance, that according to it the <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;</span>
+before <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1510;&#1489;&#1497;</span> and
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1499;&#1489;&#1493;&#1512;</span> must be understood differently from
+what it is in <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1490;&#1488;&#1493;&#1503;</span>, and
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1514;&#1508;&#1488;&#1512;&#1514;</span> which immediately follow and exactly
+correspond with them. There are, <i>secondly</i>, the parallel passages chap. xxviii.
+5, xxiv. 16, according to which <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1510;&#1489;&#1497;</span> &quot;beauty&quot;
+is conferred upon the escaped, but they themselves do not become beauty. <i>Finally</i>--It
+is always most natural to suppose that <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1510;&#1502;&#1495; &#1497;&#1492;&#1493;&#1492;</span>
+and <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1508;&#1512;&#1497; &#1492;&#1488;&#1512;&#1509;</span> correspond with one another,
+and denote the same subject which is here described after his various aspects only.
+For in the same manner as <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1510;&#1502;&#1495;</span> and
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1508;&#1512;&#1497;</span> go hand in hand, both being taken from
+the territory of botany, so <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1492;&#1493;&#1492;</span> and
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1488;&#1512;&#1509;</span> also stand in a contrast which is not
+to be mistaken. 2. <i>Hitzig</i>, <i>Ewald</i>, <i>Meier</i>, and others not only
+refer &quot;the fruit of the land,&quot; but also the &quot;Sprout of Jehovah&quot; to that which Jehovah
+makes to sprout forth.<sup class="ftnRef"><a name="ftnRef_17a" href="#ftn_17a">[2]</a></sup>
+It is true that, in the prophetic <span class="pagenum">[Pg 18]</span> 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, <i>in addition</i>, the circumstance that the barrenness of
+the country is not at all pointed out in the preceding context. <i>Finally</i>--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 <i>Hendewerk</i>, by the &quot;Sprout of the Lord,&quot; &quot;the collective person of the
+ruling portion in the state during the Messianic happy time,&quot; 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 <i>person</i> in favour of a <i>personification</i>. 4. <i>Umbreit</i>
+acknowledges that, in the case of <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1510;&#1502;&#1495; &#1497;&#1492;&#1493;&#1492;</span>,
+the Messianic interpretation is the only correct one. &quot;The two subsequent prophecies
+in chap. ix. and xi.,&quot; he says, &quot;are to be considered as a commentary on our short
+text.&quot; But it is characteristic of his compromising manner that by &quot;the fruit of
+the land&quot; he understands &quot;the consequences of the dominion of the Messiah for the
+land, the fruits which, in consequence of his appearing, the consecrated soil brings
+forth,&quot;--thus plainly overlooking the clear <span class="pagenum">[Pg 19]</span>
+contrast between the Sprout of the Lord, and the fruit of the land, by which evidently
+the same thing is designated from different aspects.</p>
+<p class="normal">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: &quot;He that was left in Zion and was spared in
+Jerusalem,&quot; take up the idea suggested by the &quot;escaped of Israel&quot; 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. <i>Zion</i> and
+<i>Jerusalem</i>, 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 <i>Israel</i> 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 &quot;<i>shall be called holy</i>.&quot; 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. <i>Believers</i> 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&#39;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 <i>reward</i> for faithfulness:
+&quot;And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation;&quot; comp. ver. 5:
+&quot;And now if you will obey my voice and keep my covenant, ye shall be a property
+unto me out of all people.&quot; In reference to the exalted dignity and glory, holiness
+occurs in Deut. vii. 6: &quot;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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 20]</span> the face of the earth.&quot;
+When the company of Korah said: &quot;All the congregation, they are holy&quot; (Numb. xvi.
+3), they had in view, not the moral holiness but the dignity--a circumstance which
+is quite obvious from words added: &quot;And in the midst of them is the Lord.&quot; And so
+Moses likewise speaks of the dignity in Numb. xvi. 7: &quot;Whom the Lord shall choose,
+he is the holy one.&quot; 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 <i>horas</i> and <i>moras</i>. 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 &quot;Saints&quot; was a kind of <i>nomen proprium</i> 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&#39;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.--&quot;<i>To be called</i>&quot; is more than merely &quot;to be;&quot; it indicates
+that the <i>being</i> is so marked as to procure for itself acknowledgment.--The
+words: &quot;<i>Every one that is written to life in Jerusalem</i>&quot; anew point out that
+judgment will go before, and by the side of grace. The meaning of
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1495;&#1497;&#1497;&#1501;</span> is, according to the fundamental passage
+in Ps. lxix. 29, &quot;not living ones&quot; (<i>Hoffmann</i>, <i>Weiss.</i> i. S. 208), but
+&quot;life.&quot; In Revelation, too, the book of life, and not the book of the living ones,
+is spoken of &quot;To be written to life&quot; 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: &quot;All they that are written to eternal life shall see the consolation
+of Jerusalem, <i>i.e.</i> the Messiah.&quot; 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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg
+21]</span> life; for, being a mere transition to life, it can, in truth, not be
+called a death. Here, too, the word of Christ applies: &quot;The maid is not dead but
+sleepeth,&quot; Matt. ix. 24. The fact that there is no contradiction between bodily
+death and life, <i>i.e.</i> a participation in the blessings of the Kingdom of Christ,
+is pointed out by Isaiah himself in chap. xxvi. 19: &quot;Thy dead men shall <i>live</i>,
+my dead bodies shall arise, for a dew of light is thy dew.&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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, &quot;<i>When
+the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion.</i>&quot; The &quot;daughters
+of Zion&quot; 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);
+&quot;A generation pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness,&quot;
+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, &quot;from the midst thereof,&quot; 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. &quot;<i>And shall remove the blood of Jerusalem.</i>&quot; The &quot;blood of
+Jerusalem&quot; 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: &quot;Her princes are in the midst thereof like wolves ravening
+the prey, shedding blood, destroying souls, to get dishonest gain.&quot; Bloodguiltiness
+those too incur who deprive the poor of the necessary means of support, Mic. iii.
+2, 3. The comparison of <span class="pagenum">[Pg 22]</span> chap. i. 15: &quot;Your
+hands are full of blood,&quot; and of ver. 21: &quot;But now murderers,&quot; 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
+<i>alone</i>; comp. Ezek. xxii. 29: &quot;The people of the land use oppression, and
+boldly practice robbery, and vex the poor and needy, and oppress the stranger.&quot;
+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: &quot;Ye shall be holy for I am holy,&quot; 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: &quot;by the spirit of <i>judgment</i>, and by the spirit of destruction or
+burning.&quot; 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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1513;&#1508;&#1496;</span>, however, may also be taken in the sense
+of &quot;right:&quot; by the spirit of right which lays hold of, and changes the well disposed
+(comp. Mic. iii. 8: &quot;But I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord, and of <i>
+right</i> and might&quot;), 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, &quot;In that day the Lord will become, &amp;c.,&quot;
+&quot;And for a spirit of right to him that sitteth for right;&quot; farther, chap. i. 27,
+28: &quot;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.&quot; Comp. Matt. iii. 11: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#945;&#8016;&#964;&#8056;&#962; &#8017;&#956;&#8118;&#962; &#946;&#945;&#960;&#964;&#943;&#963;&#949;&#953;
+&#7952;&#957; &#960;&#957;&#949;&#973;&#956;&#945;&#964;&#953; &#7937;&#947;&#943;&#8179; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#960;&#965;&#961;&#943;</span>, where likewise a double washing, that of grace
+and that of wrath, is spoken of. In chap. xxxii. 15: &quot;Until the Spirit be poured
+out upon us from on high,&quot; Isaiah likewise points to the regeneration which, in
+the Messianic time, will be accomplished by the Spirit; and it is, according to
+the whole <i>usus loquendi</i> 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&#39;s judgments; so that the supposition is
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 23]</span> very natural that the spirit of destruction
+has been brought in by the spirit of right only.--The word
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1506;&#1512;</span> is, by some, understood as &quot;burning,&quot;
+by others, as &quot;destruction.&quot; 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1506;&#1512;</span> is, in Deuteronomy, used as the
+<i>terminus technicus</i> of the extirpation of the wicked. If the Church does not
+comply with the command: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7952;&#958;&#940;&#961;&#949;&#8150;&#964;&#949; &#964;&#8056;&#957; &#960;&#959;&#957;&#951;&#961;&#8056;&#957; &#7952;&#958; &#8017;&#956;&#8182;&#957;
+&#945;&#8016;&#964;&#8182;&#957;</span>, 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 &quot;Spirit of the Lord,&quot;
+comp. my remarks on Rev. i. 4.</p>
+<p class="normal">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&#39;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:
+&quot;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;&quot; and xl. 38: &quot;For a cloud
+was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night;&quot; 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&#39;s power can no longer injure her. That such will be done in and by
+His <i>Sprout</i>, 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: &quot;The <i>Sprout</i> of the Lord becomes for beauty
+and glory, and the fruit of the land for exaltation and ornament to the escaped
+of Israel.&quot; 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 <span class="pagenum">Pg 24]</span>
+for and imagined; that which Israel hitherto possessed only very imperfectly, a
+<i>praesens numen</i>, 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: &quot;<i>Over her assemblies</i>,&quot; 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: &quot;And they continued stedfastly in the Apostles&#39; doctrine and fellowship,
+and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.&quot; <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1511;&#1512;&#1488;</span>
+is only the name for that which is called, &quot;the assembly,&quot; and stands in Levit.
+xxiii. and Is. i. 13 of the religious assemblies which were held on the holy days,
+comp. my pamphlet: <i>Ueber den Tag des Herrn S</i>. 32. The same phenomenon is,
+according to its appearance by day, designated, at the same time, as <i>clouds</i>
+and <i>smoke</i>. Smoke is never &quot;vapour, vapoury clouds&quot; (<i>Knobel</i>); and here
+the smoke by day corresponds with the <i>flaming fire</i> 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: &quot;And the cloud of the Lord was upon them;&quot;
+Ps. cv. 39: &quot;He spread a cloud for a covering;&quot; Is. xxv. 5. The cloud which thus
+affords protection to the Church turns a threatening face towards her enemies. Rev.
+xv. 8.--The words: &quot;<i>For above all glory is a covering</i>,&quot; point to the ground
+of the protecting, gracious presence of God in the Church. Several interpreters
+explain the sense thus: &quot;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.&quot; Others understand by
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1499;&#1500;&#1470;&#1499;&#1489;&#1493;&#1491;</span> the whole glory mentioned in the preceding
+context; but in that case we should expect the article. One may also supply the
+limitation: For, <i>in the Kingdom of God</i>, there is a covering over all glory.</p>
+<p class="continue"><span class="pagenum">[Pg 25]</span></p>
+<p class="normal">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: &quot;In
+this passage, accordingly, Christ is held up to us as He who in all tribulations,
+bodily as well as spiritual, is our protection.&quot; There is an allusion to the 21st
+verse of Ps. xxxi. (which was written by David): &quot;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.&quot; The pavilion in this Psalm is a spiritual
+one, viz., God&#39;s grace and protection. That word of David shall be gloriously fulfilled
+when the Sprout of the Lord shall appear.--The &quot;<i>Sun</i>&quot; comes into consideration
+in its scorching quality; and the &quot;<i>heat</i>&quot; 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&#39;s power. The &quot;<i>rain</i>&quot; appears as an image of tribulation in the Song
+of Sol. ii. 11; Is. xxv. 4: &quot;The spirit of the terrible ones (the passions of the
+kings of the world, and conquerors) is like a violent shower against the wall;&quot;
+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.</p>
+<hr class="ftn">
+<div class="ftn">
+	<p class="ftnText"><a name="ftn_11a" href="#ftnRef_11a"><sup class="ftnRef">
+	[1]</sup></a> 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1499;&#1493; &#1493;&#1504;&#1500;&#1499;&#1492;</span> there is a clear
+	reference to <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1499;&#1493; &#1493;&#1504;&#1506;&#1500;&#1492;</span> 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: &quot;Walk ye in the light of the Lord,&quot; for
+	at present the Lord has <i>forsaken</i> 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.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="ftn">
+	<p class="ftnText"><a name="ftn_17a" href="#ftnRef_17a"><sup class="ftnRef">
+	[2]</sup></a> So <i>Gesenius</i> also in the <i>Thesaurus</i>: &quot;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.&quot;
+	<i>Gesenius&#39;</i> wavering clearly shows how little satisfaction the non-Messianic
+	explanation affords to its own abettors. Besides the explanations of
+	<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1510;&#1502;&#1495; &#1497;&#1492;&#1493;&#1492;</span> by &quot;the new growth of the people,&quot;
+	and &quot;the rich produce of the country,&quot; he advances still a third one, viz.,
+	&quot;a divinely favoured ruler,&quot;--an explanation which has even the grammar against
+	it, as we are at liberty to translate only: &quot;The Sprout of the Lord;&quot; and likewise
+	the analogy of <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1508;&#1512;&#1497; &#1492;&#1488;&#1512;&#1509;</span>, according to
+	which the Genitive can have a reference to the <i>origin</i> only.</p>
+</div>
+<p class="continue"><span class="pagenum">[Pg 26]</span></p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="div2_26" href="#div2Ref_26">THE PROPHECY, CHAP. VII.</a></h2>
+<h3>IMMANUEL.</h3>
+<p class="normal">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&#39;s steps. &quot;Hitherto,&quot;--so says <i>Caspari</i>, in his pamphlet on the Syrico-Ephraemitic
+war, S. 17 ff.--&quot;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&#39;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&#39;s submission
+and fealty. Thirty heavy years of servitude, and, to a great part, of
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 27]</span> 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&#39;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&#39;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.&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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&#39;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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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: &quot;Aram
+is encamped in Ephraim.&quot; 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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 28]</span> 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. <i>In a political
+point of view it did not make any great difference whether Ahaz sought help from
+the Assyrians, or not</i>; on the contrary, the king of Asshur could not but be
+more favourably disposed towards him for so doing. <i>Isaiah, throughout, rather
+occupies the position of the man of God.</i> 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 <i>de facto</i>
+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&#39;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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 29]</span> 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&#39;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&#39;s exhortation
+to &quot;take heed and be quiet,&quot; and that the words: &quot;If ye do not believe, ye shall
+not be established,&quot; with which the Prophet closes his address, have not made any
+impression upon him. In order that the greatness of the king&#39;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. &quot;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&#39;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.&quot;<sup class="ftnRef"><a name="ftnRef_29a" href="#ftn_29a">[1]</a></sup>
+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 &quot;Immanuel,&quot; by which the
+future Saviour is designated as &quot;He in whom the Lord is, in the truest manner, to
+be with His people,&quot; 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
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 30]</span> 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&#39;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&#39;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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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:
+&quot;I am <i>thy servant</i> and <i>thy son</i> (a word as ominous as that:
+<!--changed quote-->&#39;We have no king but C�sar,&#39;<!--changed quote--> 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.&quot; 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,<sup class="ftnRef"><a name="ftnRef_30a" href="#ftn_30a">[2]</a></sup>
+from which he might have been spared by <span class="pagenum">[Pg 31]</span> 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. (<i>Caspari</i>, S. 60.) The
+world&#39;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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 1. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">In thus tracing back the pedigree of Ahaz to Uzziah, there is
+a reference to chap. vi. 1: &quot;In the year that King Uzziah <span class="pagenum">
+[Pg 32]</span> died,&quot; &amp;c. These two chapters stand related to each other as prophecy
+and fulfilment. It was in the year of Uzziah&#39;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 <i>going up</i> 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: &quot;<i>And could not fight against it</i>,&quot;
+(the singular <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1499;&#1500;</span> 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: &quot;And they besieged Ahaz,
+and could not fight&quot;--is most simply reconciled by the remark that a fruitless struggle
+can, as it were, not be called a struggle, just as, <i>e. g.</i>, in the Old Testament,
+such as have a name little known are spoken of as being without a name.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 2, &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">The representative of the house of David was, according to
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 33]</span> ver. 1, Ahaz, to whom the suffix in
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1489;&#1489;&#1493;</span> 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&#39;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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1493;&#1495;</span>
+must be taken in the signification &quot;to let oneself down,&quot; &quot;to sit down,&quot; &quot;to encamp.&quot;
+The anguish of the natural man, who has not his strength in God at the breaking
+in of danger, is most graphically described.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 3. &quot;<i>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&#39;s field.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">Why is the Prophet to seek out the king just at this place? The
+answer is given by chap. xxii. 2. &quot;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.&quot;<!--inserted quote-->
+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: &quot;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.&quot; That might be done in faith; but he who, like Ahaz, did not
+stand in the faith, sought in it, <i>per se</i>, 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: &quot;take heed and be quiet.&quot;
+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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 34]</span> his sons
+symbolical names which had a relation to the destinies of the nation. They were,
+according to chap. viii. 18, &quot;for signs and for wonders in Israel.&quot; But as an interpretation
+of the name, the passage chap. x. 21 is to be considered: &quot;The remnant shall return,
+the remnant of Jacob unto the mighty God.&quot; The word
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1513;&#1493;&#1489;</span> 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&#39;s son: &quot;And thou returnest unto the Lord thy God.... And the Lord thy God
+turneth thy captivity (<i>i.e.</i>, thy misery), and hath compassion upon thee,
+and returneth and gathereth thee from all the nations&quot; (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: &quot;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;&quot; 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,
+&quot;as the living proof of the preservation of the nation, even amidst the most fearful
+destruction of the greater part of it.&quot; 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 4. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="continue"><span class="pagenum">[Pg 35]</span></p>
+<p class="normal">The words &quot;<i>Take heed</i>&quot; point to the dangerous consequences
+of fear; comp. ver. 9: &quot;If ye do not believe, ye shall not be established.&quot; On the
+words &quot;<i>be quiet</i>,&quot; lit., make quiet, viz., thy heart and walk, comp. chap.
+xxx. 15: &quot;For thus saith the Lord: By returning and rest ye shall be saved; in
+<i>quietness</i> and confidence shall be your strength; and ye would not.&quot; Such
+as he was, Ahaz could not respond to the exhortations to be quiet. Quietness is
+a product of <i>faith</i>. 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: &quot;Fear not,&quot; &amp;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: &quot;Let not your hearts be tender, and be not terrified.&quot; 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 &quot;firebrand&quot; 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 <i>ends</i> of firebrands, which no longer
+blaze, but only glimmer. He calls them thus because he considers them with the eye
+of <i>faith</i>; to the bodily eye a bright flame still presented itself, as the
+last words: &quot;For the fierce anger,&quot; &amp;c., and vers. 5 and 6 show. <i>Chrysostom</i>
+remarks: &quot;He calls these kings &#39;firebrands,&#39; 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 &#39;smoking,&#39; <i>i.e.</i>, that they were near being altogether extinguished.&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">Vers. 5, 6. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">We have here, farther carried out, the thought indicated by the
+words: &quot;for the fierce anger,&quot; &amp;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 (<i>Hitzig</i>
+and <i>Ewald</i>).--<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1511;&#1493;&#1509;</span> always means &quot;to loathe,&quot;
+&quot;to experience disgust;&quot; here, <span class="pagenum">[Pg 36]</span> in Hiph., &quot;to
+cause disgust,&quot; &quot;to drive to extremity;&quot; comp. my work on Balaam, Rem. on Num. xxii.
+3.--<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1511;&#1506;</span> means always: &quot;to cleave asunder,&quot;
+&quot;to open,&quot; &quot;to conquer.&quot;--The words: &quot;<i>For us</i>,&quot; 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 7. &quot;<i>Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: It shall not stand, neither
+shall it come to pass.</i>&quot; (A plan stands when it is carried out.)</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 8. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 9. &quot;<i>And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of
+Samaria is Remaliah&#39;s son. If ye believe not, ye shall not be established.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">Each of these two verses forms a complete whole.--The words: &quot;For
+the head of Aram,&quot; &amp;c., to &quot;Rezin&quot; 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&#39;s thoughts
+exalt themselves against the purposes of God. From Aram, the Prophet turns, in the
+second part of the verse, to Ephraim: &quot;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.&quot; 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, &amp;c. With this are then connected the closing
+words: &quot;If ye believe not, ye shall not be established&quot; (properly, the consequence
+will be that ye do not continue), which are equivalent to it: it is hence not Samaria
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 37]</span> 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.<sup class="ftnRef"><a name="ftnRef_37a" href="#ftn_37a">[3]</a></sup></p>
+<p class="continue"><span class="pagenum">[Pg 38]</span></p>
+<p class="normal">Vers. 10, 11. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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&#39;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&#39;s omnipotence, and the Divine mission of the Prophet.
+As Ahaz refused the offered sign, the word 2 Tim. ii. 12, 13:
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#949;&#7984; &#7936;&#961;&#957;&#959;&#8059;&#956;&#949;&#952;&#945;, &#954;&#7936;&#954;&#949;&#8150;&#957;&#959;&#962; &#7936;&#961;&#957;&#942;&#963;&#949;&#964;&#945;&#953; &#7969;&#956;&#8118;&#962;� &#949;&#7984; &#7936;&#960;&#953;&#963;&#964;&#959;&#8166;&#956;&#949;&#957;,
+&#7952;&#954;&#949;&#8150;&#957;&#959;&#962; &#960;&#953;&#963;&#964;&#8056;&#962; &#956;&#941;&#957;&#949;&#953;&#903;--&#7936;&#961;&#957;&#942;&#963;&#945;&#963;&#952;&#945;&#953; &#947;&#8048;&#961; &#7953;&#945;&#965;&#964;&#8056;&#957; &#959;&#8016; &#948;&#973;&#957;&#945;&#964;&#945;&#953;</span> came into application.
+According to Deut. vii. 9 ff. the truth and faithfulness of God must now manifest
+itself in the <span class="pagenum">[Pg 39]</span> infliction of severe visitations
+upon the house of David.--The character of a <i>sign</i> 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: &quot;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.&quot; Moses&#39; 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 <i>sign</i> 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, <i>e.g.</i>, 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, &quot;Signs and wonders in Israel;&quot; 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 <i>signs</i> to Saul, that
+God had destined him to be king, <i>e.g.</i>, 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,
+&amp;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 <i>sign</i>
+of the divine vengeance breaking in upon the Jews in Egypt. Even before the
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 40]</span> 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:
+<!--inserted quote-->&quot;<i>Behold</i>, I give Pharaoh-Hophras into the hands of his
+enemies&quot;) 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,
+<i>e.g.</i>, Isaiah says to Hezekiah, in chap. xxviii. 7: &quot;And this shall be the
+sign unto thee from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing which He has spoken,&quot;
+and, as a <i>sign</i> 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 <i>two last classes</i>. 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 <i>Meier</i> 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 <i>water</i>, as a <i>miraculous
+sign</i> 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? <i>Hendewerk</i> is of opinion that &quot;it is difficult to say what
+the author would have made to be the sign in the heavens; probably, a very simple
+thing.&quot; But in making this objection it is forgotten that Isaiah gives <i>free choice</i>
+to the king. <i>Hitzig</i> says: &quot;Without knowing it, Isaiah here plays a very dangerous
+game. For if Ahaz had accepted his proposition, Jehovah would
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 41]</span> probably have left His servant in the lurch,
+and he would have begun to doubt of his God and of himself.&quot; 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 <i>miracles</i>,
+then, in their own convictions, <i>prophecies</i>, 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,--<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1506;&#1502;&#1511;</span>
+and <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1490;&#1489;&#1492;</span> are <i>Infin. absol.</i> &quot;going high,&quot;
+&quot;going low.&quot; The Imperat. <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1513;&#1488;&#1500;&#1492;</span> must be understood
+after <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1490;&#1489;&#1492;</span> also. Some explain
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1513;&#1488;&#1500;&#1492;</span> by &quot;to hell,&quot; &quot;down to hell;&quot; 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. <i>Theodoret</i> 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 <i>heaven</i> which affected the going back
+of the shadow on the sun-dial of Ahaz; and on <i>earth</i>, inasmuch as He, in a
+wonderful manner, destroyed the Assyrians, and restored the king to health. <i>Jerome</i>
+farther remarks, that, from among the plagues in Egypt, the lice, frogs, &amp;c., were
+signs on earth; the hail, fire, and three day&#39;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.</p>
+<p class="continue"><span class="pagenum">[Pg 42]</span></p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 12. &quot;<i>And Ahaz said: I will not ask, neither will I tempt
+the Lord.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">Ahaz declines the offer by referring to Deut. vi. 16., and thus
+assuming the guise of reverence for God and His commandment. &quot;He pretends,&quot; says
+<i>Calvin</i>, &quot;to have faith in the words of the Prophet, and not to require anything
+besides the word.&quot; 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&#8211;20, xxxvii. 10&#8211;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!</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 13. &quot;<i>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?</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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, <i>God himself</i> was provoked by him, and his wickedness came
+evidently to light. It is substantially the same difference as that between the
+sin against the <i>Son of Man</i>, the Christ coming outwardly and as a man only
+(Bengel: <i>quo statu conspicu, quatenus aequo tum loco cum hominibus conversabatur</i>),
+and the sin against the Holy Ghost who powerfully glorifies Him outwardly and inwardly.
+It is the antithesis <span class="pagenum">[Pg 43]</span> 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 <i>relative</i> 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&#39;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, &quot;<i>My God</i>,&quot; <i>i.e.</i>, 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 14. &quot;<i>Therefore the Lord himself giveth you a sign: Behold
+the Virgin is with child, and heareth a Son, and thou callest his name Immanuel.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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.--&quot;Therefore&quot;--because ye will not fix upon a sign. <i>Reinke</i>, in
+the ably written Monograph on this passage, assigns to
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1499;&#1503;</span> the signification, &quot;nevertheless,&quot; which
+is not supported by the <i>usus loquendi</i>.--<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1514;&#1503;</span>
+must be translated as a Present; for the pregnancy of the Virgin and birth of Immanuel
+are present to <span class="pagenum">[Pg 44]</span> 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.--<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1493;&#1488;</span>
+<i>He</i>, <i>i.e.</i>, of His own accord without any co-operation, such as would
+have taken place if Ahaz had asked the sign.--<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1499;&#1501;</span>
+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.--<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1504;&#1492;</span> &quot;behold&quot; 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 <i>Chrysostom</i>:
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#956;&#8057;&#957;&#959;&#957; &#947;&#8048;&#961; &#959;&#8016;&#954; &#8001;&#961;&#8182;&#957;&#964;&#959;&#962; &#7974;&#957; &#964;&#8048; &#947;&#953;&#957;&#8057;&#956;&#949;&#957;&#945; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#966;&#945;&#957;&#964;&#945;&#950;&#959;&#956;&#8051;&#957;&#959;&#965;
+&#954;&#945;&#8054; &#960;&#959;&#955;&#955;&#8052;&#957; &#7956;&#967;&#959;&#957;&#964;&#959;&#962; &#8017;&#960;&#949;&#961; &#964;&#8182;&#957; &#949;&#7984;&#961;&#951;&#956;&#8051;&#957;&#969;&#957; &#960;&#955;&#951;&#961;&#959;&#966;&#959;&#961;&#8055;&#945;&#957;, &#964;&#8182;&#957; &#947;&#8048;&#961; &#7969;&#956;&#949;&#964;&#8051;&#961;&#969;&#957; &#8000;&#966;&#952;&#945;&#955;&#956;&#8182;&#957; &#7952;&#954;&#949;&#8150;&#957;&#959;&#953;
+&#963;&#945;&#966;&#8051;&#963;&#964;&#949;&#961;&#959;&#957; &#964;&#8048; &#956;&#8052; &#8001;&#961;&#8061;&#956;&#949;&#957;&#945; &#7956;&#946;&#955;&#949;&#960;&#959;&#957;.</span>--The article in
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1506;&#1500;&#1502;&#1492;</span> cannot refer to <i>the</i> virgin <i>
+known</i> 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 <i>virgin</i>. In harmony with
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1504;&#1492;</span>, the article in
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1506;&#1500;&#1502;&#1492;</span> might be explained from the circumstance
+that the Virgin is present to the inward perception of the Prophet--equivalent to
+&quot;the virgin there.&quot; But since the use of the article in the <i>generic</i> sense
+is so general, it is most natural to understand &quot;the virgin&quot;<!--inserted quote-->
+as forming a contrast to the married or old woman, and hence, in substance, as here
+equivalent to <i>a</i> virgin. To this view we are led also by the circumstance
+that, in the parallel passage, Mic. v. 2 (3) <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1493;&#1500;&#1491;&#1492;</span>
+&quot;a bearing woman&quot; is used without the article.--<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1500;&#1502;&#1492;</span>
+is, by old expositors, commonly derived from <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1500;&#1501;</span>
+in the signification &quot;to conceal&quot; A virgin, they assume, is called a <i>concealed</i>
+one, with reference to the customs of the East, where the virgins are obliged to
+lead a concealed life. Thus it was understood by <i>Jerome</i> also:
+<!--inserted quote-->&quot;<i>Almah</i> 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.&quot; But all
+parties now rightly agree that the word is to be derived from
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1500;&#1501;</span>, in the signification, &quot;to grow up.&quot; To
+offer here any arguments in proof would be a work of supererogation, as they are
+offered by all dictionaries. But with all that, <i>Luther&#39;s</i> remark is even now
+in full force: &quot;If <span class="pagenum">[Pg 45]</span> a Jew or a Christian can
+prove to me that in any passage of Scripture <i>Almah</i> means
+<!--changeed quote-->&#39;a married woman,&#39;<!--changed quote--> I will give him a hundred
+florins, although God alone knows where I may find them.&quot; It is true that
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1500;&#1502;&#1492;</span> is distinguished from
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1514;&#1493;&#1500;&#1492;</span>, 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1500;&#1502;&#1492;</span>
+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 <i>unmarried</i> 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 &quot;an unmarried person&quot; is, in the first instance, the
+derivation. Being derived from <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1500;&#1501;</span>, &quot;to grow
+up,&quot; &quot;to become marriageable,&quot; <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1500;&#1502;&#1492;</span> can denote
+nothing else than <i>puella nubilis</i>. But still more decisive is the <i>usus
+loquendi</i>. In Arabic and Syriac the corresponding words are never used of married
+women, and <i>Jerome</i> remarks, that in the Punic dialect also a virgin proper
+is called <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1500;&#1502;&#1492;</span>. 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1500;&#1502;&#1493;&#1514;</span> 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 <i>brides</i>, expressly contrasted with the
+<i>wives</i> of the first and second class. Marriage forms the boundary; the <i>
+Almah</i> 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1500;&#1502;&#1492;</span> may be used of a married woman also.
+The passage in its connection runs as follows: Ver. 18. &quot;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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 46]</span> eateth, and wipeth her mouth and
+saith: I have done no wickedness.&quot; According to <i>De Wette</i>, <i>Bertheau</i>,
+and others, the <i>tertium comparationis</i> 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 &quot;in the air&quot; would be without meaning, as well
+as the words &quot;in the heart of the sea&quot; mentioned in reference to the ship. But the
+real point of view is expressly stated in ver. 18. It is the <i>incomprehensible</i>.
+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 <i>to point out the mystery
+of sin</i>. In the case of the <i>eagle</i>, 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 <i>serpent</i>, 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: &quot;Do horses run upon the rock.&quot; In the <i>
+ship</i>, it is the circumstance that she safely passes over the abyss which, as
+it would appear, could not fail to swallow her up. <i>The way of a man with a maid</i>
+occupies the last place in order to intimate that <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">
+&#1491;&#1512;&#1498;</span>, as in the case of the adulteress, denotes the <i>spiritual</i> way.
+What is here meant is the relation of the man to the virgin, <i>generally</i>, for
+if any <i>particular</i> aspect had been regarded, <i>e. g.</i>, that of boldness,
+cunning, or secrecy, it <span class="pagenum">[Pg 47]</span> 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 <i>young</i> love which specially bears the character of the mysterious;
+after the relation has been established, it attracts less wonder.--<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1464;&#1512;&#1464;&#1492;</span>
+is the femin. of the verbal adj. <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1464;&#1512;&#1462;&#1492;</span>. The
+fundamental passage, Gen. xvi. 11, where the angel of the Lord says to Hagar: &quot;Behold
+thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael, because
+the Lord has heard thy affliction,&quot; shows that we must translate: The virgin <i>
+is</i> 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 <i>Almah</i> 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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1511;&#1512;&#1488;&#1514;</span> may be 3d fem. for
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1511;&#1512;&#1488;&#1492;</span>, comp. Jer. xliv. 23; but the fundamental
+passage in Gen. xvi. 11 is decisive for considering it as the 2d fem.: &quot;<i>thou</i>
+callest,&quot; 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. &quot;Thou callest&quot; can, on the contrary, according to the custom
+then prevalent, be substantially equivalent to: they shall name, Matt.
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#954;&#945;&#955;&#8051;&#963;&#959;&#965;&#963;&#953;</span>, <i>Jerome</i>: <i>vocabitur</i>.
+The name is, of course, not to be considered as an ordinary <i>nomen proprium</i>,
+but as a designation of his nature and character. It may be understood in different
+ways. Several interpreters, <i>e. g.</i>, <i>Jerome</i>, referring to passages such
+as Ps. xlvi. 8, lxxxix. 25, Is. xliii. 2, Jer. i. 8, see <span class="pagenum">[Pg
+48]</span> in it nothing else than an appeal to, and promise of divine aid. According
+to others, the name is to be referred to God&#39;s becoming man in the Messiah; thus
+<i>Theodoret</i> says: &quot;The name reveals the God who is with us, the God who became
+man, the God who took upon Him the human nature.&quot; In a similar manner <i>Irenaeus</i>,
+<i>Tertullian</i>, <i>Chrysostom</i>, <i>Lactantius</i>, <i>Calvin</i>, 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 <i>God-hero</i>, (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&#39;s being
+with His people, such as was made manifest when the word became flesh. (Chrysostom
+says: &quot;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.&quot;)</p>
+<p class="normal">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. &quot;Behold, a virgin is with child,
+and beareth a son&quot;--&quot;A child is born unto us, a son is given;&quot;--&quot;They call him Immanuel,&quot;
+<i>i.e.</i>, Him in whom God will be with us in the truest manner--&quot;They call Him
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 49]</span> Wonder-Counsellor, the God-Hero, Ever-Father,
+the Prince of Peace.&quot; 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 <i>world&#39;s power</i>, which in the meantime, and
+in the first place, was represented by <i>Asshur</i>: &quot;And the stretchings out of
+his wings are the fulness of the breadth of thy land, Immanuel,&quot; 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: &quot;Thy land, O Immanuel,&quot;
+the prophecy of the wonderful Child, in chap. viii. 23&#8211;ix. 6 (ix. 1&#8211;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 <i>His</i> land? The signification &quot;native country&quot; which
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1512;&#1509;</span>, 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&#39;s power takes possession of the land which <i>belongs</i>
+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 <i>virgin</i> here, we have, <i>she who is bearing</i>. 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 (&quot;<i>of eternity</i>&quot;),
+who, hence, cannot have been begotten by any mortal. Both of the prophecies mutually
+illustrate one another.
+<!--uncertain quote start-->&quot;Micah designates the Divine origin of the Promised
+One; Isaiah, the miraculous circumstances of His birth&quot; (<i>Rosenm�ller</i>) 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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 50]</span>
+world, in order to comfort them in the impending severe oppression by the world&#39;s
+power (viii. 8);--so Micah makes the oppression by the world&#39;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.</p>
+<p class="normal">The arguments which the Jews, and, following their example, the
+rationalistic interpreters, especially <i>Gesenius</i>, and with them <i>Olshausen</i>,
+have advanced against the Messianic explanation, prove nothing. They are these:</p>
+<p class="normal">1. &quot;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.&quot;
+This argument proves too much, and, hence, nothing. <i>It would be valid against
+Messianic prophecies in general</i>, 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&#39;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: &quot;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?&quot;
+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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 51]</span> 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">2. &quot;The ground of consolation is too <i>general</i>. 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.&quot;--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 <i>extreme</i> 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, &quot;the remnant will be converted,&quot; 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 <i>Saviour</i> 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">3. &quot;The sense in which <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1493;&#1514;</span>
+is elsewhere used in Scripture, is altogether disregarded by this interpretation.
+For, according to it, <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1493;&#1514;</span> would refer to a
+future event; but according to the <i>usus loquendi</i> elsewhere observed,
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1493;&#1514;</span>
+<!--changed quote-->&#39;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.&#39;&quot;<!--inserted single quote--> But, in opposition to this, it is
+sufficient to <span class="pagenum">[Pg 52]</span> 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: &quot;When thou hast brought forth my people out of Egypt,
+ye shall serve God upon this mountain.&quot; In chap. xxxvii. 30, our Prophet himself,
+as a confirmation of the word spoken in reference to the king of Asshur: &quot;I make
+thee return by the way by which thou earnest,&quot; 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.<sup class="ftnRef"><a name="ftnRef_52a" href="#ftn_52a">[4]</a></sup>
+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 <i>commonly</i>
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1493;&#1514;</span> is not used of future things; but this
+has its reason not in the idea of <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1493;&#1514;</span>, 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
+<i>could</i> 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">(4.) &quot;The passage, chap. viii. 3, 4, presents the most marked
+resemblance to the one before us. If <i>there</i> the Messianic explanation be decidedly
+inadmissible, it must be so <i>here</i> also. The name and birth of a child serves,
+there as here, for a sign of the deliverance from the Syrian dominion. If then
+<i>there</i> the mother of the child be the wife of the Prophet, and the child a
+son of his, the same must be the case <i>here</i> also.&quot; But it is <i>a priori</i>
+improbable that the Prophet should have given <span class="pagenum">[Pg 53]</span>
+to two of his sons names which had reference to the same event. To this must be
+added the circumstance, that the <i>time is wanting</i> 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 (<i>Gesenius</i>, <i>Hitzig</i>, <i>Hendewerk</i>,)
+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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1506;&#1500;&#1502;&#1492;</span>,
+whereby a virgin only can be designated; in chap. viii., &quot;the prophetess.&quot; In chap.
+vii. there is not even the slightest allusion to the Prophet&#39;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
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 54]</span> is the father of the child designated; and,
+farther, in the correspondence of Immanuel with <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1500;
+&#1490;&#1489;&#1493;&#1512;</span>, God-Hero.</p>
+<p class="normal">(5.) &quot;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.&quot; But although Immanuel
+be erroneously reckoned among the sons of the Prophet, there still remain Shearjashub
+and Mahershalalhashbaz. The latter name refers, <i>in the first instance only</i>,
+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 <i>salvation</i>
+to the prostrate <i>people of God</i>, so the second name announces near <i>destruction</i>
+to the triumphing <i>world</i> hostile to God; so that both the names supplement
+one another. As <i>signs</i>, 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 15. <i>Cream and honey shall he eat, when he knows to refuse
+the evil and choose the good.</i> Ver. 16. <i>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.</i></p>
+<p class="normal">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 <i>Jerome</i>
+says: &quot;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.&quot; <i>Calvin</i> says: &quot;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.&quot; In the same manner <i>Iren�nus</i>, <i>Chrysostom</i>, <i>Basil</i>,
+and, in our century, <i>Kleuker</i> and <i>Rosenm�ller</i> speak.--But this explanation
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 55]</span> is altogether overthrown by ver. 16. Most interpreters
+assume, in the latter verse, a change of subject; by
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1506;&#1512;</span>, 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1506;&#1512;</span>; 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 <i>Calvin&#39;s</i> 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
+<i>J. H. Michaelis</i>, refer ver. 16 also to the Messiah, and seek to get out of
+the difficulty by a <i>jam dudum</i>. 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 <i>Vitringa</i>, 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 <i>ideal anticipation of the real incarnation</i>, 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&#39;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, <i>that, in the space of
+about a twelvemonth, the overthrow of the hostile kingdoms would already have taken
+place</i>. As the representative of the cotemporaries, he brings forward the wonderful
+child who, as it were, formed the soul of the popular life. <i>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,</i> ver. 15,
+<i>for before he has entered upon this stage, the land of</i>
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 56]</span> <i>the two hostile kings shall be desolate.</i>
+In the subsequent prophecy, the same wonderful child, grown up into a warlike hero,
+brings the deliverance from Asshur, and the world&#39;s power represented by it.--We
+have still to consider and discuss the particular. <i>What is indicated by the eating
+of cream and honey?</i> The erroneous answer to this question, which has become
+current ever since <i>Gesenius</i>, has put everything into confusion, and has misled
+expositors such as <i>Hitzig</i> and <i>Meier</i> 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 <i>condition of plenty and prosperity</i>.
+&quot;A land flowing with milk and honey&quot; 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 &quot;very good land.&quot;
+The <i>cream</i> is, as it were, a gradation of <i>milk</i>. 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 <i>Hofmann</i> (<i>Weiss</i>, i. S. 227)
+thus paraphrases the sense: &quot;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.&quot; 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 <i>ray of light</i> to fall upon the dark picture
+of the <span class="pagenum">[Pg 57]</span> calamity which threatens from Asshur;
+and it could, indeed, <i>a priori</i>, 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: &quot;And the
+escaped of the house of Judah, that which has been left, taketh root downward, and
+beareth fruit upward.&quot;--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,
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1491;&#1506;&#1514;&#1493;</span> by &quot;(only) until he knows&quot; (comp. against
+this interpretation <i>Drechsler&#39;s Comment.</i>). <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">
+&#1500;&#1491;&#1506;&#1514;&#1493;</span> can only mean: &quot;belonging to his knowledge, <i>i.e.</i>, when he knows.&quot;<!--inserted quote-->
+<i>Good</i> and <i>evil</i> are, as early as Deut. i. 39: &quot;Your sons who to-day
+do not know good and evil,&quot; used more in a physical than in a moral sense. Michaelis:
+&quot;<i>rerum omnium ignari</i>.&quot; The parallel expression, &quot;not to be able to discern
+between the right hand and the left hand,&quot; in Jonah iv. 11 (Michaelis: &quot;<i>discretio
+rationis et judicii, ut sciant utra manus sit dextra aut sinistra</i>&quot;<!--inserted quote-->)
+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: &quot;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?&quot; 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 <i>precedes</i>, which must so much the rather have a meaning, that nowhere
+else is this the case with this phrase. The evil, the <span class="pagenum">[Pg
+58]</span> 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>i.e.</i>, 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1488;&#1505;</span> and
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1495;&#1512;</span> with <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;</span>
+points to the affection which accompanies the action.--<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1499;&#1497;</span>
+in ver. 16 suits very well, according to the view which we have taken, in its ordinary
+signification, &quot;for.&quot; 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); <i>for</i>,
+even before the year has expired, devastation shall be inflicted upon the land of
+the enemies. <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1488;&#1491;&#1502;&#1492;</span> comprehends at the same
+time the Syrian and Ephraimitish land.</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <i>saving</i> influence,
+obtained an <i>accusing</i> 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: &quot;The Lord
+shall bring upon thee and thy people,&quot; there follow still the words: &quot;And upon thy
+father&#39;s house,&quot; it appears that the fulfilment must not be sought for in the time
+of Ahaz only. In the time of Ahaz, the <i>beginning</i> only of the calamities here
+indicated can accordingly be sought for,--the <i>germ</i> from which all that followed
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 59]</span> 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&#39;s power, represents
+the world&#39;s power in general.</p>
+<hr class="W20">
+<p class="normal">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.</p>
+<p class="normal">1. <i>Rosenm�ller</i> 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 <i>Bruno Bauer</i> (<i>Critik der Synopt.</i> 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 &quot;deliverer from the collision of that time.&quot; This view has
+been expanded especially by <i>Ewald</i>. &quot;False,&quot; so he says, &quot;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&#39;s
+heart beats with joyful hope, chap. viii. 8, ix. 5, 6 (6, 7).&quot; 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 <i>real</i> Present
+instead of the <i>ideal</i>, and thinks that the Prophet imagined that the conception
+and birth of the Messiah would take place at once. By
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1500;&#1502;&#1492;</span> 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 &amp;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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 60]</span> 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 <i>real</i> 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&#39;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. <i>Farther</i>--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: <span class="pagenum">[Pg 61]</span> &quot;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!&quot;--&quot;The eating of cream and honey&quot; 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 &quot;to refuse the evil,&quot; &amp;c., cannot denote
+the maturer juvenile age. And many additional points might, in like manner, be urged.</p>
+<p class="normal">2. Several interpreters do not indeed deny the reference to the
+Messiah, but suppose that, <i>in the first instance</i>, 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: &quot;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
+&#39;remnant,&#39; or &#39;converting&#39;) designates the Jewish people that have been left and
+afterwards converted; while the second son Immanuel, &#39;with us is God,&#39; signifies
+the calling of the Gentiles after the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.&quot; This
+explanation was defended by, among others <i>Grotius</i>, <i>Richard Simon</i>,
+and <i>Clericus</i>; and then, in our century, by <i>Olshausen</i>, who says: &quot;The
+unity of the reference lies in the name Immanuel; the son of Isaiah had the <i>name</i>
+but Christ the <i>essence</i>. He was the visible God whom the former only represented.&quot;
+In a modified form, this view is held by <i>Lowth</i>, <i>Koppe</i>, and <i>von
+Meyer</i>, 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. &quot;The most obvious meaning which would present itself to
+Ahaz,&quot; says <i>von Meyer</i>, &quot;was this: If now a girl was to marry, to become
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 62]</span> pregnant, and to bear a child, she may call
+him &#39;God with us,&#39; for God will be with us at his time.&quot; But the prophecy is, after
+all, to have an ultimate reference to Christ. &quot;The prophecy,&quot; says <i>Lowth</i>,
+&quot;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?&quot; The reasons for the Messianic explanation
+are very well exhibited in these words of <i>Lowth</i>; but he, as little as any
+other of these interpreters, has been able to vindicate the assumption of a <i>double
+sense</i>. 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 <i>sanctum artificium</i> 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1500;&#1502;&#1492;</span>
+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.</p>
+<p class="continue"><span class="pagenum">[Pg 63]</span></p>
+<p class="normal">3. Many interpreters deny every reference to Christ. This interpretation
+remained for a long time the exclusive property of the Jews, until <i>J. E. Faber</i>
+(in his remarks on <i>Harmar&#39;s</i> observations on the East, i. S. 281), tried to
+transplant it into the Christian soil.<sup class="ftnRef"><a name="ftnRef_63a" href="#ftn_63a">[5]</a></sup>
+He was followed by the Roman Catholic, <i>Isenbiehl</i> (<i>Neuer Versuch �ber die
+Weissagung vom Immanuel</i>, 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 <i>J. D. Michaelis</i>. In their views about
+the <i>Almah</i>, who is to bear Immanuel, these interpreters are very much at variance.</p>
+<p class="hang1">(a) The more ancient Jews maintained that the <i>Almah</i> was
+the wife of Ahaz, and Immanuel, his son Hezekiah. According to the <i>Dialog. c.
+Tryph.</i> 66, 68, 71, 77, this view prevailed among them as early as the time of
+<i>Justin</i>. But they were refuted by <i>Jerome</i>, who showed that Hezekiah
+must, at that time, have already been at least nine years old. <i>Kimchi</i> and
+<i>Abarbanel</i> then resorted to the hypothesis of a second wife of Ahaz.</p>
+<p class="hang1">(b) According to the view of others, the <i>Almah</i> 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 <i>Isenbiehl</i>, <i>Steudel</i> (in a Programme,
+T�bingen, 1815), and others.</p>
+<p class="hang1">(c) According to the view of others, the <i>Almah</i> is not a
+<i>real</i> but only an <i>ideal</i> virgin. Thus <i>J. D. Michaelis</i>: &quot;At the
+time when one, who at this moment is still a virgin, can bear,&quot; &amp;c. <i>Eichhorn</i>,
+<i>Paulus</i>, <i>St�helin</i>, and others. The sign is thus made to consist in
+a mere poetical figure.</p>
+<p class="hang1">(d) A composition of the two views last mentioned is the view of
+<i>Umbreit</i>. The virgin is, according to him, an actual virgin whom the Prophet
+perceived among those surrounding him; but the pregnancy and birth are imaginary
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 64]</span> merely, and the virgin is to suggest to the
+Prophet the idea of pregnancy. But this explanation would saddle the Prophet with
+something indecent. <i>Farther</i>: 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</p>
+<p class="hang1">(e) The explanation of <i>Meier</i>, 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 <i>Meier</i> to get up this
+hypothesis, altogether unfounded, and undeserving of any minute refutation, is this:
+&quot;<i>The mother is, in the passage before us, called a virgin, and yet is designated
+as being with child.</i> The words, when understood physically and outwardly, contain
+a contradiction.&quot; But this fact is rather in favour of the Messianic explanation.</p>
+<p class="hang1">(f) Others, farther, conjecture that the wife of the Prophet is
+meant by the <i>Almah</i>. This view was advanced as early as by <i>Abenezra</i>
+and <i>Jarchi</i>. By the authority of <i>Gesenius</i>, 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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1500;&#1502;&#1492;</span> designates &quot;virgin&quot; 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&#39;s former wife had died, and that he had thereupon betrothed
+himself to a virgin. <i>Olshausen</i>, <i>Maurer</i>, <i>Hendewerk</i>, 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 &quot;the prophetess.&quot; Nor could one
+well see how the Prophet could expect to be understood, if, by the general expression:
+&quot;the virgin&quot; he wished to signify his presumptive betrothed. <i>There</i>
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 65]</span> <i>is an entire absence of every intimation
+whatsoever of a nearer relation of the Almah to the Prophet</i>; 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 <i>Pl�schke</i> 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 <i>Hendewerk</i>: &quot;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.&quot; <i>Hitzig</i>
+remarks: &quot;The supposition of a former wife of the Prophet is altogether destitute
+of any foundation.&quot; He then, however, falls back upon the hypothesis which <i>Gesenius</i>
+himself admitted to be untenable, that <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1500;&#1502;&#1492;</span>,
+&quot;virgin&quot; 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. <i>Hitzig</i> 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.--<i>Farther</i>,--In all
+these suppositions, <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1493;&#1514;</span> 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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 66]</span> surely not come up to the demand
+which in this context must be made in reference to this <i>sign</i>. And if the
+Prophet had announced so solemnly, and in words so sublime, the birth <i>of his
+own</i> child, he would have made himself ridiculous. <i>Farther</i>,--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. <i>Pl�schke</i>, 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
+<i>Worms</i>, (<i>Eisenmenger</i>, <i>entdecktes Judenthum</i> 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.</p>
+<hr class="ftn">
+<div class="ftn">
+	<p class="ftnText"><a name="ftn_29a" href="#ftnRef_29a"><sup class="ftnRef">
+	[1]</sup></a> <i>Meyer</i>, <i>Bl�tter f�r h�here Wahrheit</i>, iii. S. 101.]</p>
+</div>
+<div class="ftn">
+	<p class="ftnText"><a name="ftn_30a" href="#ftnRef_30a"><sup class="ftnRef">
+	[2]</sup></a> <i>Caspari</i> very justly remarks: &quot;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.&quot; But we cannot agree
+	with <i>Caspari</i> 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, <i>
+	both</i> 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.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="ftn">
+	<p class="ftnText"><a name="ftn_37a" href="#ftnRef_37a"><sup class="ftnRef">
+	[3]</sup></a> The words: &quot;In threescore and five years more, Ephraim shall be
+	broken and be no more a people,&quot; have, by rationalistic critics, without and
+	against all external arguments, been declared to be <i>spurious</i>. The reasons
+	which serve as fig leaves to cover their doctrinal tendency are the following:
+	(1) &quot;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.&quot; But the question
+	here is <i>the complete destruction of the national existence of Israel</i>;
+	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) &quot;The words contain
+	an unsuitable consolation, as Ahaz could not be benefitted by so late a destruction
+	of his enemy.&quot; But, immediately afterwards, he is even expressly assured that
+	this enemy will not be able to do him any immediate harm. <i>Chrysostom</i>
+	remarks: &quot;The king, hearing that they should be destroyed after sixty-five years,
+	might say within himself: What about that? Although they be <i>then</i> 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 <i>utterly</i> destroyed; but even now, they shall not have
+	any more than their own land, for &#39;the head of Ephraim,&#39;&quot;<!--inserted quote-->
+	&amp;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 <i>His servant</i> whom
+	He raises to be privy to His secrets.--(3.) &quot;The use of numbers so exact is
+	against the analogy of all oracles.&quot; 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 <i>Ewald</i>, &quot;a true old-Hebrew colouring,&quot; but in their
+	emphatic and solemn brevity (&quot;he shall be broken from [being] a people&quot;) 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 &quot;ends of smoking firebrands,&quot; 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>i.e.</i>, 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: &quot;If ye believe not,
+	ye shall not be established,&quot; 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&#39;s deliverance from the Syrians and Ephraimites
+	that is looked at, but its salvation in general.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="ftn">
+	<p class="ftnText"><a name="ftn_52a" href="#ftnRef_52a"><sup class="ftnRef">
+	[4]</sup></a> 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 <i>completely</i> cultivated.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="ftn">
+	<p class="ftnText"><a name="ftn_63a" href="#ftnRef_63a"><sup class="ftnRef">
+	[5]</sup></a> <i>Gesenius</i> mentions <i>Pellicanus</i> as the first defender
+	of the Non-Messianic interpretation. But this statement seems to have proceeded
+	from a cursory view of an annotation by <i>Cramer</i> on <i>Richard Simon&#39;s
+	Kritische Schriften</i> i. S. 441, where the words: &quot;this historical interpretation
+	<i>Pellicanus</i> too has preferred,&quot; do not refer to Isaiah but to Daniel.
+	Nor is there any more ground for the intimation that <i>Theodorus</i> a Mopsuesta
+	rejected the Messianic interpretation.</p>
+</div>
+<hr class="W20">
+<h3><a name="div2_66" href="#div2Ref_66">THE PROPHECY, CHAP. VIII. 23-IX. 6.</a></h3>
+<p class="center">(Chap. ix. 1-7.)</p>
+<p class="center">UNTO US A CHILD IS BORN.</p>
+<p class="normal">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
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 67]</span> their territories. The term in chap. vii. 16:
+&quot;Before the boy shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good,&quot; and in chap.
+viii. 4: &quot;Before the boy shall know to cry, My father and my mother,&quot; 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,
+<i>he ought to have fixed more distinctly the limits between the two termini.</i>
+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 <i>
+Vav convers.</i> the same rule applies as in reference to
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1493;&#1497;&#1510;&#1512;</span>, in Gen. ii. 19. The progress lies first
+in <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1493;&#1514;&#1500;&#1492;</span>; the event falling into that time
+is the birth.</p>
+<p class="normal">Chap. viii. 1-ix. 6 (7), forms the necessary <i>supplement</i>
+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>i.e.</i>, <i>the whole world&#39;s
+power first represented by Asshur.</i> For the King of Asshur is, so to say, an
+ideal person to the Prophet. The different phases of the world&#39;s powers are intimated
+as early as chap. viii. 9, where the Prophet addresses the &quot;nations,&quot; and &quot;all the
+far-off countries;&quot; and, at a later period, he received disclosures regarding all
+the single phases of the world&#39;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, <i>exhorting</i>, <i>comforting</i>, <i>promising</i>, so that
+thus the two sections form one whole in two divisions. <i>His main object is to
+induce his people, in the impending oppression by the world&#39;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.</i>
+As in chap. vii. 14, the <span class="pagenum">[Pg 68]</span> 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: &quot;Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.&quot; 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 <i>present occasion</i>,
+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&#39;s power.</p>
+<p class="normal">After these preliminary remarks, we must enter still more in detail
+upon the arrangement and construction of the section before us.</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <i>Asshur</i>,
+of whom Ahaz and the unbelieving portion of the people expected nothing but deliverance.
+<i>Up to this, there is a recapitulation only, and a confirmation of chap. vii.</i>
+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 <i>fade</i> before the bright image of
+Immanuel, which calls to the people: &quot;Be ye of good cheer, I have overcome the world.&quot;
+<i>Calvin</i> strikingly remarks: &quot;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. <span class="pagenum">[Pg 69]</span> 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.&quot; The Prophet then interrupts the announcement of deliverance,
+and exhibits the subjective conditions upon which the bestowal of deliverance, or
+rather the <i>partaking</i> 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: &quot;And I waited upon the Lord,&quot; &amp;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&#39;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&#39;s Word, and of unbelief, viz., <i>darkness</i>,
+<i>i.e.</i>, the absence of deliverance, will, as the Prophet, according to vers.
+21, 22, foresees, really befal them in future, as <span class="pagenum">[Pg 70]</span>
+the people will not fulfil the conditions held forth in vers. 16 and 20, as they
+will not speak: &quot;To the Law and to the testimony,&quot; 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 <i>darkness</i>, 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 <i>light</i> 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.</p>
+<hr class="W20">
+<p class="normal">Chap. viii. 23 (ix. 1). &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal"><span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1499;&#1497;</span> stands in its ordinary
+signification, &quot;for.&quot; 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: <span class="pagenum">[Pg 71]</span> &quot;To the Law and to
+the testimony!&quot; 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 <i>help of the Lord</i> already alluded to in vers. 9 and 10, and to the <i>
+light of His grace</i> 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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1499;&#1497;</span> with the verse immediately preceding instead
+of referring it to the main contents of the preceding section, have proved futile.
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1499;&#1497;</span> can neither mean &quot;nevertheless,&quot; nor &quot;yea;&quot;
+and the strange assertion that it is almost without any meaning at all cannot derive
+any support from Isaiah xv. 1: &quot;The <i>burden</i> of Moab, <i>for</i> in the night
+the city of Moab is laid waste;&quot; for only in that case is
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1499;&#1497;</span> without any meaning at all, if
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1513;&#1488;</span> be falsely interpreted.--Ver. 22, where
+the phrase <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1506;&#1493;&#1507; &#1510;&#1493;&#1511;&#1492;</span> &quot;darkness of distress&quot;
+is equivalent to &quot;darkness which consists in distress&quot; (compare also: &quot;behold trouble
+and darkness&quot; in the same verse), shows that <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1493;&#1506;&#1507;</span>
+and <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1493;&#1510;&#1511;</span> 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 <i>removal</i> of it called forth by the grace of the Lord.--<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1488;</span>
+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,
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1497;&#1503;</span> should rather have stood; while the analogy
+of the phrase: &quot;Not didst thou increase the joy,&quot; 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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1492;</span> refers, just as the suffix, in
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1492;</span> in ver. 21, to the omitted
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1512;&#1509;</span>.--The <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1499;</span>
+in <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1499;&#1506;&#1514;</span> is, by many interpreters, asserted
+to stand in the signification of <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1499;&#1488;&#1513;&#1512;</span>: &quot;Just
+as the former time has brought disgrace,&quot;<!--inserted quote--> &amp;c. But as it cannot
+be proved that <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1499;</span> has ever the meaning, &quot;just
+as;&quot; and as, on the other hand, <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1499;&#1506;&#1514;</span> frequently
+occurs in the signification, &quot;at the time&quot; (compare my remarks on Numb. xxiii. 13
+in my work on Balaam), we shall be obliged to take, here too, the
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1499;</span> as a temporal particle, and to supply, as
+the subject, Jehovah, who <span class="pagenum">[Pg 72]</span> always stands before
+the Prophet&#39;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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1495;&#1512;&#1493;&#1503;</span>, either
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1499;&#1506;&#1514;</span> may be supplied,--and this is simplest
+and most natural--or it may be taken as an Accusative, &quot;for the whole after-time.&quot;--<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1511;&#1500;</span>
+means properly to &quot;make light,&quot; then &quot;to make contemptible,&quot; &quot;to cover with disgrace,&quot;
+and <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1499;&#1489;&#1497;&#1491;</span> properly then, &quot;to make heavy,&quot;
+&quot;to honour,&quot;--a signification which indeed is peculiar to <i>Piel</i>, but in which
+the <i>Hiphil</i>, too, occurs in Jer. xxx. 19; the two verbs thus form an antithesis.
+The <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;</span> <i>locale</i> in
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1512;&#1510;&#1492;</span> (the word does not occur in Isaiah with
+the <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;</span> <i>paragog.</i>) shews that a certain
+modification of the verbal notion must be assumed: &quot;to bring disgrace and honour.&quot;
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1512;&#1510;&#1492;</span> thus would mean &quot;towards the land.&quot; The
+scene of the disgrace and honour, which at first was designated in general only,
+is afterwards <i>extended</i>. 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.--<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1501;</span> can, in this context
+which serves for a more definite qualification, mean the sea of Gennesareth only
+(<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1501; &#1499;&#1504;&#1512;&#1514;</span> Numb. xxxiv. 11, and other passages),
+just as, in Matt. iv. 13, the designation of Capernaum as
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7969; &#960;&#945;&#961;&#945;&#952;&#945;&#955;&#945;&#963;&#963;&#943;&#945;</span> receives its definite meaning
+from the context.--<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1491;&#1512;&#1498;</span> occurs elsewhere also
+in the signification of <i>versus</i>, <i>e.g.</i>, Ezek. viii. 5, xl. 20, 46; it
+will be necessary to supply after it <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1512;&#1509;</span>,
+just as in the case of the <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1489;&#1512; &#1492;&#1497;&#1512;&#1491;&#1503;</span> following.
+It is without any instance that <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1491;&#1512;&#1498;</span> &quot;way&quot;
+should stand for &quot;region,&quot; &quot;country.&quot; The region on the sea is then divided into
+its two parts <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1489;&#1512; &#1492;&#1497;&#1512;&#1491;&#1503;</span>,
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#960;&#8051;&#961;&#945;&#957; &#964;&#959;&#8166; &#7992;&#959;&#961;&#948;&#8049;&#957;&#959;&#965;</span>, 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 <i>usus loquendi</i>, many would understand
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1489;&#1512; &#1492;&#1497;&#1512;&#1491;&#1503;</span> as meaning the land &quot;on the side,&quot;
+<i>i.e.</i>, this side &quot;of the Jordan,&quot; 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. <span class="pagenum">[Pg 73]</span>
+In that passage the single places are mentioned which Tiglath-pilezer took; then,
+the whole districts, &quot;Gilead and Galilee, the whole land of Naphtali.&quot; By the latter
+words, that part of Galilee is made especially prominent upon which the catastrophe
+fell most severely and completely. In the phrase, &quot;Galilee of the Gentiles,&quot; 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 <i>Galil</i>, but not that the country was limited to them. The qualification,
+&quot;of the Gentiles,&quot; 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 <i>Theodoret</i> also saw. He says: &quot;He calls it &#39;Galilee
+of the Gentiles&#39; 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.&quot; 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, <i>but according to what
+it was to become in future</i>. The distress by the Gentiles appears in chap. vii.
+and viii. everywhere as a <i>future one</i>. At the time when the Prophet prophesied,
+the Jewish territory still existed in its integrity. In vers. 4, and 5-7, he announces
+Asshur&#39;s inroad into the land of Israel as a <i>future one</i>; 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&#39;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; <i>Keil</i> on 1 Kings ix. 11. But very soon after this,
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 74]</span> the name &quot;Galilee of the Gentiles&quot; ceased to
+be one merely prophetical; Tiglathpilezer carried the inhabitants of Galilee and
+Gilead into exile, 2 Kings xv. 29. <i>At a later period</i>, when the Greek empire
+&quot;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,&quot;
+this change was chiefly limited to Galilee and Peraea; Judea remained free from
+it; comp. <i>Ewald</i>, <i>Geschichte Israels</i>, 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 &quot;Galilee of the Gentiles&quot; may be
+learned from that chapter, where even the <i>expression</i> 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 <i>metropolis</i>, 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 <i>honour</i> or the <i>glorification</i>
+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 <i>Redeemer</i>, 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 <i>miracles</i>; 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. <i>Theodoret</i> strikingly remarks:
+&quot;Galilee was the native country of the holy Apostles; there the
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 75]</span> 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&#39;s wife&#39;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.&quot; Very aptly has <i>Gesenius</i> 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. <i>Sohar</i>, p. 1. fol. 119
+ed. Amstelod.; fol. 74 ed. Solisbae: <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1488;&#1512;&#1506;&#1514; &#1491;&#1490;&#1500;&#1497;&#1500;
+&#1497;&#1514;&#1490;&#1500;&#1497; &#1502;&#1500;&#1499;&#1488; &#1502;&#1513;&#1497;&#1514;&#1488;</span><!--word order questionable; see 1856 ed. and other web sites-->.
+&quot;King Messiah will reveal himself in the land of Galilee.&quot; 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.</p>
+<p class="normal"><a name="div2_75" href="#div2Ref_75">Chap. ix. 1 (2)</a>. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">&quot;The people&quot; 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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 76]</span>
+according to chap. viii. 22, darkness is to cover the whole of it--but only as that
+portion which comes chiefly into consideration. <i>Light</i> is, in the symbolical
+language of Scripture, salvation. That in which the <i>salvation</i> 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 <i>deliverance</i> 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 <i>spiritual</i> misery
+of the inward dependence upon it. <i>Farther</i>,--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. &quot;Thou returnest,&quot; so we read in Deut. xxx. 2, 3, &quot;to the Lord
+thy God, and the Lord thy God turneth to thy captivity.&quot; And in the same chapter,
+vers. 6, 7: &quot;The Lord thy God circumciseth thy heart, and <i>then</i> the Lord thy
+God putteth all these curses upon thine enemies.&quot; 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&#39;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 <i>addition</i>
+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 <i>outward</i> 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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 77]</span> place,
+which are here, in the first instance, looked at, is easily accounted for from the
+historical cause of this prophetic discourse which, <i>in the first instance, is
+directed against the fears of the destruction of the kingdom of God by the world&#39;s
+power</i>. Ps. xxiii. 4; &quot;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,&quot; 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.--<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1510;&#1500;&#1502;&#1493;&#1514;</span>,
+&quot;darkness of death,&quot; is the darkness which prevails in death or in Sheol. Such compositions
+commonly occur in proper names only, not in appellatives; and hence, by &quot;the land
+of the darkness (shadow) of death,&quot; 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 <i>real</i> Present
+instead of the <i>ideal</i>, yet even <i>Ewald</i> is compelled to remark on the
+passage under consideration: &quot;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.&quot;
+At the time when the Prophet uttered this Prophecy, even the <i>darkness</i> still
+belonged to the future. As yet the world&#39;s power had not gained the ascendancy over
+Israel; but here the light has already dispelled the darkness.</p>
+<p class="normal">It now merely remains for us to view more particularly the quotation
+of these two verses in Matt. iv. 12-17. <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7944;&#954;&#959;&#973;&#963;&#945;&#962; &#948;&#8050;</span>--thus
+the section begins--<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#8005;&#964;&#953; &#7992;&#969;&#940;&#957;&#957;&#951;&#962; &#960;&#945;&#961;&#949;&#948;&#972;&#952;&#951;, &#7936;&#957;&#949;&#967;&#974;&#961;&#951;&#963;&#949;&#957;
+&#949;&#7984;&#962; &#964;&#8052;&#957; &#915;&#945;&#955;&#953;&#955;&#945;&#943;&#945;&#957;.</span> Since, in these words, we are told that Jesus, after having
+received the intelligence of the imprisonment of <span class="pagenum">[Pg 78]</span>
+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 <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7936;&#957;&#945;&#967;&#974;&#961;&#949;&#8150;&#957;</span> denotes,
+on the contrary, the withdrawing into the <i>angulus terrae</i> Galilee, as contrasted
+with the civil and ecclesiastical centre. The <i>time</i> of the beginning of Christ&#39;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 <i>the place</i>, 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.--<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#922;&#945;&#8054; &#954;&#945;&#964;&#945;&#955;&#953;&#960;&#8060;&#957; &#964;&#8052;&#957; &#925;&#945;&#950;&#945;&#961;&#8050;&#964;</span>--it
+is said in ver. 13--<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7952;&#955;&#952;&#8060;&#957; &#954;&#945;&#964;&#8180;&#954;&#951;&#963;&#949;&#957; &#949;&#7984;&#962; &#922;&#945;&#960;&#949;&#961;&#957;&#945;&#959;&#8058;&#956;
+&#964;&#8052;&#957; &#960;&#945;&#961;&#945;&#952;&#945;&#955;&#945;&#963;&#963;&#943;&#945;&#957;, &#7952;&#957; &#8001;&#961;&#943;&#959;&#953;&#962; &#918;&#945;&#946;&#959;&#965;&#955;&#8060;&#957; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#925;&#949;&#966;&#952;&#945;&#955;&#949;&#943;&#956;.</span> 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 <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#964;&#8052;&#957; &#960;&#945;&#961;&#945;&#952;&#945;&#955;&#945;&#963;&#963;&#943;&#945;&#957;</span>
+stands in reference to <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#8001;&#948;&#8056;&#957; &#952;&#945;&#955;&#940;&#963;&#963;&#951;&#962;</span>, in ver.
+15. <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7960;&#957; &#8001;&#961;&#943;&#959;&#953;&#962;</span>, &amp;c., may either mean: &quot;In the
+borders of Zebulun and Naphtali,&quot; <i>i. e.</i> in that place where
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 79]</span> the borders of both the countries meet,--or
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#964;&#8048; &#8005;&#961;&#953;&#945;</span> may, according to the analogy of the
+Hebrew <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1490;&#1489;&#1493;&#1500;&#1497;&#1501;</span>, denote the borders in the sense
+of &quot;territory,&quot; as in Matt. ii. 16. From a comparison of
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#947;&#8134; &#918;&#945;&#946;&#959;&#965;&#955;&#8060;&#957; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#925;&#949;&#966;&#945;&#955;&#949;&#8055;&#956;</span> 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 <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7989;&#957;&#945; &#960;&#955;&#951;&#961;&#969;&#952;&#8135;</span> does not, according to the
+very sound remark of <i>De Wette</i>, point to the intention, but to the objective
+aim. The question, however, is to what the <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7989;&#957;&#945; &#960;&#955;&#951;&#961;&#969;&#952;&#8134;</span>
+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
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7936;&#957;&#949;&#967;&#8061;&#961;&#951;&#963;&#949;&#957; &#949;&#7984;&#957; &#964;&#8052;&#957; &#915;&#945;&#955;&#953;&#955;&#945;&#8055;&#945;&#957;</span>. 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
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#8001;&#948;&#8056;&#957; &#952;&#945;&#955;&#940;&#963;&#963;&#951;&#962;</span> of the prophecy was found again,
+and that, therefore, thence the <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#960;&#8051;&#961;&#945;&#957; &#964;&#959;&#8166; &#7992;&#959;&#961;&#948;&#8049;&#957;&#959;&#965;</span>
+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 <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#947;&#8134;--&#964;&#8182;&#957; &#7952;&#952;&#957;&#8182;&#957;</span> 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 <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#8001; &#955;&#945;&#8057;&#962;</span>, which has become an
+apposition, they form <span class="pagenum">[Pg 80]</span> the subject of the following
+sentence. At all events, <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#8001;&#948;&#8057;&#957;</span> takes here the
+place of the adverb, although it may not be possible to adduce instances and proofs
+altogether analogous from the Greek <i>usus loquendi</i>.--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 <i>Gesenius</i> 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. <i>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.</i> 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 2 (3). &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 81]</span> 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, <i>e.g.</i>, it happened at the time after their return
+from the captivity, comp. Ps. cvii. 38, 39: &quot;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.&quot; 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: &quot;I will make of thee a great nation&quot; (<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1490;&#1493;&#1497;</span>
+as in the passage before us, and not <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1501;</span>),
+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: &quot;Thou multipliest the nation,&quot;
+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:
+&quot;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.&quot; Comp. also chap. lxvi. 7-9, and
+Ezek. xxxvii. 25, 26: &quot;And my servant David shall be their prince for ever. And
+I make a covenant with them and multiply them.&quot; Several interpreters, <i>e. g.</i>
+<i>Calvin</i>, <i>Vitringa</i>, 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. <i>Vitringa</i>
+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
+<i>prelude</i> to the real fulfilment; <span class="pagenum">[Pg 82]</span> 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 <i>Umbriet</i>: &quot;Thou hast multiplied the <i>heathen</i>, and
+thereby thou hast removed all joy; but now,&quot; &amp;c., it will be quite sufficient to
+refer to the parallel passage, chap. xxvi. 15: &quot;Thou increasest the <i>people</i>,
+O Lord, thou art glorified, thou removest all the boundaries of the land,&quot; where,
+just as in the verse before us, by <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1490;&#1493;&#1497;</span> &quot;the
+people,&quot; Israel is designated; and that is frequently the case where the notion
+of the multitude, the mass only is concerned, comp. Gen. xii. 2.--&quot;<i>Thou didst
+not increase the joy</i>&quot; 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 <i>light</i> is rendered brighter by being contrasted with the former
+<i>darkness</i>. The contrast of the present <i>increase</i> 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 <i>decrease</i>.
+Ps. cvii. 38, 39, 41, shews how affliction and decrease, joy and increase, go hand
+in hand; farther, Jerem. xxx. 19: &quot;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.&quot; 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1493;</span>, &quot;<i>to him</i>&quot; hast thou increased
+the joy. According to many modern interpreters, <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1488;</span>
+is supposed to be a different mode of writing for <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">
+&#1500;&#1493;</span>. But no <i>proof</i> that could stand the test can be brought forward
+for <span class="pagenum">[Pg 83]</span> such a mode of writing; nor is there any
+reason for supposing that <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1488;</span> stands here in
+a different sense from what it does in chap. viii. 23, and it would indeed be strange
+that <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1493;</span> should have been placed before the
+verb. At most, it might be supposed that the Prophet intended an ambiguous and double
+sense: <sup>not</sup>/<sub>to him</sub> 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, &amp;c.; and it is to this positive
+that the words refer which, in Luke ii. 10, the angels address to the shepherds:
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#956;&#8052; &#966;&#959;&#946;&#949;&#8150;&#963;&#952;&#949;, &#7984;&#948;&#959;&#8058; &#947;&#8048;&#961; &#949;&#8016;&#945;&#947;&#947;&#949;&#955;&#943;&#950;&#959;&#956;&#945;&#953; &#8017;&#956;&#8150;&#957; &#967;&#945;&#961;&#8048;&#957; &#956;&#949;&#947;&#940;&#955;&#951;&#957;
+&#7973;&#964;&#953;&#962; &#7956;&#963;&#964;&#945;&#953; &#960;&#945;&#957;&#964;&#8054; &#964;&#8183; &#955;&#945;&#8183; &#8005;&#964;&#953; &#7952;&#964;&#941;&#967;&#952;&#951; &#8017;&#956;&#8150;&#957; &#963;&#942;&#956;&#949;&#961;&#959;&#957; &#963;&#969;&#964;&#8052;&#961;, &#8005;&#962; &#7952;&#963;&#964;&#953; &#935;&#961;&#953;&#963;&#964;&#8056;&#962; &#922;&#973;&#961;&#953;&#959;&#962;</span>;
+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 <i>before God</i>, 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 <i>before the Lord</i>, 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 <i>the dividing of the spoil</i>, the joy is compared
+only to show its greatness, just as with the joy <i>in the harvest</i>; and it is
+in vain that Knobel tries here to bring in a dividing of spoil.</p>
+<p class="normal">Vers. 3, (4). &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">In this verse, the reason of the people&#39;s joy announced in the
+preceding verse is stated: it is the deliverance from the world&#39;s power, under the
+oppression of which they groaned, or, in point of fact, were to groan. He who imposes
+the <i>yoke</i> and the <i>staff</i>, the <i>driver</i>, (an allusion to the Egyptian
+taskmasters, masters, comp. Exod. iii. 7; v. 10), is Asshur, and the <i>whole</i>
+world&#39;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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 84]</span>
+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: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#952;&#945;&#961;&#963;&#949;&#8150;&#964;&#949;, &#7952;&#947;&#8060; &#957;&#949;&#957;&#943;&#954;&#951;&#954;&#945; &#964;&#8056;&#957; &#954;&#972;&#963;&#956;&#959;&#957;</span>,
+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.--<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1513;&#1499;&#1501;</span>
+&quot;shoulder&quot; does not suit as the <i>membrum cui verbera infliguntur</i>; it comes,
+as is commonly the case, into consideration as that member with which burdens are
+borne. The <i>staff</i> or tyranny is a heavy <i>burden</i>, comp. chap. x. 27:
+&quot;His burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder.&quot; &quot;<i>As in the day of Midian</i>&quot;
+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&#39;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 (<i>thou</i> hast broken) was
+at that time specially visible. &quot;I will be with thee,&quot; says the Lord to Gideon in
+Judges vi. 16, &quot;and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man;&quot; and Judges vii.
+2: &quot;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.&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">Vers. 4, (5). &quot;<i>For every war-shoe put on with noise, and the
+garment rolled in blood: it is for burning, food of fire.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">We have here the reason why the tyranny is broken: <i>for</i>
+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, &quot;for the
+dead do not live, and the shades do not rise,&quot; 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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 85]</span> the conquerors. Nor can
+we, according to these passages, entertain, for a moment, the idea of <i>Meier</i>,
+that those bloody garments belong to <i>Israel</i>.</p>
+<p class="normal">Vers. 5 (6). &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1500;&#1491;</span>
+and <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1514;&#1503;</span>. 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. <i>Hitzig</i> correctly remarks:
+&quot;Because He is still <i>future</i>, the Prophet in His first appearance, beholds
+Him as a child, and as the son of another.&quot; <i>Whose</i> 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: &quot;Upon
+the throne of David&quot; 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 &quot;God-Hero&quot;
+alludes, and connects itself. Alluding to the passage before us, we read in John
+iii. 16: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#959;&#8021;&#964;&#969; &#947;&#8048;&#961; &#7968;&#947;&#940;&#960;&#951;&#963;&#949;&#957; &#8001; &#952;&#949;&#8056;&#962; &#964;&#8056;&#957; &#954;&#972;&#963;&#956;&#959;&#957;</span>
+<!--see 1856 ed.-->(&quot;The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this,&quot;) vers. 6
+[7], <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#8037;&#963;&#964;&#949; &#964;&#8056;&#957; &#965;&#7985;&#8056;&#957; &#964;&#8056;&#957; &#956;&#959;&#957;&#959;&#947;&#949;&#957;&#8134; &#7956;&#948;&#969;&#954;&#949;&#957;</span>.--When
+grown up, the Son has the government upon His shoulder. The Prophet contrasts Christ
+with the <i>world&#39;s power</i>, which threatened destruction to the people of God.
+This, then, refers to the <i>Kingly office</i> of Christ, and the state of glory.
+Parallel is the declaration of Christ in Matt. xxviii. 18,
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7952;&#948;&#972;&#952;&#951; &#956;&#959;&#953; &#960;&#8118;&#963;&#945; &#7952;&#958;&#959;&#965;&#963;&#943;&#945;</span>. The Lord has also,
+in John xviii. 37, confirmed the truth that He is <i>King</i>; 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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 86]</span> this world,
+John xviii. 36, it is, just for that very reason, so much the more all-governing.
+The <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7952;&#957;&#964;&#949;&#8166;&#952;&#949;&#957;</span> in that passage is contrasted
+with the words &quot;from heaven&quot; 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.--&quot;<i>The shoulder</i>&quot; comes, here also, as in vers.
+3 (4), chap. x. 27, into consideration in so far as on it we <i>bear</i>; 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, &amp;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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1513;&#1502;&#1493; &#1511;&#1512;&#1488;</span><!--Biblos and 1856 ed have words in reverse of this-->
+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 <i>four</i>,--the mark of that which is complete and finished. <i>
+They form two pairs, and every single name is again compounded of two names.</i>
+The first name is <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1508;&#1500;&#1488; &#1497;&#1493;&#1506;&#1509;</span>. That these two
+words must be <i>connected</i> with one another (<i>Theodor.</i>--<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#952;&#945;&#965;&#956;&#945;&#963;&#964;&#8182;&#962;
+&#946;&#959;&#965;&#955;&#949;&#8059;&#969;&#957;</span>) appears from the analogy of the other names, especially of
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1500; &#1490;&#1489;&#1468;&#1493;&#1512;</span> with whom
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1508;&#1500;&#1488; &#1497;&#1493;&#1506;&#1509;</span> forms one pair; and then from the
+circumstance that <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1493;&#1506;&#1509;</span> alone would, in this
+connection, be too indefinite. The words do not stand in the relation of the <i>
+Status constructus</i>, but are connected in the same manner as
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1508;&#1500;&#1488; &#1488;&#1491;&#1501;</span> in Gen. xvi. 12.
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1493;&#1506;&#1509;</span> designates the attribute which is here
+concerned, while <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1508;&#1500;&#1488;</span> 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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg
+87]</span> a King. As a <i>Counsellor</i>, He is a <i>Wonder</i>, absolutely elevate
+d above everything which the earth possesses in excellency of counselling. As
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1508;&#1500;&#1488;</span> commonly denotes &quot;wonder&quot; in the strictest
+sense (comp. chap. xxv. 1: &quot;I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name, for thou
+hast done wonders,&quot; Ps. lxxvii. 15: &quot;Thou art the God that doest wonders;&quot; Exod.
+xv. 11); as it here stands in parallelism with <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1500;</span>
+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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1508;&#1500;&#1488; &#1497;&#1493;&#1506;&#1509;</span> &quot;extraordinary Counsellor.&quot;
+Parallel is Judges xiii. 18 where the Angel of the Lord, after having announced
+the birth of Samson, says: &quot;Why askest thou thus after my name?--it is wonderful,&quot;
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1508;&#1500;&#1488;&#1497;</span>, <i>i.e.</i>, my whole nature is wonderful,
+of unfathomable depth, and cannot, therefore, be expressed by any human name. <i>
+Farther</i>--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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1508;&#1500;&#1497;&#1488; &#1506;&#1510;&#1492;</span>, &quot;He shows himself wonderful in
+His counsel.&quot;--The second name is <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1500; &#1490;&#1489;&#1468;&#1493;&#1512;</span>
+&quot;God-Hero.&quot; Besides the ability of giving good counsel, a good government requires
+also <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1490;&#1489;&#1493;&#1512;&#1492;</span> 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 <i>human measure</i> of heroic strength, but who is also
+a <i>God-Hero</i>, and a <i>Hero-God</i>, so that with His appearance there <i>disappears</i>
+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 <i>limited</i>, <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1500; &#1490;&#1489;&#1493;&#1512;</span>
+can signify God-Hero only, a Hero who is infinitely exalted above all human heroes
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 88]</span> by the circumstance that He is <i>God</i>.
+To the attempts at weakening the import of the name, chap. x. 21, where
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1500; &#1490;&#1489;&#1493;&#1512;</span> is said of the Most High, appears
+a very inconvenient obstacle,--a parallel passage which does not occur by chance,
+but where <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1513;&#1488;&#1512; &#1497;&#1513;&#1493;&#1489;</span> stands with an intentional
+reference to chap. vii.: &quot;The remnant shall return, the remnant of Jacob, unto the
+Hero-God,&quot; who is furnished with invincible strength for His people; comp. Ps. xxiv.
+8: &quot;The Lord strong and a hero, the Lord a hero of war.&quot; The older Rationalistic
+exposition endeavoured to set aside the deity of the Messiah by the explanation:
+&quot;strong hero.&quot; So also did <i>Gesenius</i>. This explanation, against which chap.
+x. 21 should have warned, has been for ever set aside by the remark of <i>Hitzig</i>:
+&quot;Commonly, in opposition to all the <i>usus loquendi</i>, the word is translated
+by: <i>strong hero</i>. But <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1500;</span> is always,
+even in passages such as Gen. xxxi. 29, &quot;God,&quot; and in all those passages which are
+adduced to prove that it means &quot;<i>princeps</i>,&quot; &quot;<i>potens</i>,&quot; the forms are
+to be derived not from <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1500;</span>, but from
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1497;&#1500;</span>, which properly means &#39;ram,&#39; then &#39;leader,&#39;
+&#39;prince.&#39;&quot; By this explanation, especially the passage Ezek. xxxii. 21, which had
+formerly been appealed to in support of the translation &quot;strong hero,&quot; is set aside;
+for the <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1500;&#1497; &#1490;&#1489;&#1468;&#1493;&#1512;&#1497;&#1501;</span> of that passage are &quot;rams
+of heroes.&quot; Rationalistic interpreters now differ in their attempts at getting rid
+of the troublesome fact. <i>Hitzig</i> says, &quot;Strong God&quot;--he erroneously views
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1490;&#1489;&#1468;&#1493;&#1512;</span>, which always means &quot;hero,&quot; as an adjective--&quot;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.&quot; A like opinion is expressed by <i>Knobel</i>: &quot;Strong God the Messiah
+is called, because in the wars with the Gentiles He will prove himself as a hero
+equipped with divine strength.&quot;<!--inserted uncertain quote--> 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1500;&#1492;&#1497;&#1501;</span>, &quot;gods, <i>Like</i>
+God, to be compared to Him, a worthy representative of Him, and hence, likewise,
+called God.&quot; It is true that there is one <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1500; &#1490;&#1489;&#1468;&#1493;&#1512;</span>
+only, and that, according to chap. x. 21, the Messiah cannot be
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1500; &#1490;&#1489;&#1468;&#1493;&#1512;</span> beside the Most High God, excepting
+<i>by partaking in his nature</i>. Such a participation in the nature, not His being
+merely filled with the power of <span class="pagenum">[Pg 89]</span> 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; <i>
+e.g.</i>, a court of justice is of God, and he who appears before it appears before
+God. But the name <i>Elohim</i> is there given <i>in general only to the judicial
+court</i>, which represents God--to the <i>office</i>, not to the single individuals
+who are invested with it. In Ps. lxxxii. 1, the name <i>Elohim</i> in the expression:
+&quot;He judgeth among the gods&quot; 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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1500; &#1490;&#1489;&#1468;&#1493;&#1512;</span> 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: &quot;I have said ye are <i>Elohim</i>, and sons of the Most High
+ye all;&quot; and, finally, that there <i>Elohim</i> is used as the most vague and general
+name of God, while here <i>El</i>, a personal name, is used. <i>Hendewerk</i>,
+<i>Ewald</i>, and others, finally, explain &quot;<i>God&#39;s hero</i>,&quot; <i>i.e.</i>, &quot;a
+divine hero, who, like an invincible God, fights and conquers.&quot; But in opposition
+to this view, it has been remarked by <i>Meier</i> that then necessarily the words
+ought to run, <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1490;&#1489;&#1493;&#1512; &#1488;&#1500;</span>. It is farther obvious
+that by this explanation the <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1490;&#1489;&#1493;&#1512; &#1488;&#1500;</span><!--Biblos has inverse word order-->
+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.</p>
+<p class="normal">The third name is <i>Father of eternity</i>. That admits of a
+double explanation. Several interpreters refer to the Arabic <i>usus loquendi</i>,
+according to which he is called the father of a thing who possesses it; <i>e.g.</i>,
+Father of mercy, <i>i.e.</i>, the merciful one. This <i>usus loquendi</i>, according
+to the supposition formerly very current, occurs in Hebrew very frequently, especially
+in proper names, <i>e.g.</i>, <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1496;&#1493;&#1489; &#1488;&#1489;&#1497;</span>. &quot;Father
+of goodness,&quot; <i>i.e.</i>, 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 <i>he who will ever be a Father</i>, <i>an affectionate provider</i>,
+comp. chap. xxii. 21, where Eliakim <span class="pagenum">[Pg 90]</span> is called
+&quot;<i>Father</i> to the inhabitants of Jerusalem;&quot; Job xxix. 16; Ps. lxviii. 6. <i>
+Luther</i>, too, thus explains: &quot;Who at all times feeds His Kingdom and Church,
+in whom there is a fatherly love without end.&quot; The <i>latter</i> 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 <i>Ewald</i>, that that <i>usus loquendi</i>
+in Arabic always belongs to the artificial, often to jocular discourse. Whether
+it occur in Hebrew at all is still a matter of controversy; <i>Ewald</i>, � 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 <i>wisdom</i>, and divine <i>heroic strength</i>. The rationalistic
+interpreters labour very hard to <i>weaken</i> the idea of <i>eternity</i>. But
+the &quot;Provider for life&quot;<!--inserted quote--> agrees very ill with the <i>Wonder-Counsellor</i>,
+and the <i>God-hero</i>. The absolute eternity of the Messiah&#39;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 <i>divine Majesty</i>, comp. chap.
+xlv. 17: &quot;Israel is saved by the Lord with an <i>everlasting</i> salvation; ye shall
+not be ashamed nor confounded in all <i>eternity</i>&quot; chap. lvii. 15, where God
+is called <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1513;&#1499;&#1503; &#1506;&#1491;</span> &quot;the ever dwelling;&quot; farther,
+Ps. lxviii. 6: &quot;A <i>Father</i> of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows is
+God in His holy habitation,&quot; where the providence of God for the <i>personae miserabiles</i>
+is praised with a special reference to that which He does for His poor people.--<i>Hitzig&#39;s</i>
+explanation: &quot;Father of prey,&quot; 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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1491;</span> must be taken in its ordinary signification
+&quot;eternity.&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">The fourth name, <i>Prince of peace</i>, 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, <span class="pagenum">[Pg 91]</span> have directed
+the Prophet&#39;s eye to the Messiah. The name points back to Solomon who typified Christ&#39;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 <i>God-Hero</i>? 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
+<i>obtains by force</i> 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 6 (7.) &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">There is no reason for connecting this verse with the preceding
+one; in which case the sense would be: &quot;For the increase of government and for peace
+without end.&quot; <i>For</i> chap. ii. 7; Nah. ii. 10; Job. xvi. 3--in which
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;</span> with <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1511;&#1509;</span>
+occurs in the very same sense--clearly show that the
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;</span> in <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1513;&#1500;&#1493;&#1501;</span>
+and <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1502;&#1512;&#1489;&#1492;</span> may very well be understood as a
+mere sign of the Dative. And the objection that the following
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1492;&#1499;&#1497;&#1503;</span>, &amp;c. would, in that case, be unsuitable,
+is removed if it be explained: so that He establisheth, &amp;c., or: by His establishing,
+&amp;c.; comp. <i>Ewald</i>, <i>Lehrbuch der Hebr. Sprache</i> � 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 <i>extent</i>, and, along
+with it, perfect <i>peace</i> 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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 92]</span> government and
+peace, far from being always connected, are, on the contrary, irreconcilable opponents,
+but by <i>justice</i> and <i>righteousness</i>. Parallel is Ps. lxvii. In vers.
+11-15 of that Psalm, the Psalmist just points to that &quot;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.&quot; <i>Decrease</i> of government and <i>war</i> 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 <i>peace</i>
+without end, comp. Ps. lxxii. 7; chap. ii. 4; Mic. v. 4 (5), and the words: &quot;He
+speaketh peace unto the heathen,&quot; Zech. ix. 10. The
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;</span> 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&#39;s family, comp. chap. xi. 1 where he designates Him as the twig of Jesse.--<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1499;&#1497;&#1503;</span>
+&quot;to confirm,&quot; &quot;to establish,&quot; 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: &quot;from
+henceforth even for ever&quot; do not, as <i>Umbreit</i> 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: &quot;And I will establish the throne of His kingdom for ever;&quot; see Vol.
+i. p. 131. <i>Michaelis</i> says: &quot;So that that promise to David shall never fail.&quot;
+The <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1514;&#1492;</span> does not refer to the <i>actual</i>,
+but to the <i>ideal</i> present, to the first appearance of the Redeemer, to the
+words: &quot;Unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given, and the government is upon
+His shoulder.&quot;--This great change is brought about <span class="pagenum">[Pg 93]</span>
+by the <i>zeal</i> of the Lord who raises this glorious King to His people; comp.
+John iii. 16. The zeal in itself is only <i>energy</i>; 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: &quot;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,&quot; the zeal of God means the energetic character of His love to Zion.</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <i>Breshith Rabbah</i> in the exposition
+of Genesis xli. 44 (see <i>Raim. Martini Pugio fidei</i>, Vol. iii. sec. 3, chap.
+xiv. � 6), by Rabbi <i>Jose Galilaeus</i> in the book <i>Ekha Rabbati</i>, a Commentary
+on Lamentations (see <i>Raim. Matt.</i> iii. 3 chap. 4, � 13). <i>Ben Sira</i> (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, <i>Rabbi Lipmann</i> 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, <i>Grotius</i> was the first to abandon the Messianic explanation.
+Even <i>Clericus</i> acknowledges that the predicates are applicable to Hezekiah
+&quot;<i>sensu admodum diluto</i>&quot; only. At the time when Rationalism had the ascendancy,
+it became pretty current to explain them of Hezekiah. <i>Gesenius</i> modified this
+view by supposing that the Prophet had connected his Messianic wishes and expectations
+with Hezekiah, and <span class="pagenum">[Pg 94]</span> expected their realization
+by him. At present this view is nearly abandoned; after <i>Gesenius</i>, <i>Hendewerk</i>
+is the only one who still endeavours to defend it.</p>
+<p class="normal">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. <i>Farther</i>--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&#39;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? <i>Finally</i>--The undeniable agreement of the prophecy before us with
+other Messianic passages, especially with Ps. lxxii. and Is. xi., where even <i>
+Gesenius</i> did not venture to maintain the reference to Hezekiah, is decidedly
+in opposition to the reference to Hezekiah.</p>
+<h3><a name="div2_94" href="#div2Ref_94">THE TWIG OF JESSE.</a></h3>
+<p class="center">(Chap. xi., xii.)</p>
+<p class="normal">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&#39;s reign. From the circumstance that in it
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 95]</span> 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 <i>ideal</i> Present with the <i>actual</i>, 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&#39;s destruction, and Judah&#39;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&#39;s life, rich in the revelations
+of divine glory, in which his prophecy flowed in full streams, and spread on all
+sides.</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <i>begin</i> the
+prophetical discourse; but still more clearly from the circumstance that chap. xi.
+begins with &quot;and;&quot; 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
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 96]</span> 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&#39;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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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: &quot;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,&quot;<!--see 1856 ed.--> <i>refers to him as the representative
+of the whole world&#39;s power</i>; that the defeat of Sennacherib before Jerusalem
+is to be considered as the nearest fulfilment only, but not as the <i>full</i> and
+<i>real</i> fulfilment.</p>
+<p class="normal">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: &quot;Fear not.&quot; Under Him they obtain deliverance
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 97]</span> 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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: <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1493;&#1497;&#1508;&#1511; &#1502;&#1500;&#1499;&#1488; &#1502;&#1489;&#1504;&#1493;&#1492;&#1497; &#1491;&#1497;&#1513;&#1497; &#1493;&#1502;&#1513;&#1497;&#1495;&#1488; &#1502;&#1489;&#1504;&#1497;
+&#1489;&#1504;&#1493;&#1492;&#1497; &#1497;&#1514;&#1512;&#1489;&#1497;</span>. 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 <i>Jarchi</i>, <i>Abarbanel</i>,
+and <i>Kimchi</i>.<sup class="ftnRef"><a name="ftnRef_97a" href="#ftn_97a">[1]</a></sup>
+It is professed even by most of the rationalistic interpreters, by the modern ones
+especially, without any exception (<i>Eichhorn</i>, <i>De Wette</i>, <i>Gesenius</i>,
+<i>Hitzig</i>, <i>Maurer</i>, <i>Ewald</i>), although, it is true, they distinguish
+between Jesus Christ and the Messiah of the Old Testament,--as, <i>e.g.</i>, <i>
+Gesenius</i> has said: &quot;Features such as those in ver. 4 and 5 exclude any other
+than the political Messiah, and King of the Israelitish state,&quot; and <i>Hitzig</i>:
+&quot;A political Messiah whose attributes, especially those assigned to him ver. 3 and
+4, are not applicable to Jesus.&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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.<sup class="ftnRef"><a name="ftnRef_97b" href="#ftn_97b">[2]</a></sup>
+Interpreters more numerous and distinguished have referred it to Hezekiah. This
+interpretation is mentioned as early as by <i>Ephraem Syrus</i>; among the Rabbis
+it was held by <i>Moses Hakkohen</i>, and <i>Abenezra</i>; among Christian interpreters,
+<i>Grotius</i> was the first who professed it, but in such a manner that he assumed
+a higher reference to Christ. (&quot;The Prophet returns to praise Hezekiah in words
+under which the higher praises of Christ are concealed.&quot;) He was followed by <i>
+Dathe</i>. The exclusive reference to Hezekiah was maintained by <i>Hermann v. d.</i>
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 98]</span> <i>Hardt</i>, 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 <i>Bahrdt</i>. Among the expositors
+of the last decade, this interpretation is held by <i>Hendewerk</i> alone.</p>
+<p class="normal">The reasons for the Messianic interpretation, and against making
+Hezekiah the subject of the prophecy, are, among others, the following:--</p>
+<p class="normal">1. <i>The comparison of the parallel passages.</i> 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 &quot;Sprout&quot; 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <i>whole earth</i> appears as the sphere of His dominion. Still more
+distinctly is the human sphere overstepped by the announcement that, under His government,
+<i>sin</i>, 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 <i>God</i> only; and according to ver. 10, the heathen shall
+render Him religious reverence.</p>
+<p class="normal">3. A <i>future</i> scion of David is here promised. For
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1493;&#1497;&#1510;&#1488;</span> in ver. 1 must be taken as a <i>praeteritum
+propheticum</i>, 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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 99]</span> at the time when
+this prophecy was composed, Hezekiah had long ago entered upon the government.</p>
+<p class="normal">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. <i>Farther</i>: 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 <i>Ewald</i>, 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&#39;s powers, all of which are already to have taken place at the time of the
+King&#39;s appearance, and which lay beyond the historical horizon at the time of the
+Prophet.</p>
+<p class="normal">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: &quot;The exaltation of the world&#39;s power, is a prophecy of its abasement;
+the abasement of the Davidic Kingdom is a prophecy of its exaltation,&quot;
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 100]</span> 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&#39;s appearance, it must
+be easy, even in the present difficulty, to hope for the lower salvation.</p>
+<p class="normal">The distinction between the &quot;political Messiah&quot; of the prophecy
+before us, and &quot;Jesus of Nazareth&quot;--a distinction got up by Rationalism--rests chiefly
+upon the fact that Rationalism knows Christ as the <i>Son of Man</i> 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 &quot;political Messiah&quot; is excluded; for to such an one
+the words: &quot;He smiteth the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath
+of His lips He slayeth the wicked&quot; 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">In the whole section, the Redeemer appears as a <i>King</i>. This
+is altogether a matter of course, for He forms the antithesis to the king of Asshur.
+It is quite in vain that <i>Umbreit</i> has endeavoured to bring political elements
+into the description. Thereby the sense is essentially altered. We must keep closely
+in view the Prophet&#39;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
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 101]</span> in their eyes they could not avoid laughing
+at themselves for having stood so much in awe of him.</p>
+<p class="normal">As is commonly the case in the Messianic prophecies, so here,
+too, no attention is paid to the development of Christ&#39;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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 1. &quot;<i>And there cometh forth a twig from the stump of Jesse,
+and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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? <i>Luther</i> says: &quot;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!&quot; The same contrast appears in Ezek.
+xvii. 24. The Lord brings down the high tree of the world&#39;s power, and exalts the
+low tree of the Davidic house. The word <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1490;&#1494;&#1506;</span>
+does not mean &quot;stem&quot; in general, as several rationalistic interpreters, and <i>Meier</i>
+last, have asserted, but rather stump, <i>truncus</i>,
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#954;&#959;&#961;&#956;&#8057;&#962;</span>, as <i>Aquila</i>, <i>Symmachus</i>,
+<i>Theodotion</i>, translate. This is proved from the following reasons: (1) the
+derivation from <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1490;&#1494;&#1506;</span>, in Arabic <i>secuit</i>,
+equivalent to <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1490;&#1491;&#1506;</span>, &quot;to cut off,&quot; chap. ix.
+9; x. 33. The <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1490;&#1491;&#1506;&#1497;&#1501;</span> in latter passage clearly
+refers to the <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1490;&#1494;&#1506;</span> here. The proud trees of
+Asshur shall be <i>cut down</i>; from the cut down trunk of David there shall grow
+up a <i>new</i> tree overshadowing the earth, and offering glorious fruits to them
+that dwell on it.--(2) The <i>usus loquendi</i>. The signification, &quot;stump,&quot; is,
+by <span class="pagenum">[Pg 102]</span> the context, required in the two passages
+in which the word <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1490;&#1494;&#1506;</span> 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. &quot;For there is hope of a tree; if it be
+<i>cut down</i> it will sprout again, and its tender branch does not cease. Though
+the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the <i>stump</i> thereof die in the dust,
+through the scent of waters it buds, and brings forth boughs, like one newly planted.&quot;
+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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1490;&#1494;&#1506;</span> has
+been understood of the stem in general. &quot;He bringeth princes to nothing, He destroyeth
+the kings of the earth. They are not planted; they are not sown; their <i>stump</i>
+does not take root in the earth.&quot; The Prophet, having previously proved God&#39;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&#39;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: &quot;A branch from his roots shall bear fruit.&quot;
+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 <i>Hendewerk</i>
+who remarks: &quot;An indirect shoot from the root which comes forth from the root through
+the stem;&quot; and against <i>Meier&#39;s</i> opinion: &quot;The root corresponds with the stem,
+and both together form the living tree,&quot; it is decisive, that in ver. 10, the Messiah
+is simply, and without any mention being made of the stem, designated as
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1513;&#1512;&#1513;</span> &quot;a shoot from the root.&quot; Farther, chap.
+liii. 2, where the Messiah is represented <span class="pagenum">[Pg 103]</span>
+as a shoot from the root out of a dry ground.--(4.) It is only when
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1490;&#1494;&#1506;</span> has the meaning, &quot;stump,&quot; that it can
+be accounted for why the <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1490;&#1494;&#1506;</span> 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&#39;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.--<i>Hitzig</i> is obliged to confess that
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1490;&#1494;&#1506;</span> 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1490;&#1494;&#1506;</span> with <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">
+&#1490;&#1491;&#1506;&#1497;&#1501;</span> 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. <i>Finally</i>--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&#39;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&#39;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
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 104]</span> Davidic race which is here announced. We farther
+direct attention to the circumstance that in our prophecy itself, Israel&#39;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 <i>supposition</i> 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? <i>Umbreit</i> is of opinion that the mention of Jesse may
+be explained from the Prophet&#39;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
+<i>very old</i> 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: &quot;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.&quot;
+It was appropriate that that family, upon whom was a second time to be fulfilled
+the declaration in Ps. cxiii. 7, 8: &quot;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,&quot;--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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1490;&#1494;&#1506;</span>: Jesse is mentioned
+and not David, because the Davidic dignity had become a
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1490;&#1494;&#1506;</span>. The mention of Jesse&#39;s name thus explained,
+agrees, then, with the birth of Christ at Bethlehem, announced by Isaiah&#39;s cotemporary,
+Micah. Christ was to be born at Bethlehem, because that residence was peculiar to
+the <span class="pagenum">[Pg 105]</span> family of David during its lowliness;
+comp. vol. I., p. 508-9.--The second hemistich of the verse may either be explained:
+&quot;a twig from his roots shall bear fruit,&quot; or, as agrees better with the accents:
+&quot;a twig shall from his roots bear fruit.&quot; The sense, at all events, is: A shoot
+proceeding from his roots (<i>i.e.</i>, 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 <i>King</i> shall arise
+who, at first humble and unheeded,<sup class="ftnRef"><a name="ftnRef_105a" href="#ftn_105a">[3]</a></sup>
+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: &quot;A branch breaks forth or
+sprouts;&quot; but that explanation is against the <i>usus loquendi</i>.
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1508;&#1512;&#1492;</span> is never equivalent to
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1508;&#1512;&#1495;</span> &quot;to break forth;&quot; it has only the signification
+&quot;to bear,&quot; &quot;to bear fruit,&quot; &quot;to be fruitful.&quot; <i>Gesenius</i> who, in the later
+editions of his translation, here explains <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1508;&#1512;&#1492;</span>
+by, &quot;to break forth,&quot; knows, in the <i>Thesaurus</i>, of no other signification.
+In the passage of Ezekiel referred to, which may be considered as a commentary on
+the verse before us, <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1513;&#1492; &#1508;&#1512;&#1497;</span> corresponds to
+the <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1508;&#1512;&#1492;</span> here. The change of the tense, too,
+suggests that <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1508;&#1512;&#1492;</span> 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.
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1508;&#1512;&#1492;</span> 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">We here subjoin the discussion of the New Testament passage which
+refers to this verse.</p>
+<hr class="ftn">
+<div class="ftn">
+	<p class="ftnText"><a name="ftn_97a" href="#ftnRef_97a"><sup class="ftnRef">
+	[1]</sup></a> Their testimony is collected by <i>Seb. Edzardi</i> in the treatise:
+	<i>Cap. xi. Esaiae Christo vindicatum adversus Grotium et sectatores ejus, imprimos
+	Herm. v. d. Hardt.</i> Hamburg 1696.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="ftn">
+	<p class="ftnText"><a name="ftn_97b" href="#ftnRef_97b"><sup class="ftnRef">
+	[2]</sup></a> &quot;The madness of the Jews is indeed to be lamented who refer this
+	prophecy to Zerubbabel.&quot;</p>
+</div>
+<div class="ftn">
+	<p class="ftnText"><a name="ftn_105a" href="#ftnRef_105a">
+	<sup class="ftnRef">[3]</sup></a> Although <i>Umbreit</i> 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.]</p>
+</div>
+<p class="continue"><span class="pagenum">[Pg 106]</span></p>
+<h3><a name="div2_106" href="#div2Ref_106">ON MATTHEW II. 23.</a></h3>
+<p class="normal"><span lang="el" class="Greek">&#922;&#945;&#8054; &#7952;&#955;&#952;&#8060;&#957; &#954;&#945;&#964;&#8180;&#954;&#951;&#963;&#949;&#957; &#949;&#7984;&#962; &#960;&#972;&#955;&#953;&#957; &#955;&#949;&#947;&#959;&#956;&#941;&#957;&#951;&#957;
+&#925;&#945;&#950;&#945;&#961;&#941;&#964;� &#8005;&#960;&#969;&#962; &#960;&#955;&#951;&#961;&#969;&#952;&#8135; &#964;&#8056; &#8165;&#951;&#952;&#8050;&#957; &#948;&#953;&#8048; &#964;&#8182;&#957; &#960;&#961;&#959;&#966;&#951;&#964;&#8182;&#957;, &#8005;&#964;&#953; &#925;&#945;&#950;&#969;&#961;&#945;&#8150;&#959;&#962; &#954;&#955;&#951;&#952;&#942;&#963;&#949;&#964;&#945;&#953;.</span></p>
+<p class="normal">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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1510;&#1512;</span>. Being the name of a town,
+it received, in Aramean, in addition, the feminine termination
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;</span>. And, finally, on account of the original
+appellative signification of the word, a <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1514;</span>,
+the designation of the <i>status emphaticus</i> of feminine nouns in
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;</span>, was sometimes added. We have an analogous
+case in the name <i>Dalmanutha</i>, the same place which, with the Talmudist, is
+called <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1510;&#1463;&#1500;&#1456;&#1502;&#1493;&#1465;&#1503;</span>. Compare <i>Lightfoot decas
+chorog. Marc. praem., opp.</i> II., p. 411 sqq. So it is likewise probably that
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#947;&#945;&#946;&#946;&#945;&#952;&#8048;</span>, <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1490;&#1463;&#1489;&#1456;&#1514;&#1464;&#1488;</span>
+is formed from the masculine <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1490;&#1463;&#1489;</span>, <i>dorsum</i>.
+Our view is that the original name was <i>Nezer</i>, that this form of the name
+was in use along with that which received a <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1514;</span>
+added, and that this <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1514;</span> served for the designation
+of the <i>status emphaticus</i> only; or also, if we wish to take our stand upon
+the Hebrew form, was a mere hardening of the <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;</span>
+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. <i>
+David de Pomis</i> (in <i>De Dieu</i>, <i>critic. sacr.</i> on M. II. 23) says:
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1510;&#1512;&#1497; &#1502;&#1497; &#1513;&#1504;&#1493;&#1500;&#1491; &#1489;&#1506;&#1497;&#1512; &#1504;&#1461;&#1510;&#1464;&#1512; &#1492;&#1490;&#1500;&#1497;&#1500; &#1512;&#1495;&#1493;&#1511; &#1502;&#1497;&#1512;&#1493;&#1513;&#1500;&#1497;&#1501; &#1491;&#1512;&#1498;
+&#1513;&#1500;&#1513;&#1514; &#1497;&#1502;&#1497;&#1501;</span> &quot;A Nazarene is he who is born in the town of <i>Nezer</i>, in Galilee,
+three days&#39; journey from Jerusalem.&quot; In the Talmud, in <i>Breshith Rabba</i>, and
+in <i>Jalkut Shimeoni</i> on Daniel, the contemptuous name of <i>Ben Nezer</i>,
+<i>i.e.</i>, the Nazarene, is given to Christ; compare the passages in <i>Buxtorf</i>,
+<i>lex. c.</i> 1383; in <i>Lightfoot</i>, <i>disquis. chorog. Johan. praem. opp.</i>
+II., 578 sqq.; <i>Eisenmenger</i>, I., p. 3139. It is true, <i>Gieseler</i> (on
+Matth. ii. 23, and in the <i>Studien u. Kritiken</i>, 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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 107]</span> their Messiah
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1503; &#1504;&#1510;&#1512;</span>, 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1510;&#1512;</span> announced
+by Isaiah, just as, for the very same reason, they also assign to Him the names
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1510;&#1512; &#1504;&#1488;&#1508;&#1493;&#1507;</span> &quot;adulterous branch,&quot; and
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1510;&#1512; &#1504;&#1514;&#1506;&#1489;</span> &quot;abominable branch&quot; (from Is. xiv.
+19); comp. <i>Eisenmenger</i> I. S. 137, 138. But <i>Gieseler</i> 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 <i>Nezer</i> only, and not <i>Ben-Nezer</i>. <i>Gieseler</i>,
+it is true, asserts that he in whom a certain prophecy was fulfilled is called the
+&quot;Son of the prophecy,&quot; and in confirmation of this <i>usus loquendi</i> he refers
+to the circumstance that the pseudo-Messiah under Hadrian assumed, with a reference
+to the <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1499;&#1493;&#1499;&#1489;</span> in Numb. xxiv. 17, the name
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1503; &#1499;&#1493;&#1499;&#1489;</span> or <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">
+&#1489;&#1512; &#1499;&#1493;&#1499;&#1489;&#1488;</span>, 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 <i>Ben-Nezer</i> because He was He in whom the prophecy of the <i>Nezer</i>
+was fulfilled, as it can be proved from the appellation <i>Ben Nezer</i> that that
+pseudo-Messiah could be called <i>Bar Cochba</i>, only because it was believed that
+in him the prophecy of the star was fulfilled. <i>Reland</i> has already proved
+(Geogr. II. p. 727) that <i>Barcochba</i> 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, <i>
+e.g.</i>, the Messiah, the Servant of God, the Prince of Peace were called the Son
+of the Messiah, &amp;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 <i>Ben-Nezer</i> is opposed by the constant interpretation of the Jews. <i>Jarchi</i>,
+in a gloss on that passage of the Talmud referred to, explains <i>Ben Nezer</i>
+by: &quot;He who has come from the town of Nazareth.&quot; <i>Abarbanel</i>
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 108]</span> in his book <i>Majenehajeshua</i>, after having
+quoted from <i>Jalkut Shimeoni</i> the passage in question, observes: &quot;Remark well
+how they have explained the little horn in Daniel vii. 8, of the <i>Ben Nezer</i>
+who is Jesus the <i>Nazarene</i>.&quot; From the Lexicon <i>Aruch</i> which forms a weighty
+authority, Buxtorf quotes: &quot;<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1510;&#1512; &#1504;&#1510;&#1512;&#1497; &#1492;&#1502;&#1511;&#1500;&#1500;</span>
+Nezer, (or Ben Nezer), is the accursed <i>Nazarene</i>.&quot; <i>Finally</i>--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.</p>
+<p class="normal">2. The result which we have obtained is confirmed by the statements
+of Christian writers. Even at the time of <i>Eusebius</i> (Hist. Eccles. i. 7),
+and of <i>Jerome</i>, the place was called <i>Nazara</i>. The latter says: &quot;<i>Nazareth</i>:
+there exists up to this day in Galilee a village opposite Legio, fifteen miles to
+the east of it, near Mount Tabor, called <i>Nazara</i>&quot; (comp. <i>Reland</i> i.
+S. 497). In <i>Epistol.</i> xvii. ad <i>Marcellum</i> he expressly identifies the
+name with <i>Nezer</i>, by saying: &quot;Let us go to Nazareth, and according to a right
+interpretation of that name, we shall see there the flower of Galilee.&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">3. To this may be added, that the <i>Gentilitia</i> formed from
+Nazareth can be explained only when the <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1514;</span>
+is not considered as belonging to the original form of the name. For, in that case,
+it must necessarily be found again in the <i>Gentilitia</i>, just as, <i>e.g.</i>,
+from <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1504;&#1514;&#1514;</span> we could not by any means form
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1504;&#1514;&#1497;</span>, but only
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1504;&#1514;&#1514;&#1497;</span>. In the New Testament the two forms
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#925;&#945;&#950;&#969;&#961;&#945;&#8150;&#959;&#962;</span> and <span lang="el" class="Greek">
+&#925;&#945;&#950;&#945;&#961;&#951;&#957;&#8056;&#962;</span> only occur, never the form <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#925;&#945;&#950;&#945;&#961;&#949;&#964;&#945;&#8150;&#959;&#962;</span>.
+<i>Gieseler</i> 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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1510;&#1512;</span> which the first Christians were accustomed
+to bring into connection with <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1510;&#1512;&#1514;</span>. But this
+conjecture would, at most, be admissible, only if, with the Jews too, the form
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1510;&#1512;&#1497;</span> were not found throughout without a
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1514;</span>, and if the Arabic form also were not entirely
+analogous.<sup class="ftnRef"><a name="ftnRef_108a" href="#ftn_108a">[1]</a></sup></p>
+<p class="continue"><span class="pagenum">[Pg 109]</span></p>
+<p class="normal">The question now is:--In what sense was
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1510;&#1512;</span> assigned as a <i>nomen proprium</i> to
+a place in Galilee? Certainly, we must at once reject the supposition of <i>Jerome</i>
+that Nazareth was thus called, as being &quot;the flower of Galilee,&quot; partly because
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1510;&#1512;</span> never occurs in this signification; partly
+because it is not conceivable that the place received a name which is due to it
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#954;&#945;&#964;&#700; &#7936;&#957;&#964;&#8055; &#966;&#961;&#945;&#963;&#953;&#957;</span> 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1510;&#1512;</span>
+occurs in Is. xi. 1, xiv. 19, and in the Talmudical <i>usus loquendi</i> where
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1510;&#1512;&#1497;&#1501;</span> signifies &quot;<i>virgulta salicum decorticata,
+vimina ex quibus corbes fiunt.</i>&quot; 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">This <i>nomen</i> given to the place on account of its small beginnings,
+resembling, in this respect, the name of Zoar, <i>i.e.</i>, a small town, was, at
+the same time, an <i>omen</i> 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
+<i>Josephus</i>. 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: &quot;Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?&quot;
+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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 110]</span>
+was removed by the circumstance that the most celebrated Jewish academy, that of
+Tiberias, belonged to it.</p>
+<p class="normal">Let us now examine in how far Christ&#39;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: &quot;And there cometh forth a twig from the stump
+of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit,&quot; which is strikingly illustrated
+in the following words of <i>Quenstedt</i>, in his <i>Dissertatio de Germine Jehovae</i>,
+in the <i>Thesaurus theol. philol.</i> I. p. 1015:
+<!--inserted quote-->&quot;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,&quot; &amp;c. Quite in harmony
+with this, it is said in chap. liii. 2: &quot;He grew up before the Lord as a tender
+twig, and as a root out of a dry ground.&quot; To <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1510;&#1512;</span>,
+in chap. xi., corresponds <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1493;&#1504;&#1511;</span> in chap. liii.;
+to <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1495;&#1496;&#1512;</span> the <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">
+&#1513;&#1512;&#1513;</span>; 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; <span class="pagenum">[Pg 111]</span>
+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.</p>
+<p class="normal">We have hitherto considered prophecy and fulfilment independently
+of the quotation by St. Matthew. Let us now add a few remarks upon the latter.</p>
+<p class="normal">1. It seems not to have been without reason that the wider formula
+of quotation: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#964;&#8056; &#8165;&#951;&#952;&#8050;&#957; &#948;&#953;&#8048; &#964;&#8182;&#957; &#960;&#961;&#959;&#966;&#951;&#964;&#8182;&#957;</span> is
+here chosen, although <i>Jerome</i> infers too much from it when he remarks: &quot;If
+he had wished to refer to a distinct quotation from Scripture, he would never have
+said: &#39;As was spoken by the prophets,&#39; but simply, &#39;as was said by the prophet.&#39;
+By using prophets in the plural, he shows that it is the sense, and not the words
+which he has taken from Scripture.&quot; No doubt St. Matthew has one passage chiefly
+in view--that in Is. xi. 1, which, besides the general announcement of the Messiah&#39;s
+lowliness, contains, in addition, a special designation of it which is found again
+in the <i>nomen</i> and <i>omen</i> of his native place. This appears especially
+from the circumstance that, if it were otherwise, the quotation: in
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#8005;&#964;&#953; &#925;&#945;&#950;&#969;&#961;&#945;&#8150;&#959;&#962; &#954;&#955;&#951;&#952;&#8053;&#963;&#949;&#964;&#945;&#953;</span>, would be inexplicable,
+since it is very forced to suppose that &quot;Nazarene&quot; here designates generally one
+low and despised.<sup class="ftnRef"><a name="ftnRef_111a" href="#ftn_111a">[2]</a></sup>
+But he chose the general formula of <span class="pagenum">[Pg 112]</span> quotation
+(comp. <i>Gersdorf</i>, <i>Beitr�ge zur Sprachcharacteristik</i> 1. S. 136), in
+order thereby to intimate that in Christ&#39;s residence at Nazareth those prophecies,
+too, were at the same time fulfilled, which, in the essential point--in the announcement
+of Christ&#39;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.</p>
+<p class="normal">2. The phrase <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#8005;&#964;&#953; &#954;&#955;&#951;&#952;&#8053;&#963;&#949;&#964;&#945;&#953;</span>
+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: &quot;Behold
+a man whose name is the Sprout,&quot;<!--inserted quote--> that the phrase
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#8005;&#964;&#953; &#954;&#955;&#951;&#952;&#8053;&#963;&#949;&#964;&#945;&#953;</span> flowed. There is hence no necessity
+for explaining this circumstance solely from the custom of the later Jews,<sup class="ftnRef"><a name="ftnRef_112a" href="#ftn_112a">[3]</a></sup>
+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.</p>
+<p class="continue"><span class="pagenum">[Pg 113]</span></p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 2. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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, &amp;c. Some, indeed, explain: the Spirit of
+God, who is the Spirit of, &amp;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 <i>seven</i> 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: &quot;And Samuel took the horn of
+oil and anointed him: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon him from that day forward;&quot;
+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 <i>divine nature</i>, which is
+intimated by his being born of the Virgin, chap. vii. 14, by the name
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1500; &#1490;&#1489;&#1493;&#1512;</span> 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, <i>implies</i> 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&#39;s own heart, received the Spirit in a
+scanty measure only, and were constantly in danger of <span class="pagenum">[Pg
+114]</span> losing again that which they possessed, as is shown by David&#39;s pitiful
+prayer: &quot;Take not thy Holy Spirit from me&quot; (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: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#954;&#945;&#8054; &#949;&#7990;&#948;&#949; &#964;&#8056; &#960;&#957;&#949;&#8166;&#956;&#945; &#952;&#949;&#959;&#8166; &#954;&#945;&#964;&#945;&#946;&#945;&#8150;&#957;&#959;&#957;
+&#8033;&#963;&#949;&#8054; &#960;&#949;&#961;&#953;&#963;&#964;&#949;&#961;&#8048;&#957; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#7952;&#961;&#967;&#972;&#956;&#949;&#957;&#959;&#957; &#7952;&#960;&#8217; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#972;&#957;</span>, 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: &quot;Behold my Servant whom I uphold, mine Elect in whom my
+soul delighteth; I put my Spirit upon Him,&quot; as is apparent from the circumstance
+that it is to this passage that the voice from heaven refers in Matt. iii. 17:
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#959;&#8023;&#964;&#959;&#962; &#7952;&#963;&#964;&#953;&#957; &#8001; &#965;&#7985;&#972;&#962; &#956;&#959;&#965; &#8001; &#7936;&#947;&#945;&#960;&#951;&#964;&#8056;&#962; &#7952;&#957; &#8103; &#949;&#8016;&#948;&#972;&#954;&#951;&#963;&#945;</span>.
+But a reference to the passage before us we meet most decidedly in John i. 32, 33:
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#932;&#949;&#952;&#941;&#945;&#956;&#945;&#953; &#964;&#8056; &#960;&#957;&#949;&#8166;&#956;&#945; &#954;&#945;&#964;&#945;&#946;&#945;&#8150;&#957;&#959;&#957; &#8033;&#963;&#949;&#8054; &#960;&#949;&#961;&#953;&#963;&#964;&#949;&#961;&#8048;&#957; &#7952;&#958; &#959;&#8016;&#961;&#945;&#957;&#959;&#8166;,
+&#954;&#945;&#8054; &#7956;&#956;&#949;&#953;&#957;&#949;&#957; &#7952;&#960;&#8217; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#972;&#957;&#903; &#922;&#8064;&#947;&#8060; &#959;&#8016;&#954; &#8085;&#948;&#949;&#953;&#957; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#972;&#957;&#903; &#7936;&#955;&#955;&#8217; &#8001; &#960;&#941;&#956;&#968;&#945;&#962; &#956;&#949; &#946;&#945;&#960;&#964;&#943;&#950;&#949;&#953;&#957; &#7952;&#957; &#8021;&#948;&#945;&#964;&#953;,
+&#7952;&#954;&#949;&#8150;&#957;&#959;&#962; &#956;&#959;&#953; &#949;&#7990;&#960;&#949;&#957;� &#7952;&#966;&#8217; &#8003;&#957; &#7938;&#957; &#7988;&#948;&#8131;&#962; &#964;&#8056; &#960;&#957;&#949;&#8166;&#956;&#945; &#954;&#945;&#964;&#945;&#946;&#945;&#8150;&#957;&#959;&#957; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#956;&#941;&#957;&#959;&#957; &#7952;&#960;&#8217; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#972;&#957;, &#959;&#8023;&#964;&#959;&#962;
+&#7952;&#963;&#964;&#953;&#957; &#8001; &#946;&#945;&#960;&#964;&#943;&#950;&#969;&#957; &#7952;&#957; &#960;&#957;&#949;&#973;&#956;&#945;&#964;&#953; &#7937;&#947;&#943;&#8179;</span>. The word
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1493;&#1495;</span>, which in Numb. xi. 25 also is used of
+the Spirit, combines in itself both the <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#954;&#945;&#964;&#945;&#946;&#945;&#8055;&#957;&#949;&#953;&#957;</span>
+and the <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#956;&#8051;&#957;&#949;&#953;&#957;</span>; it is <i>requiescere</i>. 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:
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#954;&#945;&#8054; &#8036;&#966;&#952;&#951;&#963;&#945;&#957; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#959;&#8150;&#962; &#948;&#953;&#945;&#956;&#949;&#961;&#953;&#950;&#972;&#956;&#949;&#957;&#945;&#953; &#947;&#955;&#8182;&#963;&#963;&#945;&#953; &#8033;&#963;&#949;&#8054; &#960;&#965;&#961;&#972;&#962;,
+&#7952;&#954;&#940;&#952;&#953;&#963;&#941; &#964;&#949; &#7952;&#966;&#8217; &#7957;&#957;&#945; &#7957;&#954;&#945;&#963;&#964;&#959;&#957; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#8182;&#957;</span>; comp. 1 Pet. iv. 14:
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#8005;&#964;&#949; &#964;&#8056; &#964;&#8134;&#962; &#948;&#972;&#958;&#951;&#962; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#964;&#8056; &#964;&#959;&#8166; &#952;&#949;&#959;&#8166; &#960;&#957;&#949;&#8166;&#956;&#945; &#7952;&#966;&#8217; &#8017;&#956;&#8118;&#962; &#7936;&#957;&#945;&#960;&#945;&#973;&#949;&#964;&#945;&#953;</span>
+(this most exactly answers <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1493;&#1495;</span>). 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 <i>all</i> 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, <i>e.g.</i>, <i>justice</i>,
+which is mentioned immediately afterwards in ver. 5, is omitted here.--The first
+pair are wisdom and understanding. <i>Wisdom</i> is that excellency of knowledge
+which rests on moral perfection. It is opposed to <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">
+&#1504;&#1489;&#1500;&#1492;</span>, foolishness in a moral sense, which may easily be combined with the
+greatest ingenuity and cleverness. The excellence of knowledge resting
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 115]</span> on a moral basis manifests itself in the first
+instance, and preeminently, in the <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1497;&#1504;&#1492;</span>, 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 &quot;Wonder-Counsellor,&quot; &quot;God-Hero.&quot; From chap. xxxvi.
+5 it is seen that, for the difficult circumstances of the struggle, <i>counsel</i>
+is of no less consequence than <i>might</i>. 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, &amp;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).</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 3. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 116]</span> to His own
+nature. That He does not judge after the sight of His eyes, &amp;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,
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1512;&#1497;&#1495;</span> with the accusative is &quot;to smell something;&quot;
+with <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;</span>, to &quot;smell at something,&quot; &quot;to smell
+with delight.&quot; 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
+<i>usus loquendi</i> (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: &quot;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.&quot; 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:
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#945;&#8016;&#964;&#8056;&#962; &#948;&#8050; &#7992;&#951;&#963;&#959;&#8166;&#962;, &#959;&#8016;&#954; &#7952;&#960;&#943;&#963;&#964;&#949;&#965;&#949;&#957; &#7953;&#945;&#965;&#964;&#8056;&#957; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#959;&#8150;&#962;, &#948;&#953;&#8048;
+&#964;&#8056; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#8056;&#957; &#947;&#953;&#957;&#974;&#963;&#954;&#949;&#953;&#957; &#960;&#940;&#957;&#964;&#945;&#962;, &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#8005;&#964;&#953; &#959;&#8016; &#967;&#961;&#949;&#943;&#945;&#957; &#949;&#7990;&#967;&#949;&#957; &#7989;&#957;&#945; &#964;&#8054;&#962; &#956;&#945;&#961;&#964;&#965;&#961;&#942;&#963;&#951; &#960;&#949;&#961;&#8054; &#964;&#959;&#8166; &#7936;&#957;&#952;&#961;&#974;&#960;&#959;&#965;�
+&#945;&#8016;&#964;&#8056;&#962; &#947;&#8048;&#961; &#7952;&#947;&#943;&#957;&#969;&#963;&#954;&#949;&#957; &#964;&#943; &#7974;&#957; &#7957;&#957; &#7936;&#957;&#952;&#961;&#8180;&#960;&#8179;</span>. Farther--chap. xxi. 17 where Peter
+says to Christ: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#922;&#973;&#961;&#953;&#949; &#963;&#8058; &#960;&#940;&#957;&#964;&#945; &#959;&#7990;&#948;&#945;&#962;&#903; &#963;&#8058; &#947;&#953;&#957;&#974;&#963;&#954;&#949;&#953;&#962;
+&#8005;&#964;&#953; &#966;&#953;&#955;&#8182; &#963;&#949;.</span> Farther, i. 48, 49; iv. 18, 19; vi. 64. In Revel. ii. 23, Christ
+says: &quot;And all Churches shall know that I am He which searcheth the reins and hearts.&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 4. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <i>will</i> He is infinitely
+exalted above all former rulers, so is He also by the excellency of <i>might</i>.
+Where, as in His case, the highest <span class="pagenum">[Pg 117]</span> 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: &quot;He shall judge thy people in righteousness, and thy lowly
+ones in judgment,&quot; and in ver. 4: &quot;He shall judge the lowly of thy people, He shall
+save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressors;&quot; compare
+farther Prov. xxix. 14: &quot;A king that in truth judgeth the lowly, his throne shall
+be established for ever.&quot; The earth forms the contrast to the limited territory
+which was hitherto assigned to the theocratic kings.--In the second part of the
+verse <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1512;&#1509;</span> does not by any means stand in contrast
+to <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1491;&#1500;&#1497;&#1501;</span> and <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">
+&#1506;&#1504;&#1493;&#1497;&#1501;</span>, and, in parallelism to <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1512;&#1513;&#1506;</span>,
+designate the wicked ones; but <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1512;&#1509;</span> &quot;earth&quot;
+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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1512;&#1509;</span> must be taken in the signification
+of &quot;earth.&quot; and not of &quot;land.&quot; Hand in hand with the infinite extent of the King&#39;s
+exercise of justice goes also the manner of it. &quot;The whole earth,&quot; and the &quot;breath
+of the mouth,&quot; correspond with one another.--In the words &quot;with the rod of His mouth,&quot;
+a tacit antithesis lies at the foundation. As kings strike with the sceptre, so
+He smiteth with His mouth.--<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1513;&#1489;&#1496;</span>, 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 <i>Omnipotence</i>. He punishes
+and destroys by His mere word. Several interpreters understand this as a mere designation
+of His severity in punishing,--&quot;the rod of His mouth&quot; to be equivalent to &quot;severity
+of punishment;&quot;--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; &quot;the breath of His lips&quot; is equivalent
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 118]</span> to &quot;mere words,&quot; &quot;mere command;&quot; compare &quot;breath
+of His mouth,&quot; in Ps. xxxiii. 6. <i>Hitzig&#39;s</i> explanation, &quot;the angry breath
+of His lips,&quot; 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 <i>God</i>: compare Job
+xv. 30, where it is said of the wicked: &quot;By the breath of His mouth he shall go
+away;&quot; Hos. vi. 5: &quot;I have slain them by the word of my mouth.&quot; 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:
+&quot;And He hath made my mouth like a sharp sword,&quot; 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: &quot;And out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged
+sword,&quot;--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): <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7936;&#954;&#959;&#973;&#969;&#957;
+&#948;&#8050; &#7945;&#957;&#945;&#957;&#943;&#945;&#962; &#964;&#959;&#8058;&#962; &#955;&#972;&#947;&#959;&#965;&#962; &#964;&#959;&#973;&#964;&#959;&#965;&#962; &#960;&#949;&#963;&#8060;&#957; &#7952;&#958;&#941;&#968;&#965;&#958;&#949;</span>, comp. ver. 10; xiii. 11. The
+Chaldee translates: &quot;And by the word of His lips wicked Armillus shall die.&quot; He
+refers <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1512;&#1513;&#1506;</span> not to the ideal person of the
+wicked, but to an individual, <i>Armillus</i>, (<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7952;&#961;&#951;&#956;&#8057;&#955;&#945;&#959;&#962;</span>,
+corresponding to the name of Balaam, compounded of
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1500;&#1506;</span> &quot;devouring,&quot; &quot;destruction,&quot; and
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1501;</span> &quot;people&quot;) 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 <i>Buxtorf</i>,
+<i>Lex. Chald.</i> cap. 221-224: <i>Eisenmenger</i>, <i>entdecktes Judenthum</i>
+ii. S. 705 ff. In 2 Thess. ii. 8, in the description of Antichrist&#39;s destruction
+by Christ: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#8003;&#957; &#8001; &#922;&#973;&#961;&#953;&#959;&#962; &#7992;&#951;&#963;&#959;&#8166;&#962; &#7936;&#957;&#945;&#955;&#974;&#963;&#949;&#953; &#964;&#8183; &#960;&#957;&#949;&#973;&#956;&#945;&#964;&#953;
+&#964;&#959;&#8166; &#963;&#964;&#972;&#956;&#945;&#964;&#959;&#962; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#959;&#8166;</span>, there is an intentional and significant allusion to the
+passage before us, Antichrist there being, like <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1512;&#1513;&#1506;</span>
+here, an ideal person; for the arguments in proof, see my Comment, on Revelation,
+vol. ii.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 5. &quot;<i>And righteousness is the girdle of His loins, and
+faithfulness the girdle of His reins.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="continue"><span class="pagenum">[Pg 119]</span></p>
+<p class="normal">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.</p>
+<p class="normal">In ver. 6, the Prophet passes from the <i>person</i> 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 <i>Theodoret</i> says: &quot;In a
+figurative manner, under the image of domesticated and wild animals, the Prophet
+taught the change of the habits of men.&quot; 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. <i>Jerome</i> considers
+the opposite view as even a species of heresy. He says: &quot;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, &amp;c.&quot; Upon the whole, he states the sense in
+the same manner as <i>Theodoret</i>, from whom he sometimes differs in the allegorical
+explanation of the details only. In a similar manner <i>Luther</i> also explains
+it, who, <i>e.g.</i>, on ver. 6, &quot;the wolf shall dwell with the lambs, etc.&quot; remarks:
+&quot;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.&quot;
+<i>Calvin</i> says: &quot;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.&quot; The circumstance that the use of animal symbolism is widely spread
+throughout Scripture is in favour of this interpretation. One may, <i>e.g.</i> compare
+Ps. xxii., where the enemies of the righteous are represented under the image of
+dogs, lions, bulls, and unicorns; <span class="pagenum">[Pg 120]</span> 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: &quot;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,&quot;--where the ravenous beasts are the representatives of the world&#39;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 &quot;we have here before us only a poetical
+enlargement of the thought that all evil shall cease&quot; (<i>Hendewerk</i>, <i>Knobel</i>),
+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 <i>good</i>.
+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. <span class="pagenum">[Pg 121]</span> Now, as it is by
+sin that outward discord, and contention, and destruction <i>arose</i> 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: &quot;The lion shall eat straw like the ox,&quot; with Gen. i. 30; ver. 8: &quot;the sucking
+child shall play on the hole of the asp,&quot; 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 <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#960;&#945;&#955;&#953;&#947;&#947;&#949;&#957;&#949;&#963;&#943;&#945;</span>, 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 <i>Clericus</i>, <i>Lowth</i>, and <i>Gesenius</i>,
+we quote a few only. In the description of the golden age, <i>Virgil</i> says,
+<i>Ecl.</i> iv. 21 sqq.; v. 60: <i>Occidet et serpens et fallax herba veneni occidet.</i>--<i>Nec
+magnos metuent armenta leones.</i>--<i>Nec lupus insidias pecori.</i> <i>Horat.
+Epod.</i> xiv. 53: <i>Nec vespertinus circumgemit ursus ovile nec intumescit alta
+viperis humus.</i>--<i>Theocrit. Idyll.</i> 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 <i>poets</i>), 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 <i>Vitringa</i>,
+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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 122]</span> 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, <i>J. H. Michaelis</i> has hit the
+right by comparing, first, Gen. i. and Rom. viii., and then continuing: &quot;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.&quot; 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&#39;s justice on earth is described, of which
+the consequences must, in the first instance, appear in the <i>human territory</i>;
+and, farther, that the point from which the prophecy started, is the raging of the
+wolf and bear of the world&#39;s power against the poor defenceless flock of the Lord.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 6. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 7. &quot;<i>The cow and bear go to the pasture; their young ones
+lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.</i>&quot; (The going to
+pasture of the bear corresponds with the lion&#39;s eating straw [comp. Gen. i. 30],
+and we are not allowed to supply the &quot;together&quot; in the first clause.)</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 8. &quot;<i>And the sucking child playeth on the hole of the asp,
+and the weaned child putteth his hand into the den of the basilisk.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 9. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="continue"><span class="pagenum">[Pg 123]</span></p>
+<p class="normal">The subject are the dwellers in the Holy Mountain. The Holy Mountain
+can, according to the <i>usus loquendi</i>, be Mount Zion only, and not, as was
+last maintained by <i>Hofmann</i>, 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 <i>for</i>, 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 <i>ideal</i> 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 <i>ideal</i> sense only, that under
+its image the <i>Church</i> is meant. The designation, &quot;my Holy Mountain,&quot; 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 <i>idea</i> necessarily
+must manifest its power and right in opposition to the <i>reality</i>.--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 <i>consequence</i>
+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: &quot;Until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high;&quot;<!--inserted quote-->
+liv. 13; Joel iii. 1; ii. 28; Jer. xxxi. 34, That <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">
+&#1492;&#1488;&#1512;&#1509;</span> is here not the &quot;land,&quot; or &quot;country,&quot; but the &quot;<i>earth</i>&quot; is sufficiently
+evident from the antithesis of the <i>sea</i>: as the <i>sea</i> is full of water,
+so the <i>earth</i> is full of the knowledge of the Lord. To this
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 124]</span> 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 <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#960;&#945;&#955;&#953;&#947;&#947;&#949;&#957;&#949;&#963;&#943;&#945;</span> 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 <i>Finally</i>,--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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1488;&#1512;&#1509;</span> the whole earth is to be understood.
+The passage under consideration is alluded to in Hab. ii. 14: &quot;For the earth shall
+be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters covering the
+sea.&quot; 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.</p>
+<p class="normal"><i>Ver. 10. &quot;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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">The words, &quot;and it shall come to pass,&quot; 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 <i>Gentile world</i>; and in ver. 11 ff., what He
+grants to the <i>old covenant-people</i>, 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 <i>first spoken of</i> appears from ver. 12;
+the Gentiles gathered to the Lord are the medium of His salvation to the old covenant-people.--The
+<i>root</i> designates here (and likewise in chap. liii. 2), and in the passages
+founded upon this, viz., in Rev. v. 5, xxii. 16, the <i>product</i> of the root,
+that whereby the root manifests itself, the shoot from the root; just as &quot;seed&quot;
+so very often occurs for &quot;product of the seed.&quot; This appears from a comparison with
+ver. 1, where, more fully, the Messiah is called a twig from Jesse&#39;s roots. <i>Bengel</i>
+has already directed attention to the antithesis of the root and ensign, in his
+Commentary on Rom. xv. 12: &quot;A sweet antithesis: the root is undermost,
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 125]</span> the ensign rises uppermost; so that even the
+nations farthest off may behold it.&quot;--<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1491;&#1512;&#1513;</span>
+with <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;</span>, <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1500;</span>,
+and <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1514;</span>, has the signification &quot;to apply to
+the true God, or some imaginary god, in order to seek protection, help, counsel,
+advice, disclosures regarding the future;&quot; comp. Is. viii. 19; Deut. xii. 4, 5,
+and other passages in <i>Gesenius&#39; Thesaurus</i>. 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 <i>seek</i> Him, that from him they may obtain
+<i>light</i> (chap. xlii. 6), that He may communicate to them His <i>law</i> (chap.
+xlii. 4), that he may teach them of His ways, and that they may walk in His paths
+(chap. ii. 3), &amp;c. St. Paul, in Rom. xv. 12, following the LXX., has
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7952;&#960; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#8183; &#7956;&#952;&#957;&#951; &#7952;&#955;&#960;&#953;&#959;&#8166;&#963;&#953;</span>, 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: &quot;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,&quot; Matt. ii. 2. The historical foundation and
+the type are the homage which, from the Gentile world, was offered to Solomon, 1
+Kings x.--<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1504;&#1493;&#1495;&#1492;</span> &quot;resting place,&quot; &quot;dwelling
+place,&quot; &quot;habitation;&quot; comp. Ps. cxxxii. 13, 14: &quot;For the Lord hath chosen Zion;
+He hath desired it for His <i>habitation</i>. This is my <i>rest</i> (<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1504;&#1493;&#1495;&#1514;&#1497;</span>)
+for ever; here will I <i>dwell</i>, for I have desired it.&quot; 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: &quot;The kings of Tarshish and of the
+isles shall bring presents; the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.&quot; The
+comparison of this passage alone is sufficient to refute the absurd interpretation,
+according to which <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1502;&#1497;&#1501;</span> and
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1490;&#1493;&#1497;&#1501;</span> 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1502;&#1497;&#1501;</span>
+are to adhere to Shiloh; compare Vol. i. p. 62.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 11: &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="continue"><span class="pagenum">[Pg 126]</span></p>
+<p class="normal">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. <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1493;&#1505;&#1497;&#1507;</span>
+must be connected with <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1511;&#1504;&#1493;&#1514;</span>, comp. 2 Sam.
+xxiv. 1: &quot;And the Lord continued to kill,&quot; <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1492;&#1512;&#1490;</span>.
+It is unnecessary and arbitrary to supply <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1513;&#1500;&#1495;</span>.
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1491;&#1493;</span> is Accusative, &quot;as to His hand,&quot; equivalent
+to &quot;with His hand;&quot; comp. Ps. iii. 5, xvii. 10, 11, 13, 14. Just the hand of God,
+which here comes into consideration as the instrument of <i>doing</i>, is repeatedly
+mentioned in the account of the deliverance from Egypt; comp. Exod. iii. 20, vii.
+4, xiii. 9. The expression: &quot;<i>He shall continue</i>,&quot; 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,
+&quot;a <i>second time</i>,&quot; points more distinctly to the type of the <i>deliverance
+from Egypt</i> with which the redemption to be effected by Christ is frequently
+paralleled; comp. vers. 15, 16; Vol. i. p. 218, 219. &quot;<i>From Asshur</i>,&quot; &amp;c.,
+must not be connected with <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1511;&#1504;&#1493;&#1514;</span>, but with
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1513;&#1488;&#1512;</span>, comp. v. 16, those who have remained
+from Asshur, &amp;c., <i>i.e.</i>, 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1511;&#1504;&#1493;&#1514;</span>; the words &quot;which
+shall remain&quot; would, in that case, appear to be redundant; and, farther, it is opposed
+by Exod. x. 3: &quot;And eats the residue of that which is escaped, which remaineth unto
+you from the hail,&quot; equivalent to; which the hail has left to you. Similar to this
+is 2 Chron. xxx. 6, where Hezekiah exhorts the children of Israel: &quot;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.&quot; 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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 127]</span> 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&#39;s words shows
+that he supposes a <i>comprehensive</i> 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&#339;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 &quot;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.&quot; 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&#39;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 <i>supposee</i> 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,
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 128]</span> 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&#39;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,
+<i>Egypt</i> is connected in one pair. Egypt is the <i>African</i> world&#39;s power
+struggling for dominion with the <i>Asiatic</i>. Its land serves not only as a refuge
+to those oppressed by the Asiatic world&#39;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.: &quot;In his days Pharaoh Necho, king of Egypt,
+went up against the king of Assyria.&quot; In a similar connection, Asshur and Egypt,
+the kingdoms on the Euphrates and the Nile, appear in chap. xxvii. 13: &quot;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;&quot; Micah vii. 12; Jer. ii. 18; Lam. v. 6. As
+annexed to Egypt, the <i>second</i> pair presents itself, representing the uttermost
+<i>South</i>; compare the expression, &quot;from the four comers of the earth,&quot; in ver.
+12. Pathros, in Jer. xliv. 1, 15, also appears as a dependency of Egypt; and Cush,
+Ethiopia, was, at the Prophet&#39;s time, the ally of Egypt, chap. xxxvii. 9, xviii.,
+xx. 3-6. <i>Gesenius</i> remarks on chap. xx. 4: &quot;Egypt and Ethiopia are, in the
+oracles of this time, always connected, just as the close political alliance of
+these two countries requires.&quot;--From the uttermost South, the Prophet turns to the
+uttermost East. &quot;Elam is,&quot; as <i>Gesenius</i> in his Commentary on chap. xxi. 2
+remarks, &quot;in the pre-exilic writers, used for Persia in general, for which afterwards
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1508;&#1512;&#1505;</span> becomes the ordinary name;&quot; 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&#39;s power
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 129]</span> 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&#39;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&#39;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: &quot;And
+ships come from the side of Chittim and afflict Asshur, and afflict Eber, and he
+also perisheth,&quot; 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 12: &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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: &quot;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;&quot; 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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 130]</span> 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: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#954;&#945;&#8054;
+&#959;&#8016;&#967; &#8017;&#960;&#8050;&#961; &#964;&#959;&#8166; &#7956;&#952;&#957;&#959;&#965;&#962; &#956;&#972;&#957;&#959;&#957;, &#7936;&#955;&#955;&#8217; &#7989;&#957;&#945; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#964;&#8048; &#964;&#941;&#954;&#957;&#945; &#964;&#959;&#8166; &#920;&#949;&#959;&#8166; &#964;&#8048; &#948;&#953;&#949;&#963;&#954;&#959;&#961;&#960;&#953;&#963;&#956;&#941;&#957;&#945; &#963;&#965;&#957;&#945;&#947;&#940;&#947;&#8131;
+&#949;&#7984;&#962; &#7957;&#957;.</span> 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 13. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">According to the explanatory fourth clause, the &quot;adversaries of
+Judah&quot; 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; <i>and this realization has</i>, for its necessary consequence, the <i>
+removal for ever</i> of the separation; comp. Ezek. xxxvii. 22. It was a <i>prelude</i>
+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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 131]</span> joined Judah and the restored
+sanctuary; comp. Acts xxvi. 7; Luke ii. 36. The name of &quot;<i>Jews</i>&quot; passed over
+to the whole nation; the jealousy disappeared. This blessing was conferred upon
+the people for Christ&#39;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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 14. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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 &quot;terrible as an army with banners.&quot;--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&#39;s inviolability, of God&#39;s
+victorious power. The Prophet&#39;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: &quot;They fly as an eagle hastening to eat,&quot; which passage refers to
+the enemies of Israel at the time of wrath. In the time of <i>grace</i>, the relation
+will be just the reverse.--<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1513;&#1500;&#1495; &#1497;&#1491;</span> 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 <i>Noli me tangere</i> for them.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 15. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="continue"><span class="pagenum">[Pg 132]</span></p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 16. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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, <i>Egypt</i>, 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: &quot;And thus,&quot; at the beginning of the verse. As regards the destroying,
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1495;&#1512;&#1493;&#1501;</span>, 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 <i>persons</i> 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.--<i>With the violence or terror of His wind</i>,
+<i>i.e.</i>, 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
+<i>Drechsler</i>, who thinks of &quot;God&#39;s breathing of anger,&quot; first, this reference
+to Exod. xiv. 21, and farther, the circumstance that the
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1512;&#1493;&#1495;</span> appears as something which the Lord has
+in His hand, are decisive.--In ver. 16 we need not, after &quot;from Asshur,&quot; 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.</p>
+<hr class="ftn">
+<div class="ftn">
+	<p class="ftnText"><a name="ftn_108a" href="#ftnRef_108a">
+	<sup class="ftnRef">[1]</sup></a> Notwithstanding the arguments which we stated
+	in favour of our proposition, that the original form of the name is
+	<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1510;&#1512;</span>. <i>Ebrard</i> without even attempting
+	to refute them, assumes, in favour of a far-fetched conjecture, that the name
+	of the place was written <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1494;&#1512;&#1514;</span> (<i>Kritik.
+	d. Ev. Geschichte</i> S. 843, 1st Ed.), and has introduced this opinion even
+	into the text of the new edition of <i>Olshausen&#39;s</i> Commentary, edited by
+	him. The circumstance that elsewhere <i>commonly</i> the Hebrew
+	<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1494;</span> is, in Greek, rendered by
+	<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#950;</span>, <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1510;</span>
+	by <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#963;</span> is, in this case, where the special
+	arguments in favour of <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1510;&#1512;</span> are so strong,
+	of no consequence.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="ftn">
+	<p class="ftnText"><a name="ftn_111a" href="#ftnRef_111a">
+	<sup class="ftnRef">[2]</sup></a> <i>Hofmann</i> (<i>Weissagung und Erf�llung.</i>,
+	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
+	<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#925;&#945;&#950;&#969;&#961;&#945;&#8150;&#959;&#962;</span> 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&#39;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, <i>Hofmann</i>
+	advances the assertion that neither <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1510;&#1512;</span>
+	nor <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1495;&#1496;&#1512;</span> 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 <i>stump</i>
+	and <i>roots</i>, as well as by the contrast to
+	<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1508;&#1512;&#1492;</span>.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="ftn">
+	<p class="ftnText"><a name="ftn_112a" href="#ftnRef_112a">
+	<sup class="ftnRef">[3]</sup></a> The following passage, which we take from
+	<i>Raim. Martini Pug. Fid.</i> III. 3, 19 p. 685, will fully illustrate that
+	custom: R. <i>Abba</i> said: His name is <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1492;&#1493;&#1492;</span>
+	Lord, according to the word in Jerem. xxiii. 6; R. <i>Josua ben Levy</i> said:
+	&quot;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. <i>Siloh</i> said: His name will be <i>Shiloh</i>,
+	as is written in Gen. xlix. 10: &#39;Until Shiloh come.&#39; Those from the School of
+	R. <i>Chanina</i> said: His name will be the Gracious one, as Jerem. said in
+	chap. xvi. 13. Those from the School of R. <i>Jannai</i> said: Jinnon shall
+	be His name, according to Ps. lxxii. 17, &amp;c.&quot;</p>
+</div>
+<p class="continue"><span class="pagenum">[Pg 133]</span></p>
+<h3><a name="div2_133" href="#div2Ref_133">CHAP. XII.</a></h3>
+<p class="normal">This chapter contains Israel&#39;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 <i>jubilus</i> of the congregation.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 1. &quot;<i>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.</i> Ver. 2. <i>Behold, God is my salvation; I trust, and am not afraid; for
+my strength and song is the Lord, and He became my Saviour.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">The words &quot;my strength and my song,&quot; are from Exod. xv. 2. The
+two members of the verse enter into the right relation to one another, and the
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1499;&#1497;</span> becomes intelligible, only if we keep in
+mind that the words at the beginning, &quot;The Lord is my salvation,&quot; 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 3. &quot;<i>And ye draw water in joy out of the wells of salvation.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">During the journey through the wilderness, the bestowal of salvation
+had been represented under the form of granting <span class="pagenum">[Pg 134]</span>
+water. It is to it that we have here an allusion. The spiritual water denotes salvation.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 4. &quot;<i>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.</i>
+Ver. 5.
+<!--deleted quote--><i>Praise the Lord, for He hath done great things; this is known
+in all the earth.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 6. &quot;<i>Cry out and shout thou inhabitant of Zion; for great
+is the Holy One of Israel in thy midst.</i>&quot;</p>
+<hr class="W20">
+<p class="normal">There now follows a cycle of ten prophecies, which, in the inscriptions,
+have the name <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1513;&#1488;</span> &quot;burden,&quot; 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 <i>repetition</i> must be distinguished. That took
+place, as is just shewn by the prophecy&#39;s being received in the cycle of the <i>
+burdens</i>, at the time when the invasion of Sennacherib was immediately impending.
+The Assyrians were the power from the <i>North</i>, <span class="pagenum">[Pg 135]</span>
+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.</p>
+<p class="normal">From the series of these <i>burdens</i>, we shall very briefly
+comment upon those which are of importance for our purpose. First,</p>
+<h3><a name="div2_135" href="#div2Ref_135">CHAPTERS XIII. l.-XIV. 27.</a></h3>
+<p class="normal">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&#39;s power of the
+future, by which Judah is to be carried away into captivity.</p>
+<p class="normal">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, &amp;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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Behind the world&#39;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&#39;s contemporaries, every letter was
+of consequence. If Israel&#39;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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 136]</span> 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 <i>inferences</i>, 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <i>announced</i>
+as such, but <i>supposed</i>: 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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. <i>e.g.</i> 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <i>Gesenius</i> cannot avoid remarking:
+&quot;The prophetic eye of <span class="pagenum">[Pg 137]</span> 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.&quot;</p>
+<h3><a name="div2_137" href="#div2Ref_137">CHAPTERS XVII., XVIII.</a></h3>
+<p class="normal">These two chapters form one whole, as, generally, the series of
+the ten <i>burdens</i> 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">The inscription runs: &quot;Burden of Damascus.&quot; 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&#39;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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 138]</span> 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&#39;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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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&#39;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&#39;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.</p>
+<p class="normal">&quot;<i>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</i> (has been) <i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="continue"><span class="pagenum">[Pg 139]</span></p>
+<p class="normal">The expression, &quot;shall be brought as a present,&quot; (the word
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1513;&#1497;</span> 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, &quot;Because of thy temple over Jerusalem shall kings bring presents
+unto thee.&quot; As outwardly, so spiritually too, the sanctuary lies <i>over</i> Jerusalem.
+The sanctuary of God over Jerusalem is the emblem of His protecting power, of His
+saving mercy watching over Jerusalem; so that, &quot;because of thy temple over Jerusalem
+they bring,&quot; &amp;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&#39;s time, was closely connected with it.
+&quot;Princes shall come out of Egypt, Cush makes her hands to hasten towards God.&quot;--According
+to <i>Gesenius</i>, and other interpreters, the <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1503;</span>
+from the second clause is to be supplied before <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1501;
+&#1502;&#1502;&#1513;&#1498;</span>. 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: &quot;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;&quot; 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. <i>Gesenius</i> is wrong in remarking
+in reference to them: &quot;All these epithets have for their purpose to designate that
+distant people as a powerful and terrible one.&quot; As <i>Gesenius</i> himself was obliged
+to remark in reference to the last words, &quot;Whose land streams divide:&quot; &quot;This is
+a designation of a striking peculiarity of the country, not of the people,&quot;--the
+purpose of the epithets can generally be this only, to characterise the people according
+to their different prominent peculiarities.--<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1502;&#1513;&#1498;</span>
+properly &quot;<i>drawn out</i>,&quot; &quot;<i>stretched</i>,&quot; Prov. xiii. 12, corresponds to
+the <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1504;&#1513;&#1497; &#1502;&#1491;&#1492;</span> &quot;men of extension or stature,&quot;
+in chap. xlv. 14. High stature appears, in classical writers also, as a characteristic
+sign of the <span class="pagenum">[Pg 140]</span> Ethiopians.--On
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1493;&#1512;&#1496;</span> &quot;<i>closely shorn</i>,&quot; comp. chap. l.
+6, where <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1512;&#1496;</span> is used of the plucking out of
+the hair of the beard.---&quot;To the people fearful since it and onward,&quot; equivalent
+to: which all along, and throughout its whole existence, has been terrible; compare
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1497;&#1502;&#1497; &#1492;&#1497;&#1488;</span> Nah. ii. 9, and the expression: &quot;from
+this day and forward,&quot; 1 Sam. xviii. 9. For everywhere one people only is spoken
+of, comp. ver. 1, according to which Egypt cannot be thought of--<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1511;&#1493;
+&#1511;&#1493;</span> &quot;law-law&quot; is explained from chap. xxviii. 10, 13, where it stands beside
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1510;&#1493; &#1510;&#1493;</span>, 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, <i>Gesenius</i> remarks: &quot;The consequence of such
+great deeds of Jehovah will be, that the distant, powerful people of the Ethiopians
+shall present pious offerings to Jehovah,&quot;--more correctly, &quot;present themselves
+and their possessions to Jehovah.&quot;--A prelude to the fulfilment Isaiah beheld with
+his own eyes. It is said in 2 Chron. xxxii. 33: &quot;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.&quot; 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&#39;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&#39;s power. &quot;He who delights in having pointed out
+the fulfilment of such prophecies in the later history&quot;--<i>Gesenius</i> remarks--&quot;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.&quot;--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&#39;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.</p>
+<p class="continue"><span class="pagenum">[Pg 141]</span></p>
+<h3><a name="div2_141" href="#div2Ref_141">CHAPTER XIX.</a></h3>
+<p class="normal">The burden of Egypt begins with the words: &quot;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.&quot; 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 <i>Gesenius</i> 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: &quot;How say
+ye unto Pharaoh: I am the Son of the wise a (spiritual) son of the kings of ancient
+times,&quot; 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., <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#957;&#8057;&#956;&#959;&#962; &#7952;&#960;&#8054; &#957;&#8057;&#956;&#959;&#957;</span>,
+of provinces only. Further,--According to <i>Gesenius</i>, 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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1494;&#1512;&#1497;&#1501;</span>, 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 <i>burdens</i>, and was written
+in the view of Asshur&#39;s advance, leaves us no room to doubt that the Lord is coming
+to judgment in the oppression by the Asiatic world&#39;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&#39;s power. Compare <i>e.g.</i> Jer.
+xlvi. 25, 26: &quot;And behold, I visit Pharaoh and Egypt, and their gods and their kings,
+Pharaoh <span class="pagenum">[Pg 142]</span> 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.&quot; 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; &quot;its very foundations are destroyed,
+all who carry on craft are afflicted.&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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. &quot;And I give over Egypt into the hand of hard rule, and a fierce king (<i>Jonathan</i>:
+<i>potens</i>, sc. Nebuchadnezzar) shall rule over them, saith the Lord, Jehovah
+of hosts,&quot; ver. 4. The fierce king is the king of Asshur, the Asiatic kingdom; compare
+the mention of Asshur in ver. 23-25; LXX. <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#946;&#945;&#963;&#953;&#955;&#949;&#8150;&#962;
+&#963;&#954;&#955;&#951;&#961;&#959;&#8055;</span>. For, the fact that the unity is merely an <i>ideal</i> one, is most
+distinctly and intentionally pointed at by the <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1491;&#1504;&#1497;&#1501;</span>
+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.</p>
+<p class="continue"><span class="pagenum">[Pg 143]</span></p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 18. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal"><i>Five</i>, as usual, here comes into consideration as the half
+of <i>ten</i>, which number represents the whole; &quot;<i>five</i> cities,&quot; therefore,
+is equivalent to: a goodly number of cities. On the words: &quot;Who speak the language
+of Canaan,&quot; <i>Gesenius</i> remarks: &quot;With the spreading of a certain religion resting
+on certain documents of revelation, as <i>e.g.</i> the Jewish religion, the knowledge
+of their language, too, must be connected.&quot; 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, <i>e.g.</i> 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.--&quot;To
+swear to the Lord&quot; is to do Him homage; Michaelis: <i>Juramento se Domino obstringent</i>;
+comp. chap. xlv. 23: &quot;Unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.&quot; In
+the words: &quot;City of destruction,&quot;<!--inserted quote-->
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1512;&#1505;</span>, one shall be called, there is contained
+an allusion to <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1511;&#1497;&#1512; &#1492;&#1512;&#1505;</span>, &quot;<i>city of the Sun</i>&quot;
+(Heliopolis) which was peculiar to one of the chief seats of Egyptian idolatry.
+It is the celebrated <i>On</i> or <i>Bethshemish</i> of which Jeremiah prophesies
+in chap. xliii. 13: &quot;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.&quot; This allusion was perceived as early as by <i>Jonathan</i>, who thus paraphrases:
+&quot;<i>Urbs domus solis quae destruetur.</i>&quot; 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.</p>
+<p class="continue"><span class="pagenum">[Pg 144]</span></p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 19. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">That the altar is to be considered as a &quot;monument&quot; 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, <i>e.g.</i>, chap. lxvi. 23, we must distinguish between the thought
+and the embodiment. The <i>pillar</i> 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 20. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <i>Gesenius</i>, the Prophet speaks &quot;without a definite historical
+reference, of a saving or protecting angel.&quot; 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
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 145]</span> than of Him; and it is He who is suggested
+by the Messianic character of the whole description.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 21. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 22. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">We have here simply a recapitulation. The prophet describes anew
+the transition from the state of wrath to that of grace--not, as <i>Drechsler</i>
+thinks, what they experience in the latter. Upon Egypt is fulfilled what, in Deut.
+xxxii. 39, has been said in reference to Israel.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 23. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal"><span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1489;&#1491;</span> with
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1514;</span> has commonly the signification &quot;to serve
+some one;&quot; here, however, <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1514;</span> is used as a
+preposition: Egypt serves God <i>with</i> Asshur. Yet there is an allusion to the
+ordinary use of <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1489;&#1491;</span> with
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1514;</span> in order to direct attention to the wonderful
+change: First, Egypt serves Asshur, and the powers that follow its footsteps; then,
+it serves <i>with</i> 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 24. &quot;<i>In that day Israel shall be the third with Egypt
+and with Asshur, a blessing in the midst of the earth.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">The &quot;blessing&quot; is not &quot;that union of people formerly separated,&quot;
+but it is <i>Israel</i> 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:
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7969; &#963;&#969;&#964;&#951;&#961;&#943;&#945; &#7952;&#954; &#964;&#8182;&#957; &#7992;&#959;&#965;&#948;&#945;&#943;&#969;&#957; &#7952;&#963;&#964;&#943;</span>, John iv. 22.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 25. &quot;<i>For the Lord of Hosts blesseth him, saying: Blessed
+be Egypt my people, and Asshur the work of mine hands, and Israel mine inheritance.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">The suffix in <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1512;&#1502;</span> refers
+to every thing mentioned in ver. 24. &quot;Assyria and Egypt are called by epithets which
+elsewhere are wont to be bestowed upon Israel only.&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">It is scarcely necessary to point out how gloriously this,
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 146]</span> 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 (&quot;<i>Satanas in hac gente sevit zizania</i>&quot;--<i>Vitringa</i>),
+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.</p>
+<h3><a name="div2_146" href="#div2Ref_146">CHAPTER XXIII.</a></h3>
+<h4>THE BURDEN UPON TYRE.</h4>
+<p class="normal">In the view of Sennacherib&#39;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&#39;s power.</p>
+<p class="normal">The threatening goes on to ver. 14; it is, in ver. 13, concentrated
+in the words: &quot;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.&quot; The correct explanation of this
+verse has been given by <i>Delitzsch</i> 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&#39;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.</p>
+<p class="continue"><span class="pagenum">[Pg 147]</span></p>
+<p class="normal">Upon the threatening there follows the promise. Ver. 15. &quot;<i>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.</i> Ver. 16. <i>Take the harp, go about the city, forgotten
+harlot, make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered.</i>
+Ver. 17. <i>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.</i> Ver. 18. <i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">On the &quot;70 years, like the days of one king,&quot; <i>Michaelis</i>
+very pertinently remarks: &quot;Not of one individual, but of one reign or empire, <i>
+i.e.</i> as long as the Babylonian empire shall last, which, after 70 years, was
+destroyed by Cyrus.&quot; 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: &quot;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.&quot; In the Commentary on Rev. ii. 1, p. 75,
+200, it was proved that, in Scripture, kings are frequently <i>ideal</i> persons;
+not individuals, but personifications of their kingdoms. <i>Gesenius&#39;</i> 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 &quot;like the days;&quot; 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 <i>round</i> designation of the time. From a comparison of Jeremiah we learn
+that the Chaldean dominion will last 70 years <i>in all</i>. 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
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 148]</span> Tyre by the Chaldeans, which is here announced,
+really took place, has been more thoroughly established in my book: <i>De rebus
+Tyriorum</i>; and afterwards by <i>Drechsler</i> in his Commentary on Isaiah, and
+by <i>H�vernick</i> in his Commentary on Ezekiel.</p>
+<p class="normal">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. &quot;By the
+image of whoredom&quot;--so we remarked in commenting upon Rev. xiv. 8--&quot;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.&quot;
+Under the dominion of the Persians, Tyre again began to flourish.</p>
+<p class="normal">Tyre&#39;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: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#949;&#7984; &#7969;&#956;&#949;&#8150;&#962; &#8017;&#956;&#8150;&#957; &#964;&#8048; &#960;&#957;&#949;&#965;&#956;&#945;&#964;&#953;&#954;&#8048;
+&#7952;&#963;&#960;&#949;&#943;&#961;&#945;&#956;&#949;&#957;, &#956;&#941;&#947;&#945;, &#949;&#7984; &#7969;&#956;&#949;&#8150;&#962; &#8017;&#956;&#8182;&#957; &#964;&#8048; &#963;&#945;&#961;&#954;&#953;&#954;&#8048; &#952;&#949;&#961;&#943;&#963;&#959;&#956;&#949;&#957;</span>; 1 Cor. ix. 11. Converted
+Tyre offers, in these gifts, its thanks for the noble gift which it received from
+the sanctuary.</p>
+<p class="normal"><i>Vitringa</i>, who remarks that the Prophet was fully aware
+of &quot;the great interval of time that would intervene betwixt the restoration of Tyre,
+and her dedication of herself, with her gains, to the Lord,&quot; is right, while <i>
+Drechsler</i>, 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. <i>First</i>, she
+resumes her old whorings; <i>then</i>, 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">The announcement of the future conversion of Tyre received,
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 149]</span> in the time of Christ, a symbolical representation
+as it were, in the Canaanitish woman. <i>Vitringa</i> says: &quot;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.&quot;<!--inserted quote mark here;
+see Thomas Newton, Dissertations on the Prophecies--> At a subsequent period, there
+existed at Tyre a flourishing and wealthy church. <i>Eusebius</i> and <i>Jerome</i>
+describe to us, from their own experience, the fulfilment of this prophecy.</p>
+<h3><a name="div2_149" href="#div2Ref_149">CHAPTERS XXIV.-XXVII.</a></h3>
+<p class="normal">Upon the ten single &quot;burdens&quot; 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&#39;s power hostile to His
+Kingdom, The characteristic feature in it is, that the Prophet abstains from all
+details.</p>
+<p class="normal">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&#39;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: &quot;For they
+transgressed the <i>laws</i>, violated the <i>ordinances</i>, broke the everlasting
+<i>covenant</i>,&quot; 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">The judgment upon Judah bears a comprehensive character.
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 150]</span> As the single phases of the world&#39;s power,
+by which the sins of the people of God are visited, there had been mentioned in
+the cycle of the <i>burdens</i>, Asshur in chap. xiv. 25; Babylon in chap. xiii.,
+xiv., xxi., (the circumstance that the first <i>burden</i> of the first half of
+the <i>burdens</i>, and likewise the first <i>burden</i> of the second half of the
+<i>burdens</i>--the ten <i>burdens</i> 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 <i>per se</i>, and irrespective of the particular
+forms of its realisation.</p>
+<p class="normal">In vers. 14, 15, there is a sudden transition from the threatening
+to the promise: &quot;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,&quot;--from
+the sea into which they were driven away by the storm of the judgments of the Lord.
+To the &quot;sea&quot; here, correspond the &quot;islands of the sea,&quot; in ver. 15; compare the
+mention of the islands in chap. xi. 11. Ver. 15. &quot;Therefore, in the light praise
+ye the Lord, in the isles of the sea the name of the Lord God of Israel.&quot; The words
+are addressed to the elect in the time of salvation. The Plural
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1512;&#1497;&#1501;</span> denotes the <i>fulness</i> of light or
+salvation, comp. chap. xxvi. 19; <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;</span> is, in
+both instances, used in a local sense. The light is the spiritual territory; the
+isles of the sea, the natural.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 16 returns to the threatening: &quot;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.&quot; 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&#39;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.</p>
+<p class="normal">In ver. 21, ff. the promise breaks forth anew. Ver. 21:
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 151]</span> &quot;<i>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.</i> Ver. 22. <i>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.</i> Ver. 23. <i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">In ver. 21 the destruction of the world&#39;s power is announced.
+The &quot;kings of the earth&quot; form the explanation of the &quot;host of the height.&quot; 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.
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1512;&#1493;&#1501;</span> 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: &quot;And
+after many days they are visited,&quot; intimates that the time will appear very long
+to Zion, until the visitation takes place. &quot;Many days,&quot; or &quot;a long time,&quot; viz.,
+after the beginning of their raging, which was to continue for a series of centuries,
+until Christ at length spoke: &quot;Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.&quot; The
+visitation consists in their being gathered together.--In ver. 23, the words: &quot;The
+Lord reigneth,&quot; 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 &quot;ancients&quot; are the <i>ideal</i> representatives
+of the Church; compare remarks on Rev. iv. 4. Before them is glory, inasmuch as
+the Lord imparts to them of His glory.</p>
+<p class="normal">In chap. xxv. 1-5, the Lord is praised on account of the glorious
+redemption bestowed upon His people. &quot;For thou hast made&quot;--it is said in ver. 2--&quot;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.&quot; 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&#39;s power; comp. ver. 12, chaps. xxvi. 5, xxvii. 10. <i>Gesenius</i>
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 152]</span> speaks of &quot;the strange conjectures of interpreters
+who have guessed all possible cities.&quot; But he himself has lost himself in the sphere
+of strange conjectures and guesses, by remarking: &quot;The city whose destruction is
+here spoken of can be none other than Babylon.&quot; 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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:</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 6. &quot;<i>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.</i> Ver 7. <i>And destroyeth in the mountain the
+surface of the vail covering all the nations, and the covering cast upon all the
+nations.</i> Ver. 8. <i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">&quot;In this mountain,&quot; 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.--&quot;Unto all people,&quot; comp. chap. ii. 2 ff. The verse under consideration forms
+the foundation for the words of Christ in Matthew viii. 2:
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#955;&#941;&#947;&#969; &#948;&#8050; &#8017;&#956;&#8150;&#957; &#8005;&#964;&#953; &#960;&#959;&#955;&#955;&#959;&#8054; &#7936;&#960;&#8056; &#7936;&#957;&#945;&#964;&#959;&#955;&#8182;&#957; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#948;&#965;&#963;&#956;&#8182;&#957; &#7973;&#958;&#959;&#965;&#963;&#953;
+&#954;&#945;&#8054; &#7936;&#957;&#945;&#954;&#955;&#953;&#952;&#942;&#963;&#959;&#957;&#964;&#945;&#953; &#956;&#949;&#964;&#8048; &#7944;&#946;&#961;&#945;&#8048;&#956; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#7992;&#963;&#945;&#8048;&#954; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#7992;&#945;&#954;&#969;&#946; &#7952;&#957; &#964;&#8135; &#946;&#945;&#963;&#953;&#955;&#949;&#943;&#8115; &#964;&#8182;&#957; &#959;&#8016;&#961;&#945;&#957;&#8182;&#957;</span>;
+comp. xxii. 1 ff.; Luke xxii. 30. In ver. 7, &quot;the surface of the vail&quot; is the vail
+itself, inasmuch as it lies over it. The &quot;covering&quot; here comes into consideration
+as a sign of mourning, comp. 2 Sam. xv. 30: &quot;And David went up by the ascent of
+Mount Olivet, weeping, and his head covered, and so also all the people with him.&quot;
+The explanation is given in ver. 8, where the <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1500;&#1506;</span>
+is intentionally resumed. We cannot, therefore, agree with <i>Drechsler</i> who
+explains the being &quot;covered,&quot; by &quot;dullness and deadness in reference to spiritual
+things.&quot;--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),
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 153]</span> so it ceases when sin is completely overcome;
+compare 1 Cor. xv. 54, where our passage is expressly quoted. Besides death, <i>
+tears</i> 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <i>Gesenius</i> also, who thus determines the
+sense: &quot;Whilst Jehovah&#39;s protecting hand rests upon Zion, His enemies helplessly
+perish.&quot; 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&#39;s power in general.</p>
+<p class="normal">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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 19. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">The saints are raised from the earth; the giants are sunk into
+the earth. The <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1512;&#1508;&#1488;&#1497;&#1501;</span> &quot;giants&quot; are identical
+with the <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1513;&#1489;&#1497; &#1514;&#1489;&#1500;</span> in ver. 18. There it was
+said in reference to the time of wrath: &quot;We have not wrought any deliverance in
+the land, neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen;&quot; compare vers. 9 and
+21; Numb. xiv. 32. Parallel is the announcement of the defeat of the world&#39;s power
+in ver. 14. <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1512;&#1508;&#1488;&#1497;&#1501;</span>, it is true, is there used
+of the dead; but the signification of the word remains the same: The bodiless spirits
+were called <i>giants</i>, because they were objects of terror to the living; comp.
+remarks on Ps. lxxxviii. 11. The word is, in ver. 14, used <span class="pagenum">
+[Pg 154]</span> with a certain irony.--&quot;Light&quot; is equivalent to &quot;salvation.&quot; The
+Plural signifies the fulness of light or salvation. The complete fulfilment which
+the words, &quot;Thy dead shall live,&quot; will find in the resurrection of the body, affords
+a guarantee for the fulfilment of the previous stages.</p>
+<p class="normal">In chap. xxvii., it is especially ver. 1 which attracts our attention:
+&quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">We have here three designations of one and the same monster.
+<i>Gesenius</i>, 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&#39;s power; comp. remarks on Rev. xii. 3. But that which is meant is the whole
+world&#39;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.</p>
+<hr class="W20">
+<p class="normal">After the single discourses out of the Assyrian time, from chap.
+vii.-xxvii., there follows in <a name="div2_154" href="#div2Ref_154">chap. xxviii.-xxxiii.</a>
+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, <i>e.g.</i> 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
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 155]</span> which attracts our attention; since, in the
+New Testament, it is referred to Christ.</p>
+<p class="normal">&quot;<i>Behold I have laid for a foundation in Zion a stone, a tried</i>
+(stone), <i>a precious corner stone of perfect foundation; he that believeth need
+not make haste</i>,&quot; 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, <i>that which, in the first instance, is said of the kingdom
+of God refers, at the same time, to its head and centre</i>. Parallel is Is. xiv.
+32; &quot;The Lord hath founded Zion, and the poor of His people trust in it.&quot; The
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1488;&#1502;&#1497;&#1503;</span> here corresponds with the
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1495;&#1505;&#1492;</span> with <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;</span>
+there. The difference is, that there Zion itself is the object of confidence, while
+here it is the stone which is in Zion. <i>There</i>, Zion is the <i>spiritual</i>
+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. <i>Here</i>, 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: &quot;His foundation
+is in the holy mountains,&quot; on which I remarked in my Commentary: &quot;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.&quot;
+The stone laid by God as a foundation in Zion, in the passage under consideration,
+is, in substance, identical with the &quot;tent that He placed among men,&quot; in Ps. lxxviii.
+60. &quot;In substance the sanctuary was erected by God alone, who, by
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 156]</span> fulfilling His promise, &#39;I dwell in the midst
+of them,&#39; breathed the living soul into the body, and caused His name to dwell there.&quot;
+In Ezek. xi. the substance of the sanctuary, the Shechinah, withdraws into heaven.--Our
+passage, farther, touches very closely upon chap. viii. 14: &quot;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.&quot; The stone <i>here</i>
+is the Church; <i>there</i> 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: &quot;The stone which the builders rejected has become
+the corner-stone.&quot; In that passage, too, the stone is the Kingdom and people of
+God: &quot;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.&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">A simple quotation of the passage before us is found in Rom. x.
+11: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#955;&#941;&#947;&#949;&#953; &#947;&#8048;&#961; &#7969; &#947;&#961;&#945;&#966;&#942;� &#960;&#8118;&#962; &#8001; &#960;&#953;&#963;&#964;&#949;&#973;&#969;&#957; &#7952;&#960;&#8217; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#8183; &#959;&#8016;
+&#954;&#945;&#964;&#945;&#953;&#963;&#967;&#965;&#957;&#952;&#942;&#963;&#949;&#964;&#945;&#953;.</span> In chap. ix. ver. 3, we have chap. viii. 14, and the passage
+under consideration blended in a remarkable manner:
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7984;&#948;&#959;&#973; &#964;&#943;&#952;&#951;&#956;&#953; &#7952;&#957; &#931;&#953;&#8060;&#957; &#955;&#943;&#952;&#959;&#957; &#960;&#961;&#959;&#954;&#972;&#956;&#956;&#945;&#964;&#959;&#962; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#960;&#941;&#964;&#961;&#945;&#957; &#963;&#954;&#945;&#957;&#948;&#940;&#955;&#959;&#965;&#903;
+&#954;&#945;&#8054; &#960;&#8118;&#962; &#8001; &#960;&#953;&#963;&#964;&#949;&#973;&#969;&#957; &#7952;&#960;&#39; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#8183; &#959;&#8016; &#954;&#945;&#964;&#945;&#953;&#963;&#967;&#965;&#957;&#952;&#942;&#963;&#949;&#964;&#945;&#953;</span>, 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: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#948;&#953;&#972;&#964;&#8055;
+&#960;&#949;&#961;&#953;&#941;&#967;&#949;&#953; &#7952;&#957; &#964;&#8135; &#947;&#961;&#945;&#966;&#8135;: &#7984;&#948;&#959;&#8058; &#964;&#943;&#952;&#951;&#956;&#953; &#7952;&#957; &#931;&#953;&#8060;&#957; &#955;&#943;&#952;&#959;&#957; &#7936;&#954;&#961;&#959;&#947;&#969;&#957;&#953;&#945;&#8150;&#959;&#957;, &#7952;&#954;&#955;&#949;&#954;&#964;&#8056;&#957;, &#7956;&#957;&#964;&#953;&#956;&#959;&#957;,
+&#954;&#945;&#8054; &#8001; &#960;&#953;&#963;&#964;&#949;&#973;&#969;&#957; &#7952;&#960;&#8217; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#8183; &#959;&#8016; &#956;&#8052; &#954;&#945;&#964;&#945;&#953;&#963;&#967;&#965;&#957;&#952;&#8135;. &#8017;&#956;&#8150;&#957; &#959;&#8022;&#957; &#7969; &#964;&#953;&#956;&#8052; &#964;&#959;&#8150;&#962; &#960;&#953;&#963;&#964;&#949;&#973;&#959;&#965;&#963;&#953;&#957;. &#7936;&#960;&#949;&#8150;&#963;&#964;&#959;&#8166;&#963;&#953;
+&#948;&#8050; &#955;&#943;&#952;&#959;&#957; &#8003;&#957; &#7936;&#960;&#949;&#948;&#959;&#954;&#943;&#956;&#945;&#963;&#945;&#957; &#959;&#7985; &#959;&#7984;&#954;&#959;&#948;&#959;&#956;&#959;&#8166;&#957;&#964;&#949;&#962;, &#959;&#8023;&#964;&#959;&#962; &#7952;&#947;&#949;&#957;&#942;&#952;&#951; &#949;&#7984;&#962; &#954;&#949;&#966;&#945;&#955;&#8052;&#957; &#947;&#969;&#957;&#943;&#945;&#962;, &#954;&#945;&#8054;
+&#955;&#943;&#952;&#959;&#962; &#960;&#961;&#959;&#963;&#954;&#972;&#956;&#956;&#945;&#964;&#959;&#962; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#960;&#941;&#964;&#961;&#945; &#963;&#954;&#945;&#957;&#948;&#940;&#955;&#959;&#965;</span>, on which <i>Bengel</i> remarks: &quot;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.&quot; 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">The second Messianic passage of the section which is of importance
+for our purpose, is chap. xxxiii. 17.</p>
+<p class="normal">&quot;<i>Thine eyes shall see the King in His beauty; they shall see
+the land that is far off.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="continue"><span class="pagenum">[Pg 157]</span></p>
+<p class="normal">The &quot;King&quot; 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, &quot;Behold thou art <i>fair</i>, my beloved&quot; (comp. Ps. xlv. 3;) and from
+the words immediately following: &quot;they shall see the land that is far off.&quot; 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 &quot;the land that is
+far off&quot; (literally: &quot;the land of distances&quot;) to &quot;a land stretching far out,&quot; 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:
+&quot;Thou increasest the nation, O God, thou art glorified, thou removest all the boundaries
+of the land,&quot; is conclusive against this explanation. Comparing this passage, as
+also chap. lx. 4; Zech. x. 9, <i>Michaelis</i> correctly explains: &quot;The land of
+distances is the Kingdom of Christ most widely propagated.&quot; In chap. viii. 9, likewise,
+the Gentile countries are designated by the &quot;distances of the earth.&quot; <i>Farther</i>--Hezekiah
+could not be designated simply by <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1500;&#1498;</span> 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 <i>Vitringa</i>, think of Jehovah, with a comparison of ver.
+22: &quot;For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our King;
+He will save us,&quot; and of Ps. xlviii. 3, where he is called
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1500;&#1498; &#1512;&#1489;</span>. To Jehovah, the passage, chap. xxx.
+20, 21 also refers,--a passage which has been so often misunderstood: &quot;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.&quot; 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 &quot;the King in His beauty,&quot;
+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, <span class="pagenum">[Pg 158]</span>
+in the truest manner, revealed and manifested himself as the Teacher of His people.</p>
+<p class="normal">The close of the whole of the first part of Isaiah is, in chaps.
+xxxiv., xxxv. formed by a comprehensive announcement, <i>on the one hand</i>, 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&#39;s oppression by the great kingdoms of the world (he always appears as
+he who helped to bring misery upon his brethren); and, <i>on the other hand</i>,
+of the mercy and salvation which should be bestowed upon the Church trampled upon
+by the world.</p>
+<p class="normal">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.</p>
+<p class="normal">The description of the salvation in store for the Church, in
+<a name="div2_158" href="#div2Ref_158">chap. xxxv.</a>, 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 1. &quot;<i>The wilderness and dry land shall be glad for it,
+and the desert shall rejoice and sprout like the bulb.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">The wilderness is Zion--the Church to be devastated by the world.--&quot;For
+it,&quot;--<i>i.e.</i> for the judgment upon the world, as it was described in chap.
+xxxiv. with which the changed fate of the Church is indissolubly connected.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 2. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">&quot;The glory of Lebanon,&quot; &amp;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. <i>Michaelis</i> says: &quot;The Lebanon excels
+among the forests; the Carmel among the fruitful hills; the
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 159]</span> Sharon among the lovely fields or valleys.&quot;--To
+&quot;see the glory of the Lord, the excellency <i>of God</i>&quot; 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 3. &quot;<i>Strengthen ye the slack hands, and confirm ye the
+tottering knees.</i>&quot; The words are addressed to all the members of the people of
+God; they are to strengthen and confirm <i>one another</i> by pointing to the future
+revelation of the glory of the Lord.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 4. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">&quot;To them that are of a fearful heart,&quot;--literally of a &quot;hasty
+heart,&quot; who allow themselves to be carried away by the Present, and are unmindful
+of the <i>respice finem</i>.--<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1511;&#1501;</span> and
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1490;&#1502;&#1493;&#1500;</span> are Accusatives, used in the same manner
+as in verbs of motion, to designate the object of the motion.--On
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1490;&#1502;&#1493;&#1500;</span>, &quot;gift,&quot; comp. remarks on Ps. vii. 5.
+&quot;The gift of God&quot; 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: &quot;He will come and save you,&quot; are an explanation of &quot;the
+gift of God.&quot; It is in Christ that the words: &quot;He will come and save you,&quot; 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: &quot;In their joy they feel <i>as if</i> they were healed&quot;
+(<i>Knobel</i>, after the example of <i>Gesenius</i>), 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.</p>
+<p class="continue"><span class="pagenum">[Pg 160]</span></p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 5. &quot;<i>Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the
+ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <i>personae miserabiles</i>;
+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 <i>species</i>
+in the <i>genus</i>; but they themselves are, in the first instance, meant, and
+that which has been said must, in the first instance, be fulfilled upon them. <i>
+Farther</i>--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 <i>usus loquendi</i>, are thus designated.
+But a collateral reference to the <i>spiritually</i> 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: &quot;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;&quot; xlii.
+18: &quot;Hear ye deaf, and look ye blind and see;&quot; xliii. 8: &quot;Bring forth the blind
+people, that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears;&quot; 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. <span class="pagenum">[Pg 161]</span> xi. 5, where, with an evident
+reference to the passage before us, the Lord gives to the question of John: &quot;Art
+thou he that should come, or do we look for another,&quot; the matter-of-fact answer,
+that the blind receive their sight, the deaf hear, the lame walk: comp. Matth. xv.
+31: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#8037;&#963;&#964;&#949; &#964;&#959;&#8058;&#962; &#8004;&#967;&#955;&#959;&#965;&#962; &#952;&#945;&#965;&#956;&#940;&#963;&#945;&#953; &#946;&#955;&#941;&#960;&#959;&#957;&#964;&#945;&#962; &#954;&#969;&#966;&#959;&#8058;&#962; &#955;&#945;&#955;&#959;&#8166;&#964;&#945;&#962;,
+&#954;&#965;&#955;&#955;&#959;&#8058;&#962; &#8017;&#947;&#953;&#949;&#8150;&#962;, &#967;&#969;&#955;&#959;&#8058;&#962; &#960;&#949;&#961;&#953;&#960;&#945;&#964;&#959;&#8166;&#957;&#964;&#945;&#962; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#964;&#965;&#966;&#955;&#959;&#8058;&#962; &#946;&#955;&#941;&#960;&#959;&#957;&#964;&#945;&#962;</span>; xxi. 14;
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#954;&#945;&#8054; &#960;&#961;&#959;&#963;&#8134;&#955;&#952;&#959;&#957; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#8183; &#964;&#965;&#966;&#955;&#959;&#8054; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#967;&#969;&#955;&#959;&#8054; &#7952;&#957; &#964;&#8183; &#7985;&#949;&#961;&#8183; &#954;&#945;&#8054;
+&#7952;&#952;&#949;&#961;&#940;&#960;&#949;&#965;&#963;&#949;&#957; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#959;&#973;&#962;</span>; Mark vii. 37, where after the healing of the deaf and
+dumb, the people say: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#954;&#945;&#955;&#8182;&#962; &#960;&#940;&#957;&#964;&#945; &#960;&#949;&#960;&#959;&#943;&#951;&#954;&#949;� &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#964;&#959;&#8058;&#962;
+&#954;&#969;&#966;&#959;&#8058;&#962; &#960;&#959;&#953;&#949;&#8150; &#7936;&#954;&#959;&#973;&#949;&#953;&#957;, &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#964;&#959;&#8058;&#962; &#7936;&#955;&#940;&#955;&#959;&#965;&#962; &#955;&#945;&#955;&#949;&#8150;&#957;.</span> 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&#39;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 <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#946;&#955;&#941;&#960;&#959;&#956;&#949;&#957;
+&#7940;&#961;&#964;&#953; &#948;&#953;&#8217; &#7952;&#963;&#972;&#960;&#964;&#961;&#959;&#965; &#7952;&#957; &#945;&#7984;&#957;&#943;&#947;&#956;&#945;&#964;&#953;</span>.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 6. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">The <i>leaping and shouting</i> 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: <span lang="el" class="Greek">
+&#954;&#945;&#8054; &#7952;&#958;&#945;&#955;&#955;&#972;&#956;&#949;&#957;&#959;&#962; &#7956;&#963;&#964;&#951; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#960;&#949;&#961;&#953;&#949;&#960;&#940;&#964;&#949;&#953;, &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#949;&#7984;&#963;&#8134;&#955;&#952;&#949; &#963;&#8058;&#957; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#959;&#8150;&#962; &#949;&#7984;&#962; &#964;&#8056; &#7985;&#949;&#961;&#8056;&#957;, &#960;&#949;&#961;&#953;&#960;&#945;&#964;&#8182;&#957;
+&#954;&#945;&#8054; &#7936;&#955;&#955;&#972;&#956;&#949;&#957;&#959;&#962; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#945;&#7984;&#957;&#8182;&#957; &#964;&#8056;&#957; &#952;&#949;&#972;&#957;</span>; farther. Acts viii. 7:
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#960;&#959;&#955;&#955;&#959;&#8054; &#948;&#8050; &#960;&#945;&#961;&#945;&#955;&#949;&#955;&#965;&#956;&#941;&#957;&#959;&#953; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#967;&#969;&#955;&#959;&#8054; &#7952;&#952;&#949;&#961;&#945;&#960;&#949;&#973;&#952;&#951;&#963;&#945;&#957;</span>;
+xiv. 8; John v. 9. Of <i>spiritual</i> lameness, Heb. xii. 13 is spoken. It appears
+especially in dark times of affliction, as <i>Vitringa</i> says: &quot;In the time of
+wild persecution, and when the Church languishes, <span class="pagenum">[Pg 162]</span>
+not a few men begin to halt, to vacillate in their views, to suspend their opinions,&quot;
+&amp;c. On the words: &quot;the tongue of the dumb shall shout,&quot; compare Matt. xii. 22:
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#964;&#972;&#964;&#949; &#960;&#961;&#959;&#963;&#951;&#957;&#941;&#967;&#952;&#951; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#8183; &#948;&#945;&#953;&#956;&#959;&#957;&#950;&#972;&#956;&#949;&#957;&#959;&#962;, &#964;&#965;&#966;&#955;&#8056;&#962; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#954;&#969;&#966;&#972;&#962;&#903;
+&#954;&#945;&#8054; &#7952;&#952;&#949;&#961;&#940;&#960;&#949;&#965;&#963;&#949;&#957; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#972;&#957;, &#8037;&#963;&#964;&#949; &#964;&#8056;&#957; &#964;&#965;&#966;&#955;&#8056;&#957; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#954;&#969;&#966;&#8056;&#957; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#955;&#945;&#955;&#949;&#8150;&#957; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#946;&#955;&#941;&#960;&#949;&#953;&#957;.</span>
+<i>Spiritual</i> 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: &quot;For in the wilderness,&quot; &amp;c., state the ground
+of the leaping and shouting, point to the bestowal of salvation, which forms the
+cause. The <i>waters</i> 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 7. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">&quot;The scorching heat of the sun,&quot; stands for &quot;places scorched by
+the heat&quot; (&quot;parched ground,&quot; English version). The passage chap. xlix. 10, forbids
+us to explain it by <i>mirage</i>, the appearance of water. The suffix in
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1512;&#1489;&#1510;&#1492;</span> 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 &quot;it becomes
+an habitation of dragons.&quot; Besides the dry land, the moor-land which bears nothing
+but barren reeds, shall undergo a change; nourishing <i>grass</i> is to take its
+place; <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1495;&#1510;&#1497;&#1512;</span> has no other signification than
+this.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 8. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">&quot;The way&quot; is the way of salvation which God opens up to His people
+in the wilderness of misery; comp. chap. xliii. 19: &quot;I will make a way in the wilderness,
+rivers in the desert;&quot; Ps. cvii. 4: &quot;They wandered in the wilderness, in the desert
+without ways,&quot; where the pathless wilderness is the image of misery;
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 163]</span> 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 <i>holy</i> (comp. remarks on chap. iv. 3), because inaccessible
+to the profane world, to the <i>unclean</i>, 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 &quot;the author, in his national hatred, will not allow any Gentiles
+to walk along with the covenant-people.&quot; 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 9. &quot;<i>No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast go
+up thereon, it shall not be found there; and the redeemed walk on it.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">By the lion, the ravenous beast, heathenish wickedness and tyranny,
+the world&#39;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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 10. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<h3><a name="div2_163" href="#div2Ref_163">GENERAL PRELIMINARY REMARKS ON CHAPTERS
+XL.-LXVI.</a></h3>
+<p class="normal">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&#39;s being carried away to Babylon, an announcement which
+Isaiah uttered to Hezekiah after the impending danger from the
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 164]</span> Assyrians had been successfully warded off,
+as had been mentioned in the preceding chapter. In chap. xxxix. 6, 7, it is said:
+&quot;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.&quot; 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 <i>comforting</i> mission which, in the second
+part, is pre-eminently attended to. This second part at once begins with the words:
+&quot;Comfort ye, comfort ye my people,&quot; 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.<sup class="ftnRef"><a name="ftnRef_164a" href="#ftn_164a">[1]</a></sup></p>
+<p class="normal">The contents of the second part are stated at once, and generally,
+in the introductory words, chap. xl. 1, 2: &quot;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&#39;s hand
+double for all her sins.&quot; The <i>comfort</i> 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 <i>repentance</i>,--<i>exhortation</i> 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 &quot;Comfort ye&quot; does not receive any addition,
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 165]</span> 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&#39;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 &quot;the carried away Zionites;&quot;
+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
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#956;&#949;&#964;&#945;&#957;&#959;&#949;&#8150;&#964;&#949;</span>, 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 166]</span> refer to a twofold object, <i>First</i>--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, <i>Koresh</i>, 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 <i>second</i> 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <i>Fr. R�ckert</i>, that it is divided into
+<i>three sections or books</i>, is, in the first instance, indicated by the
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 167]</span> circumstance that, at the close of chap. xlviii.
+and chap. lvii., the same thought recurs in the same words: &quot;There is no peace,
+saith the Lord, unto the wicked;&quot; 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 <i>Knobel</i> 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 <i>Babel</i>, which in the first book is mentioned
+four times (chap. xliii. 14, xlvii. 1, xlviii. 14, 20); nor of the <i>Chaldeans</i>,
+which occur there five times (chap. xliii. 14, xlvii. 1, 5, xlviii. 14, 20); nor
+any farther mention of <i>Koresh</i>, 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>i.e.</i> immediately at the
+<i>beginning</i>, after the introduction contained in chap. xl., at the <i>close</i>,
+and several times in the <i>middle</i>); nor of <i>Bel</i> and <i>Nebo</i>. <i>Farther</i>--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 <i>Koresh</i>. 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 <i>Koresh</i>, 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, <i>contrasted</i>
+with him. To give a more minute and finished description of the Author of the higher
+salvation is the object of the <i>second</i> book. In the <i>third</i> 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 <i>promising</i>,
+is taken up with the description of the <span class="pagenum">[Pg 168]</span> <i>
+glory of the Kingdom of God</i>, 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,
+<i>reproof and exhortation</i> prevail, in contradistinction to the first and second
+book, in which the direct <i>promise</i> 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 <i>boundary
+line</i> could be recognized between the two books. At the close of the second book,
+the Prophet has preeminently to do with <i>apostates</i>, while, at the beginning
+of the third, he has to do with <i>hypocrites</i>; 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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 169]</span> implies what has
+preceded. In the view of the glorious manifestation of the Lord&#39;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: &quot;The election have obtained it, but
+the rest have been blinded.&quot; In chap. lxv., which contains the Lord&#39;s answer to
+this repenting prayer of the people, and is nothing else than an indirect <i>paraenesis</i>,
+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 <i>close</i>, 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 <i>exclusively</i>,
+but that, even there, it is still interwoven with the most glorious promises which
+are so exceedingly fitted to allure sinners to repentance.</p>
+<p class="normal">In the whole of the second part, the Prophet, <i>as a rule</i>,
+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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 170]</span> 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 <i>axiom</i>, 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <i>exstasis</i>.
+As even their ordinary name, &quot;seers,&quot; 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: &quot;First I said to Zion: <i>Behold there, behold there</i>,&quot; by which
+the graphic character of prophecy is precisely expressed, and by which it is intimated
+that hearers and readers were led <i>in rem praesentem</i> by the prophets. Even
+grammar has long ago acknowledged this fact, inasmuch as it speaks of <i>Praeterita
+prophetica</i>, <i>i.e.</i>, such as denote the <i>ideal</i> Past, in contrast to
+those which denote the <i>real</i> Past. Unless we have attained to this view and
+insight, it is only by inconsistency that we can escape from <i>Eichhorn&#39;s</i> view,
+that the prophecies are, for the most part, disguised historical descriptions,--a
+view into which even expositors, such as <i>Ewald</i> and <i>Hitzig</i>, frequently
+relapse. Frequently, the whole of the Future appears with the prophets in the form
+of the <i>Present</i>. At other times, they take their stand in the
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 171]</span> more immediate Future; and this becomes to
+them the <i>ideal</i> 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <i>e.g.</i> vers. 7 and 8. On the latter verse, <i>Clericus</i>
+remarks: &quot;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.&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">In Isaiah himself, the very first chapter presents a remarkable
+proof The Present in chap. i. 5-9 is not a <i>real</i>, but an <i>ideal</i> 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 <i>Caspari</i>, in his <i>Beitr�ge
+zur Einleitung in das Buch Jesaia</i>. 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. <i>Farther</i>--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 <i>future carrying
+away</i> of the people presents itself to the Prophet as present. Similarly, in
+vers. 25, 26, the Praet. and Fut. with <i>Vav Conv.</i> 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 <i>mocking</i>; 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
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 172]</span> 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 <i>real</i>, but from the <i>ideal</i> 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. <i>e.g.</i>, 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 <i>ideal</i> 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <i>contemporaries</i> to a sincere
+repentance, but those upon whom the calamity had already been inflicted: &quot;O Israel,
+return unto the Lord thy God; for <span class="pagenum">[Pg 173]</span> thou hast
+fallen by thine iniquity.&quot; This parallel passage shews especially, with what right
+it has been asserted that the addresses to the people pining away in exile &quot;were
+out of place in the mouth of Isaiah, who, as he lived 150 years before, could <i>
+prophesy</i> only of the exiled&quot; (<i>Knobel</i>).--Micah says in chap. iv. 8 (compare
+vol. i., p. 449 ff.): &quot;And thou tower of the flock, hill of the daughter of Zion,
+unto thee it will come, and to thee cometh the former dominion.&quot; If the Prophet,
+a cotemporary of Isaiah, speaks here of a <i>former dominion</i>, 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: &quot;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,&quot;<!--inserted quote--> &amp;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: &quot;There shalt thou be delivered, there the Lord
+thy God shall redeem thee out of the hand of thine enemies.&quot; 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, <i>Hitzig</i> and others,
+overlooking and misunderstanding this prophetic peculiarity, and considering the
+<i>ideal</i>, to be the <i>real</i> Present, have been led to fix the age of the
+Prophet in a manner notoriously erroneous.--Jeremiah, in chap. iii. 22, 25,
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 174]</span> 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: &quot;The Lord reigneth, He hath clothed himself with majesty,&quot; &amp;c., we remarked:
+&quot;The Preterites are to be explained from the circumstance that the Singer as a
+<i>seer</i> has the Future before his eyes. He <i>beholds</i> 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.&quot; 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 <i>real</i>, but an <i>ideal</i>
+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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Several interpreters cannot altogether resist the force of these
+facts. They grant &quot;that other prophets also sometimes, in the Spirit, transfer themselves
+into later times, especially into the idealistic times of the Messiah,&quot; 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 <i>cura posteritatis</i>. If <span class="pagenum">[Pg 175]</span>
+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&#39;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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <i>ideal</i> into the <i>real</i> Present.<sup class="ftnRef"><a name="ftnRef_175a" href="#ftn_175a">[2]</a></sup>
+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. <i>Now</i>, he has before his eyes the condition of the unhappy people
+in the Babylonish exile; <i>then</i>, 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 <i>e.g.</i>, chap.
+lxiv. 10, 11. But in a series of passages, in which the Prophet steps back from
+the <i>ideal</i>, to the <i>real</i> stand-point, <i>the punishment appears as still
+future</i>; <i>city and temple as still existing</i>. In chap. xliii.
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 176]</span> 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: &quot;Put me in remembrance,&quot; in ver. 26, &quot;of what I should have
+forgotten,&quot; 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: &quot;Thy first father (the high-priestly
+office) hath sinned, and thy mediators have transgressed against me.&quot; (The sacrificial
+service was by a disgraceful syncretism profaned even by those whose office it was
+to attend to it). &quot;Therefore I <i>will</i> profane the princes of the sanctuary,
+and <i>will</i> give Jacob to the curse, and Israel to reproaches.&quot; Even
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1493;&#1488;&#1495;&#1500;&#1500;</span> is the common Future, and to
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1493;&#1488;&#1514;&#1504;&#1492;</span> the <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;</span>
+<i>optativum</i> is added; and hence, we cannot by any means translate and explain
+it by: <i>I gave</i>.--In chap. lvi. 9, it is said: &quot;All ye beasts of the field
+come ye to devour all the beasts in the forest.&quot; This utterance stands in connection
+with the <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1504;&#1511;&#1489;&#1510;&#1497;&#1493;</span>, 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&#39;s power--mercy, by judgment.
+By the wild beasts are to be understood the Gentiles who shall be sent by God upon
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 177]</span> 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 &quot;beasts in the forest,&quot; brutalized,
+degraded, and secularized Israel is to be understood, comp. Jer. xii. 7-12; Ezek.
+xxxiv. 5; and my Commentary on Rev. ii. 1.</p>
+<p class="normal">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: &quot;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.&quot; The Prophet mentions it as a sign of the people&#39;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. &quot;On account of the evil,&quot; <i>i.e.</i>, 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>i.e.</i> according to 2 Kings
+xxii. 20, the Chaldean catastrophe, appears here as still future. In chap. lvii.
+2: &quot;They enter in peace, they rest in their beds who have walked before themselves
+in uprightness,&quot; the &quot;peace&quot; forms the contrast to the awful condition of suffering
+which the survivors have to encounter.--In chap. lvii. 9, it is said: &quot;And thou
+lookest on the king anointed with oil, and increasest thy perfumes, and sendest
+thy messengers far off, sendest them down into hell.&quot; The apostacy from the Lord
+their God is manifested not only in idolatry, but also in their not leaving untried
+any means to <span class="pagenum">[Pg 178]</span> 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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1513;&#1493;&#1512;</span> means always &quot;to see,&quot; &quot;to look at;&quot; and
+this signification is, here too, quite appropriate: Israel is <i>coquetting</i>
+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 &quot;that go down to Egypt for help,&quot;--who,
+in chap. xxx. 4, complains: &quot;His princes are at Zoar, and his ambassadors come to
+Hanes,&quot;--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: &quot;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.&quot;--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: &quot;Am I not silent, even of old; therefore
+thou fearest me not,&quot; 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, <span class="pagenum">[Pg
+179]</span> 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: &quot;In thy
+crying, let thy hosts (thy whole Pantheon so rich, and yet so miserable) help thee.&quot;
+&quot;In thy crying,<!--deleted quote--> <i>i.e.</i>, when <i>thou</i>, in the judgment
+to be inflicted upon thee in future, wilt cry for help.&quot; 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: &quot;A voice of noise from the city, a voice from the
+temple, the voice of the Lord that rendereth recompence to His enemies,&quot; 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, <i>Gesenius</i>,
+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 <i>locus communis</i> 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: &quot;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.&quot; Even in ver. 20: &quot;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, &amp;c., <i>just as the children of Israel are bringing</i>
+(<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1489;&#1493;&#1488;&#1493;</span>, expresses an habitual offering),
+<i>the meat-offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord</i>,&quot; 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.</p>
+<p class="normal"><i>Throughout the whole second part we perceive the people under
+the, as yet, unbroken power of idolatry.</i> 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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg
+180]</span> 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 &quot;that trust
+in graven images, that say to the molten images: Ye are our gods.&quot; In chap. xliv.
+12-20, the absurdity of idolatry is illustrated in a brilliant description. We have
+here before us the real <i>locus classicus</i> 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. <i>M�nter</i>, <i>die
+Religion der Babylonier</i>, S. 72). The people appear as standing under the dominion
+of idolatry in chap. lxv. 3: &quot;The people that provoketh me to anger continually
+to my face, that sacrificeth in gardens, and burneth incense upon the bricks;&quot; comp.
+ver. 7: &quot;Who have burned incense upon the mountains, and blasphemed me upon the
+hills;&quot; chap. lxvi. 17: &quot;They that sanctify themselves and purify themselves in
+the gardens behind one in the midst, who eat swine&#39;s flesh, and the abominations,
+and mice, shall be consumed together, saith the Lord.&quot; Idolatry is the service of
+nature, and was, therefore, chiefly practised <span class="pagenum">[Pg 181]</span>
+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: &quot;Ye shall
+blush on account of the <i>gardens</i> that ye have chosen.&quot; (On the words which
+precede in that verse: &quot;For they shall be ashamed of the <i>oaks</i> which ye have
+desired,&quot; chap. lvii. 5 offers an exact parallel: &quot;Who inflame themselves among
+the <i>oaks</i> under every green tree.&quot;) 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 <i>Fortune</i>,
+and offer drink-offerings to <i>Fate</i>. 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 <i>this absolutely prevailing
+regard to idolatry can be accounted for, only if Isaiah be the author of the second
+part.</i> From Solomon, down to the time of the exile, the disposition to idolatry
+in Israel was never thoroughly broken. During Isaiah&#39;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 <i>priests</i> 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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg
+182]</span> 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 <i>strict antithesis</i> 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.</p>
+<p class="normal"><i>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.</i> 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&#39;s religion,
+the Prophet points to <span class="pagenum">[Pg 183]</span> 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: &quot;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?&quot; 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 <i>
+real</i> Present, takes his stand-point in an <i>ideal</i> 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 <i>ridicule</i>.--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 <i>foretold</i>, and comforted His Church with the
+view of the Future. Hence, He alone is <span class="pagenum">[Pg 184]</span> God,
+and vanity are all those who are put beside Him. It is said in ver. 22: &quot;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).&quot; <i>The former things</i> 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 <i>end</i> of prophecy is its fulfilment.
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1489;&#1488;&#1493;&#1514;</span> &quot;the coming, or future,&quot; 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 <i>e.g.</i>, 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, &amp;c., contained in the second part. The <i>former</i> prophecies,
+however, are here mentioned altogether incidentally only; the real demand refers,
+as is shown by the words: &quot;What shall happen,&quot; 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 <i>
+Future</i>, and not to be known by any human ingenuity. In ver. 26: &quot;Who hath declared
+(such things) from the beginning, that we may know, and long beforehand, that we
+may say: he is righteous?&quot; the <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1512;&#1488;&#1513;</span> &quot;from
+the beginning&quot; puts insurmountable obstacles in the way of the opponents of the
+genuineness. If the second part of Isaiah be <i>spurious</i>, then the idolaters
+might put the same scornful question to the God of Israel. The
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1512;&#1488;&#1513;</span> denotes just the opposite of a <i>vaticinium
+post eventum</i>.--In chap. xlii. 9: &quot;The former (things), behold, they are come
+to pass, and new things do I declare; before they spring forth, I let you hear,&quot;
+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, &quot;before they spring forth,&quot; become completely enigmatical,
+if it be denied that Isaiah <span class="pagenum">[Pg 185]</span> 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: &quot;Let them bring forth
+their witnesses, that they may be justified.&quot; 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 <i>vaticinia post eventum</i>.
+According to the hypothesis of the spuriousness of the second part, the author pronounced
+his own condemnation by thus calling for witnesses. &quot;Ye are my witnesses, saith
+the Lord, and witness is my Servant whom I have chosen,&quot; 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. &quot;The great unknown&quot; (<i>Ewald</i>),
+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 &quot;the great unknown&quot; had spoken them! In ver. 19
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 186]</span> it is said: &quot;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.&quot; The Lord here says, first,
+in reference to His prophecies, those namely which He gave through our Prophet,
+that <i>they were made known publicly</i>, 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 <i>post eventum</i> only, <i>no
+one knowing whence</i>. Every one might convince himself of their truth and divinity.
+This is expressed by the words: &quot;I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of
+the earth.&quot; 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: &quot;Seek
+ye me in vain,&quot; 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
+<i>unrighteousness</i> by performing something else than that which they promised
+to perform. To declare <i>righteousness</i> is to declare that which is righteous,
+which does not conceal internal emptiness and rottenness under a fair outside. The
+words: &quot;I the Lord speak righteousness, I declare rectitude,&quot; could not but have
+died on the lips of the &quot;great unknown.&quot;--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; &quot;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.&quot; To the
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1512;&#1488;&#1513;&#1504;&#1493;&#1514;</span>, the former <span class="pagenum">[Pg
+187]</span> 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 <i>now</i> declares. The Prophet, by designating the time in which
+the announcement was issued as <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1512;&#1488;&#1513;&#1497;&#1514;</span> and
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1511;&#1491;&#1501;</span>, 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 <i>now</i> spoken, since, from the ideal stand-point,
+the carrying out is at hand; they form the antecedent to the <i>calling</i>, of
+which ver. 11 treats. <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1511;&#1493;&#1501;</span> properly &quot;to rise,&quot;
+opposed to the laying down, means &quot;to bring to stand,&quot; &quot;to bring about,&quot; &quot;to be
+fulfilled.&quot; &quot;The counsel,&quot; <i>i.e.</i>, the contents of the prediction which was
+spoken of before; it is the divine counsel and decree to which Koresh served as
+an instrument.--<i>Finally</i>--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
+<i>now</i> was granting new and remarkable disclosures regarding the Future. Ver.
+6: &quot;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.&quot; The deliverance
+of Israel by Cyrus--an announcement uttered in the preceding, and to be repeated
+immediately afterwards--is called <i>new</i> in contrast to the old prophecies of
+the Lord already fulfilled; <i>hidden</i> in contrast to the facts which are already
+subjects of history, or may be known beforehand by natural ingenuity. <i>To be created</i>
+is equivalent to being made manifest, inasmuch as the hidden Divine counsel enters
+into life, only by being manifested, and <span class="pagenum">[Pg 188]</span> the
+prophesied events are created for Israel, only by the prophecy. Ver. 8: &quot;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.&quot;
+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: &quot;for
+I knew,&quot; &amp;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 <i>palpable</i> 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 &quot;the great unknown,&quot; 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&#39;s power, and Israel&#39;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: &quot;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.&quot; 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&#39;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.</p>
+<p class="normal">We believe we have incontrovertibly proved that we are not entitled
+to draw any arguments against Isaiah&#39;s being the <span class="pagenum">[Pg 189]</span>
+author of the second part, from the circumstance &quot;that the exile is not announced,
+but that the author takes his stand in it, as well as in that of Isaiah&#39;s time,
+inasmuch as this stand-point is an assumed and ideal one. But if the <i>form</i>,
+can prove nothing, far less can the <i>prophetic contents</i>.&quot;<!--uncertain position for end quote-->
+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 <i>notional</i> God, however, it is true, can as little prophesy
+as the heathenish gods of stone and wood, of whom the Psalmist says: &quot;They have
+ears, but they hear not, <i>neither speak they through their throat</i>.&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 190]</span> beginning to end; compare <i>Genuineness of
+the Pentateuch</i>, <i>p.</i> 270 <i>ff.</i> It is found in the Decalogue also:
+&quot;That thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.&quot; 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, <i>e.g.</i>, 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <i>Hitzig</i>,
+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 <i>Delitzsch&#39;s</i>
+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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 191]</span>
+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.</p>
+<p class="normal">While this foreknowledge of the future <i>elevation</i> of Babylon
+had a <i>historical</i> foundation, the foreknowledge of its <i>humiliation and
+fate</i>, following soon after, rested on a <i>theological</i> 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 <i>deliverance of Israel</i> rises
+on a theological foundation, and is not at all to be considered in the same light
+as if <i>e.g.</i>, 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: &quot;God hath not cast away His people whom He foreknew,&quot;
+and ver. 29: &quot;For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance,&quot; 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&#39;s being delivered from
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 192]</span> 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&#39;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: &quot;And thou comest to Babylon; there shalt thou be
+delivered; there shall the Lord redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies.&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <i>Sun</i>,--that
+the name of the sun was, in the East generally, and especially with the Persians,
+a common honorary title of rulers; comp. <i>B�rnouf</i> and others in <i>H�vernick&#39;s
+Einleitung</i>, 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 <i>Nomen dignitatis</i>
+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 &quot;from the East,&quot;
+&quot;from the rising of the sun,&quot; in chap. xli. 2, 25. And it is historically settled
+and certain, that Cyrus had originally another name, viz., <i>Agradates</i>, 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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 193]</span> proofs in <i>H�vernick&#39;s Einleit.</i>)
+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 <i>Josephus</i>, [Arch. xi. c. 1.
+� 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 <i>Josephus</i>, that <i>
+Jahn</i> rightly called <i>Josephus&#39;</i> statement a commentary on this Edict, which
+refers, <i>partly</i> with literal accuracy, to a series of passages from the second
+part of Isaiah, compare the particulars in <i>Kleinert</i>, <i>�ber die Echtheit
+des Jesaias</i>, S. 142);--as the condition of the Persian religion likewise confirms
+this result gained from the Edict of Cyrus (<i>Stuhr</i>, <i>die Religionssysteme
+des alten Orients</i>, 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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 &quot;the great unknown,&quot; 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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 194]</span> in a far closer relation
+to the idea, so that form and substance do far less disagree.</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <i>certain</i> right, <i>e.g.</i>, 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 <i>Fichte</i>, in a letter
+to a <i>K�nigsberg</i> friend, writes of himself (in his <i>Life</i>, by his son,
+i. S. 196): &quot;I have properly no style at all, for I have them all.&quot; &quot;Just as the
+subject demands,&quot; says <i>Ewald</i>, without assigning to the circumstance any weight
+in judging of the second part, &quot;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.&quot;
+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 (<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7952;&#954;&#955;&#959;&#947;&#8053;</span>);
+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 <i>Comfort</i>.
+The beginning: &quot;Comfort ye, Comfort ye, Zion,&quot; 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.
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 195]</span> 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 <i>verbatim</i>, <i>e.g.</i>, &quot;I am
+the Lord, and none else, I do not give mine honour to any other, I am the first
+and the last,&quot; are easily accounted for by the Prophet&#39;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 <i>usus loquendi</i>, 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 <i>Kleinert</i>, while <i>K�per</i> and <i>Caspari</i> 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 &quot;the great
+unknown.&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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.</p>
+<hr class="ftn">
+<div class="ftn">
+	<p class="ftnText"><a name="ftn_164a" href="#ftnRef_164a">
+	<sup class="ftnRef">[1]</sup></a> 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, &quot;inasmuch
+	as the year which is assigned for Sennacherib&#39;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&quot; (<i>Keil</i>,
+	<i>Einleitung</i>, 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.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="ftn">
+	<p class="ftnText"><a name="ftn_175a" href="#ftnRef_175a">
+	<sup class="ftnRef">[2]</sup></a> 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.</p>
+</div>
+<p class="continue"><span class="pagenum">[Pg 196]</span></p>
+<h3><a name="div2_196" href="#div2Ref_196">CHAP. XLII. 1-9.</a></h3>
+<p class="normal">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&#39;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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Here, where the Servant of God is first to be introduced, He is
+at first spoken <i>of</i>; it is in ver. 5 that the Lord first speaks <i>to</i>
+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.</p>
+<p class="normal">In the whole section, the Lord is speaking. It falls into three
+divisions--First, the Lord speaks <i>of</i> 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">In ver. 1-4, the Lord, as it were, points to His servant, introduces
+Him to His Church, and commends Him to the <span class="pagenum">[Pg 197]</span>
+world: &quot;Behold my Servant,&quot; &amp;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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <i>Dav. Kimchi</i> and <i>Abarbanel</i>,
+the latter of whom says of the non-Messianic interpretation,
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1513;&#1499;&#1500; &#1488;&#1500;&#1492;</span> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 198]</span>
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1495;&#1499;&#1502;&#1497;&#1501; &#1492;&#1499;&#1493; &#1489;&#1505;&#1504;&#1493;&#1512;&#1497;&#1501;</span> &quot;that all these expositors
+were struck with blindness.&quot; 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
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#966;&#8182;&#962; &#949;&#7984;&#962; &#7936;&#960;&#959;&#954;&#940;&#955;&#965;&#968;&#953;&#957; &#7952;&#952;&#957;&#8182;&#957;</span>, 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 <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#8005;&#964;&#953; &#949;&#7990;&#948;&#959;&#957; &#959;&#7985; &#8000;&#966;&#952;&#945;&#955;&#956;&#959;&#943; &#956;&#959;&#965; &#964;&#8056; &#963;&#969;&#964;&#942;&#961;&#953;&#959;&#957; &#963;&#959;&#965;
+&#8003; &#7969;&#964;&#959;&#943;&#956;&#945;&#963;&#945;&#962; &#954;&#945;&#964;&#8048; &#960;&#961;&#972;&#963;&#969;&#960;&#959;&#957; &#960;&#940;&#957;&#964;&#969;&#957; &#964;&#8182;&#957; &#955;&#945;&#8182;&#957;</span>, 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#959;&#8023;&#964;&#959;&#962; &#7952;&#963;&#964;&#953;&#957; &#8001; &#965;&#7985;&#972;&#962; &#956;&#959;&#965; &#8001; &#7936;&#947;&#945;&#960;&#951;&#964;&#972;&#962;,
+&#7952;&#957; &#8103; &#949;&#8016;&#948;&#972;&#954;&#951;&#963;&#945;</span>, 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:
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#959;&#8023;&#964;&#959;&#962; &#7952;&#963;&#964;&#953;&#957; &#8001; &#965;&#7985;&#972;&#962; &#956;&#959;&#965; &#8001; &#7936;&#947;&#945;&#960;&#951;&#964;&#972;&#962;, &#7952;&#957; &#8103; &#949;&#8016;&#948;&#972;&#954;&#951;&#963;&#945;&#903;
+&#945;&#8016;&#964;&#959;&#8166; &#7936;&#954;&#959;&#973;&#949;&#964;&#949;</span> These voices at the beginning and the close of Christ&#39;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 <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#945;&#8016;&#964;&#959;&#8166; &#7936;&#954;&#959;&#973;&#949;&#964;&#949;</span>
+are at once added from Deut. xviii. 15. The name of the Servant of God was not high
+enough fur the sublime moment; the <i>Son</i> formed, in the second passage, the
+contrast to the <i>mere</i> 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 <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#960;&#945;&#8150;&#962; &#920;&#949;&#959;&#8166;</span>. In Acts iii.
+13: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7952;&#948;&#972;&#958;&#945;&#963;&#949; &#964;&#8056;&#957; &#960;&#945;&#8150;&#948;&#945;</span> <span class="pagenum">
+[Pg 199]</span> <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#945;&#8016;&#964;&#959;&#8166; &#7992;&#951;&#963;&#959;&#8166;&#957;</span>, we shall be obliged
+to follow <i>Bengel</i> in explaining it by: <i>ministrum suum</i>, partly on account
+of Matt. xii. 18, and because the LXX. often render
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1489;&#1491;</span> by <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#960;&#945;&#8150;&#962;</span>;
+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 <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7952;&#948;&#972;&#958;&#945;&#963;&#949;</span> (LXX.
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#948;&#959;&#8166;&#955;&#972;&#962; &#956;&#959;&#965; &#949;&#7990; &#963;&#8058; [&#7992;&#963;&#961;&#945;&#8053;&#955;] &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#7952;&#957; &#963;&#959;&#8054; &#949;&#8016;&#948;&#959;&#958;&#945;&#963;&#952;&#942;&#963;&#959;&#956;&#945;&#953;</span>).
+And so likewise in Acts iii. 26; iv. 27: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7952;&#960;&#8054; &#964;&#8056;&#957; &#7941;&#947;&#953;&#959;&#957;
+&#960;&#945;&#8150;&#948;&#940; &#963;&#959;&#965; &#7992;&#951;&#963;&#959;&#8166;&#957;, &#8003;&#957; &#7956;&#967;&#961;&#953;&#963;&#945;&#962;</span>, where the last words refer to chap. lxi. 1;
+farther, in Acts iv. 30. In all these passages it is not the more obvious
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#948;&#959;&#8166;&#955;&#959;&#962;</span>, but <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#960;&#945;&#8150;&#962;</span>
+which is put, in order to remove the low notions which, in Greek, attach to the
+word <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#948;&#959;&#8166;&#955;&#959;&#962;</span>.</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <i>Clericus</i>, 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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 (<i>Hendewerk</i>), is at once overthrown by Matt. xii. 18, as
+well as by the other <span class="pagenum">[Pg 200]</span> passages already quoted,
+in which Christ appears as <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#960;&#945;&#8150;&#962; &#920;&#949;&#959;&#8166;</span>. Phil.
+ii. 7, <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#956;&#959;&#961;&#966;&#8052;&#957; &#948;&#959;&#973;&#955;&#959;&#965; &#955;&#945;&#946;&#974;&#957;</span> comes as near the
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1489;&#1491; &#1497;&#1492;&#1493;&#1492;</span>, as it was possible, considering
+the low notion attached to the Greek <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#948;&#959;&#8166;&#955;&#959;&#962;</span>.
+The passages which treat of the obedience of Christ, such as Rom, v. 19; Phil. ii.
+8; Heb. v. 8; John xvii. 4: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#964;&#8056;&#957; &#7956;&#961;&#947;&#959;&#957; &#7952;&#964;&#949;&#955;&#949;&#953;&#974;&#963;&#945;, &#8003;
+&#948;&#941;&#948;&#969;&#954;&#940;&#962; &#956;&#959;&#953; &#7989;&#957;&#945; &#960;&#959;&#953;&#942;&#963;&#969;</span>, give only a paraphrase of the notion of the Servant
+of the Lord. With perfect soundness <i>Dr Nitzsch</i> has remarked, that it was
+required by the typical connection of the two Testaments, that Christ should somehow,
+according to His <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#8017;&#960;&#945;&#954;&#959;&#8052;</span>,
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#8017;&#960;&#959;&#964;&#945;&#947;&#8053;</span>, be represented as the perfect manifestation
+of the <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1489;&#1491;</span>--The assertion: &quot;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&quot; (<i>Gesenius</i>), 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 <i>seers</i>, and puts the <i>real</i>, in place of
+the <i>ideal</i> 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 <i>Ewald</i>
+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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Even this circumstance must raise an unfavourable prejudice against
+the non-Messianic interpretation, that its defenders <span class="pagenum">[Pg 201]</span>
+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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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.</p>
+<p class="normal">The LXX. already understood Israel by the Servant of the Lord.
+They translate in ver. 1: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7992;&#945;&#954;&#8060;&#946;, &#8001; &#960;&#945;&#8150;&#962; &#956;&#959;&#965;, &#7936;&#957;&#964;&#953;&#955;&#942;&#968;&#959;&#956;&#945;&#953;
+&#945;&#8016;&#964;&#959;&#8166;, &#7992;&#963;&#961;&#945;&#8053;&#955;, &#8001;, &#7952;&#954;&#955;&#949;&#954;&#964;&#972;&#962; &#956;&#959;&#965;, &#960;&#961;&#959;&#963;&#949;&#948;&#941;&#958;&#945;&#964;&#959; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#8056;&#957; &#7969; &#968;&#965;&#967;&#942; &#956;&#959;&#965;.</span> Among the Jewish
+interpreters, <i>Jarchi</i> 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 <i>Hitzig</i>. 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: &quot;And thou Israel,
+my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, seed of Abraham my friend,&quot; ver. 9: &quot;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,&quot;
+chap. xlii. 19, xliii. 10, xliv. 1, 2: &quot;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;&quot; chap. xliv. 21, xlv. 4, xlviii. 20; &quot;Say ye, the Lord hath redeemed His
+servant Jacob.&quot; In the face of this fact, we shall not be permitted to refer to
+&quot;the general signification of the expression, and its manifold use.&quot; 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 <i>K�ster</i> 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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 202]</span> 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, <i>ex professo</i>, 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 <i>disappear</i> 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: &quot;The Lord hath redeemed
+His servant Jacob,&quot; 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:
+&quot;For thy servants&#39; sake, the tribes of thine inheritance;&quot; 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. <i>Finally</i>--The idea of
+chance is entirely excluded by chap. xlix. 3, where the Messiah is called Israel.</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <i>nicer</i> 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 &quot;My servant Jacob,&quot; 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 <i>that the Prophet considers Christ as the concentration
+and essence of Israel</i>, 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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 203]</span>
+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 <i>opposition</i> to the Messiah,--the body without
+the head. It is especially chap. xlii. 19 which here comes into consideration: &quot;Who
+is so blind as my servant, or so blind as my messenger whom I send?&quot; 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: &quot;My messenger whom I send.&quot; 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: &quot;This is a people robbed and spoiled, they are all
+of them snared in holes, and hid in prison-houses,&quot; is only a faithful image of
+the internal condition), and the Son of God in whom His soul delighteth, who in
+exuberant love seeks <span class="pagenum">[Pg 204]</span> 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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1489;&#1491; &#1497;&#1492;&#1493;&#1492;</span> 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.,
+<i>e.g.</i>, chap. xli. 8: &quot;And thou Israel, my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen,
+seed (<i>posterity</i>) of Abraham, my friend,&quot; chap. xliii. 10: &quot;<i>Ye are my witnesses.</i>
+saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen.&quot; 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. <i>Finally</i>,--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
+<i>K�ster</i>: &quot;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.&quot; 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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 205]</span> all. The same arguments
+decide partly also against a modification of this explanation which evidently has
+proceeded from embarrassment only,<sup class="ftnRef"><a name="ftnRef_205a" href="#ftn_205a">[1]</a></sup>
+against those who, by the Servant of God, understand the better portion of Israel,--such
+as <i>Maurer</i>, <i>Ewald</i>, <i>Oehler</i> (<i>Ueber den Knecht Gottes</i>,
+<i>T�binger Zeitschrift</i>, 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), <i>Knobel</i> (&quot;The theocratic substance of
+the people, to which especially the prophets and priests belonged.&quot;) 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&#39;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.</p>
+<p class="normal">According to <i>De Wette</i> (<i>de morte expiat.</i> p. 26) and
+<i>Gesenius</i>, <span class="pagenum">[Pg 206]</span> the subject of the prophecy
+is the collective body of the prophets. Substantially, <i>Umbreit</i> too (<i>Der
+Knecht Gottes</i>, 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 <i>Gesenius</i>, 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 &quot;ideal of
+a Messiah,&quot; 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. &quot;The highest ideal of the prophetic order, viewed
+as teaching, is represented in the unity of a person.&quot; &quot;We find the prophets as
+a collective body in the <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1489;&#1491;</span>, but chiefly,
+the prophets who, in future only, on the regained paternal soil, are, in some person,
+to reach the highest perfection.&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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: &quot;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,&quot; 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 <i>synonymous</i>, but a <i>synthetic</i>
+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);
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 207]</span> 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 <i>messengers</i> 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.</p>
+<p class="normal"><i>Farther</i>--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 <i>Umbreit</i> 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
+<i>the</i> 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 <i>Umbreit</i>, 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 <i>only</i> the Prophet. The contrast between Cyrus and
+the Servant of God, which <i>G. M�ller</i> advances: &quot;Evidently, the former is a
+conqueror; the latter, a meek teacher,&quot; is one-sided; for the Servant of God appears,
+at the same time, as a powerful <i>ruler</i>, just as Christ, in chap. lv. 4, is
+at the same time designated as a <i>Witness</i>, 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: &quot;The isles shall wait for <i>His law</i>.&quot; Nor
+does a mere teacher come up to the embodied covenant with Israel in ver. 6, nor
+to <i>the</i> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 208]</span> <i>light</i>, <i>i.e.</i>, Salvation
+and Saviour of the Gentiles. By mere teaching, salvation cannot be wrought out.
+Ver. 7 also does not apply to the mere <i>teacher</i>.</p>
+<p class="normal">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. <i>Farther</i>--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 <i>Finally</i>--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 <i>the Prophet</i>. 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.</p>
+<hr class="W20">
+<p class="normal">Ver. 1. &quot;<i>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</i><sup class="ftnRef"><a name="ftnRef_208a" href="#ftn_208a">[2]</a></sup>
+<i>to the Gentiles.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">Every pious man is called, in general, &quot;servant of the Lord,&quot;
+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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 209]</span> 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 <i>Prophets</i> 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 <i>dignity</i> 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 <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#954;&#945;&#964;&#8125; &#7952;&#950;&#959;&#967;&#8053;&#957;</span>,
+and in whom, therefore, this dignity must reach its highest degree, so that the
+designation, <i>My Servant</i>, borders very closely upon that of <i>My Son</i>,
+(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 <i>Israel</i> as the servant of God, it is just this aspect which
+is pre-eminently regarded. Thus it is in chap. xli. 8: &quot;And thou Israel, my servant,
+Jacob, whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham, my friend.&quot; 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: &quot;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,&quot; Luther remarks: &quot;The name, &#39;my servant,&#39;
+contains the highest <i>consolation</i>, 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.&quot; In chap. xliv. 1, 2: &quot;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,&quot; all the designations of God and Israel serve only for an introduction
+to the exhortation: &quot;Fear not,&quot; by laying open the necessity which exists for the
+promise in <span class="pagenum">[Pg 210]</span> ver. 3, which, without such ca
+foundation, would be baseless. The context and the parallelism with &quot;whom I have
+chosen&quot; show that the designation, &quot;servant of God&quot; 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 <i>nomen proprium</i>, and is not parallel
+to <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1489;&#1491;&#1497;</span>, but to Jacob. In chap. xliv. 21:
+&quot;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,&quot; the
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1500;&#1492;</span> &quot;this&quot; 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 &quot;whom I uphold,&quot; which presents itself as an immediate
+consequence of the relation of a servant of God, and by the parallel: &quot;mine elect
+in whom my soul delighteth.&quot;--<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1514;&#1502;&#1498;</span> &quot;to take,&quot;
+&quot;to seize,&quot; &quot;to hold,&quot; when followed by <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;</span>,
+always signifies <i>to lay hold of</i>, <i>to hold fast</i>, <i>to support</i>.
+With the words: &quot;Behold my servant whom I uphold,&quot; corresponds what the Lord says
+in John viii. 29: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#8001; &#960;&#941;&#956;&#968;&#945;&#962; &#956;&#949; &#956;&#949;&#964;&#8217; &#7952;&#956;&#959;&#8166; &#7952;&#963;&#964;&#953;&#957;� &#959;&#8016;&#954;
+&#7936;&#966;&#8134;&#954;&#941; &#956;&#949; &#956;&#972;&#957;&#959;&#957; &#8001; &#928;&#945;&#964;&#8052;&#961;, &#8005;&#964;&#953; &#7952;&#947;&#8060; &#964;&#8048; &#7936;&#961;&#949;&#963;&#964;&#8048; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#8183; &#960;&#959;&#953;&#8182; &#960;&#940;&#957;&#964;&#959;&#964;&#949;</span>; comp. John iii.
+2; Acts x. 38. The Preterite <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1514;&#1514;&#1497;</span> is employed,
+because the communication of the Spirit is the condition of his bringing forth right,
+just as, in ver. 6, the <i>calling</i> is the ground of the preservation. In the
+whole of the description of the Servant of God, the Future prevails throughout;
+the <i>Praeteritum propheticum</i> is employed only, where something is to be designated,
+which, relatively, is antecedent; compare the words: &quot;And the Spirit of the Lord
+rests upon <span class="pagenum">[Pg 211]</span> Him,&quot; 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1510;&#1488;</span> must not be explained by &quot;to
+announce,&quot; 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1493;&#1510;&#1497;&#1488;</span> by &quot;to
+lead out,&quot; 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: &quot;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,&quot;
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1510;&#1488;</span> does not mean to go <i>out</i>, but to
+go <i>forth</i>, <i>i.e.</i>, to proceed. In the same way, in Hab. i. 4: &quot;And not
+does right go forth for ever,&quot; <i>i.e.</i>, it never comes forth, is never established,
+comp. Vol. i., p. 442, 443. Hence <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1493;&#1510;&#1497;&#1488;</span> here
+can mean only &quot;to bring to light,&quot; &quot;to bring forth.&quot;
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1513;&#1508;&#1496;</span> is, by several interpreters, taken in
+the signification, &quot;religion;&quot; but it is just ver. 4, by which they support their
+view, which shows that the ordinary signification &quot;right,&quot; must be retained here.
+For in that verse, <i>right</i> stands in parallelism with <i>law</i>, by which
+right is established; comp. chap. li. 4. Before God&#39;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: &quot;We shall fear and love
+God.&quot; Where, therefore, the living God is not known, there can be no right. The
+commandment: &quot;Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself,&quot; <i>e.g.</i>, 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: &quot;Honour thy father
+and thy mother&quot; will go to the heart only where the divine paternity is known, of
+which all earthly paternity is only an image. <span class="pagenum">[Pg 212]</span>
+In Deut. iv. 5-8, Israel&#39;s happiness is praised, in that they alone, among all the
+nations, are in possession of God&#39;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: &quot;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.&quot; This passage
+touches very closely upon that before us; like it, it denies right to the Gentiles
+in general. &quot;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.&quot; 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&#39;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: &quot;He cometh upon
+princes as mortar, and, just as the potter treadeth the clay.&quot;--The words: &quot;He shall
+bring forth right,&quot; purposely return again in ver. 3; and equally intentionally,
+the words: &quot;He shall found right on the earth,&quot; in ver. 4, refer to them. &quot;We have
+thus&quot;--<i>Stier</i> pertinently remarks--&quot;in ver. 1, the sum and substance, even
+to its aim. But it is immediately brought more distinctly to view, what
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 213]</span> will be the spirit and character, the mode
+of operation, by which this aim is to be brought about.&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 2; &quot;<i>He shall not cry nor lift up, nor cause His voice
+to be heard in the street.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">After <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1513;&#1488;</span> &quot;he shall lift
+up,&quot; &quot;His voice&quot; 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: &quot;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.&quot; 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 &quot;dumb dogs which cannot
+bark&quot; find a pretext in this passage. According to Prov. i. 20: &quot;Wisdom crieth aloud
+without, she uttereth her voice in the streets.&quot;<!--inserted quote--> 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1510;&#1506;&#1511;</span>
+by <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7952;&#961;&#943;&#963;&#949;&#953;</span>, &quot;He shall contend&quot;), to the earnestly
+sought publicity, to the intention of causing sensation, as it proceeds from vanity
+or pride. The <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#954;&#961;&#945;&#965;&#947;&#940;&#963;&#949;&#953;</span>, by which Matthew renders
+the <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1513;&#1488;</span>, has nothing in common with the
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7956;&#954;&#961;&#945;&#958;&#949;</span> 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&#39;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: &quot;I put my Spirit
+upon Him,&quot; by which the great wall of separation between Him and the conqueror from
+the East is set up. It is just <span class="pagenum">[Pg 214]</span> because of
+His not being beat upon carrying through any thing, because of His great confidence,
+that the Servant of God <i>gains</i> 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:--<i>first</i>, in His not
+entering into a violent dispute with the Pharisees opposing Him (<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#959;&#7985;
+&#948;&#8050; &#966;&#945;&#961;&#953;&#963;&#945;&#8150;&#959;&#953; &#963;&#965;&#956;&#946;&#959;&#973;&#955;&#953;&#959;&#957; &#7956;&#955;&#945;&#946;&#959;&#957; &#954;&#945;&#964;&#39; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#959;&#8166; &#7952;&#958;&#949;&#955;&#952;&#972;&#957;&#964;&#949;&#962;, &#8005;&#960;&#969;&#962; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#8056;&#957; &#7936;&#960;&#959;&#955;&#941;&#963;&#969;&#963;&#953;&#957;</span>),
+in His not exciting against them the masses who were devoted to Him, but in withdrawing
+from them (<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#8001; &#948;&#8050; &#7992;&#951;&#963;&#959;&#8166;&#962; &#947;&#957;&#959;&#8058;&#962; &#7936;&#957;&#949;&#967;&#974;&#961;&#951;&#963;&#949;&#957; &#7952;&#954;&#949;&#8150;&#952;&#949;&#957;</span>,
+ver. 15), being convinced that the cause was not His but God&#39;s, and that there was
+no reason for getting angry with those who were contending against God; just as
+David said of Shimei: &quot;Let him curse, because the Lord has said unto him, Curse
+David.&quot;--<i>Secondly</i>, 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 (<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#954;&#945;&#8054; &#7952;&#960;&#949;&#964;&#943;&#956;&#951;&#963;&#949;&#957; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#959;&#8150;&#962;
+&#7989;&#957;&#945; &#956;&#8052; &#966;&#945;&#957;&#949;&#961;&#8056;&#957; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#8056;&#957; &#960;&#959;&#953;&#942;&#963;&#969;&#963;&#953;&#957;</span>, 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 3. &quot;<i>The bent reed shall He not break, and the dimly burning
+wick shall He not quench; in truth shall He bring forth right.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">Here, too, the antithesis to the worldly conqueror who, without
+mercy, &quot;Cometh upon princes as mortar, and as a potter treadeth the clay&quot; (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 (<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#954;&#945;&#8054; &#7952;&#952;&#949;&#961;&#940;&#960;&#949;&#965;&#963;&#949;&#957; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#959;&#8058;&#962;
+&#960;&#940;&#957;&#964;&#945;&#962;</span>, 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
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 215]</span> 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,
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1511;&#1504;&#1492; &#1512;&#1510;&#1493;&#1509;</span>, Pharaoh appears on account of his
+broken power, in chap. xxxvi. 6, and in chap. lviii. 6, the
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1512;&#1510;&#1493;&#1510;&#1497;&#1501;</span> are the oppressed. The fact, that the
+<i>wick</i> 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: &quot;They are extinct, they are quenched like a wick.&quot;
+In the parallel passages which treat of the Servant of God, the <i>weary</i> in
+chap. l. 4, and the <i>broken-hearted</i> 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: &quot;And He judges in righteousness the low;&quot; in Ps. lxxii. 4: &quot;He shall
+judge the poor of the people; He shall save the children of the needy, and shall
+break in pieces the oppressor;&quot; and in vers. 12-14: &quot;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.&quot;
+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: &quot;And all the kings worship Him, and all the nations serve
+Him,&quot; 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
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#960;&#964;&#969;&#967;&#959;&#8055;</span>, Matt. v. 3, of the
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#960;&#949;&#957;&#952;&#959;&#8166;&#957;&#964;&#949;&#962;</span>, ver. 4, and in Matt. xi. 28, the
+invitation of the <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#954;&#959;&#960;&#953;&#8182;&#957;&#964;&#949;&#962; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#960;&#949;&#966;&#959;&#961;&#964;&#953;&#963;&#956;&#941;&#957;&#959;&#953;</span>,
+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 <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#964;&#8183; &#960;&#957;&#949;&#973;&#956;&#945;&#964;&#953;</span>,
+&quot;in their consciousness,&quot; which in Matthew is added to the simple
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#960;&#964;&#969;&#967;&#959;&#8055;</span>, 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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 216]</span> by the bent reed, and
+dimly burning wick. Thus Luther writes: &quot;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.&quot; But repenting
+sinners do not here come into consideration <i>per se</i>, but only as one species
+of the wretched, inasmuch as, according to Luther&#39;s expression, truly to feel sin
+is a torment beyond all torments.--The last words: &quot;In truth shall He bring forth
+right&quot; 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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1488;&#1502;&#1514;</span> must not be translated: &quot;For truth&quot;
+(LXX: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#949;&#7984;&#962; &#7936;&#955;&#942;&#952;&#949;&#953;&#945;&#957;</span>); for there is a thorough
+difference between <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;</span> and
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1500;</span>; the former does not, like the latter,
+designate the motion towards some object, but is rather, here also, a preposition
+signifying &quot;belonging to;&quot; hence <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1488;&#1502;&#1514;</span> means
+&quot;belonging to truth,&quot; &quot;in a true manner,&quot; &quot;in truth.&quot; By every other mode of dealing,
+right would be established <i>in appearance</i> and <i>outwardly</i> only. Matthew
+renders it: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7957;&#969;&#962; &#7938;&#957; &#7952;&#954;&#946;&#940;&#955;&#8131; &#949;&#7984;&#962; &#957;&#8150;&#954;&#959;&#962; &#964;&#8052;&#957; &#954;&#961;&#943;&#963;&#953;&#957;</span>,
+&quot;until He has led right to victory.&quot; By the addition of
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7957;&#969;&#962;</span> 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. <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#917;&#7984;&#962; &#957;&#8150;&#954;&#959;&#962;</span> is a free
+translation of <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1488;&#1502;&#1514;</span>;
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#954;&#961;&#943;&#963;&#953;&#962;</span> is &quot;right,&quot; 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 <i>Gentile world</i>
+must be represented by the bent reed and dimly burning wick. But in that case, we
+must have recourse to such arbitrary interpretations as, <i>e.g.</i>, that given
+by <i>K�ster</i>: &quot;The weak faith and imperfect knowledge of the Gentiles.&quot; 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 &quot;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,&quot; (<i>Umbreit</i>); or say with <i>Knobel</i>: &quot;These poor
+and afflicted He does not <span class="pagenum">[Pg 217]</span> humble still more
+by hard, depressing <i>words</i>, but <i>speaks</i> to them in a comforting and
+encouraging way, raising them up and strengthening them.&quot; 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 <i>creates</i>, 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 (<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1499;&#1492;&#1492;</span>) 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, &amp;c.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 4. &quot;<i>He shall not fail nor run away until He shall have
+founded right in the earth, and for His law the isles shall wait.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">On: &quot;He shall not fail,&quot; properly, &quot;He shall not become dim,&quot;
+comp. Deut. xxxiv. 7, where it is said of Moses, the servant of God: &quot;His eye had
+not become dim, nor had his strength fled.&quot; The <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1488;
+&#1497;&#1512;&#1493;&#1509;</span> &quot;He shall not run away&quot; (properly, &quot;He shall not <i>run</i>&quot;) is qualified
+and fixed by the parallelism with <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1488; &#1497;&#1499;&#1492;&#1492;</span>
+&quot;He shall not fail.&quot; <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1512;&#1493;&#1509;</span> in other passages
+also, several times receives, by the context, the qualified signification &quot;to run
+away,&quot; &quot;to take to flight,&quot; &quot;to flee;&quot; comp. Judges viii. 21; Jer. xlix. 19. The
+words: &quot;He shall not fail nor run away&quot; imply that, in the carrying out of His vocation,
+the Servant of God shall meet with powerful <i>obstacles</i>, with obstinate <i>
+enemies</i>, 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: &quot;Oh! that I had wings
+like a dove, then would I fly away and be at rest&quot;) is seen from His utterance in
+Matt. xvii. 17: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#8038; &#947;&#949;&#957;&#949;&#8048; &#7940;&#960;&#953;&#963;&#964;&#959;&#962; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#948;&#953;&#949;&#963;&#964;&#961;&#945;&#956;&#956;&#941;&#957;&#951;,
+&#7957;&#969;&#962; &#960;&#972;&#964;&#949; &#7956;&#963;&#959;&#956;&#945;&#953; &#956;&#949;&#952;&#8217; &#8017;&#956;&#8182;&#957;; &#7957;&#969;&#962; &#960;&#972;&#964;&#949; &#7936;&#957;&#941;&#958;&#959;&#956;&#945;&#953; &#8017;&#956;&#8182;&#957;.</span>--According to the current
+opinion, <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1512;&#1493;&#1509;</span> is here assumed to be the Future
+of <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1512;&#1510;&#1509;</span>, for <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">
+&#1497;&#1464;&#1512;&#1465;&#1509;</span>, and that in the appropriate signification: &quot;He shall not be broken.&quot;
+(Thus it was probably <span class="pagenum">[Pg 218]</span> viewed by the Chaldean
+Paraphrast who renders <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1488; &#1497;&#1500;&#1488;&#1497;</span> <i>non laborabit</i>;
+by the LXX., who translate <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#959;&#8016; &#952;&#961;&#945;&#965;&#952;&#963;&#951;&#963;&#949;&#964;&#945;&#953;</span>,
+while <i>Aquila</i> and <i>Symmachus</i>, according to the account of <i>Jerome</i>,
+render, <i>non curret</i>, thus following the derivation from
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1512;&#1493;&#1509;</span>). As <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1499;&#1492;&#1492;</span>
+points back to <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1499;&#1492;&#1492;</span> in the preceding verse,
+so, in that case <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1512;&#1493;&#1509;</span> would point back to
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1512;&#1510;&#1493;&#1509;</span> &quot;He shall not break that which is bent,
+nor quench that which is dimly burning; but neither shall He himself be broken or
+quenched.&quot; 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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1512;&#1510;&#1509;</span> and <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1512;&#1493;&#1509;</span>
+are everywhere else kept distinct, and the former everywhere else means &quot;to break,&quot;
+and not &quot;to be broken.&quot; In the only passage, Eccl. xii. 6, brought forward in support
+of this irregularity, <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1512;&#1493;&#1509;</span> &quot;to run,&quot; &quot;to flee
+away,&quot; being in parallelism with <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1512;&#1495;&#1511;</span> &quot;to
+be removed,&quot; is quite appropriate; just as in the second clause of that verse
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1512;&#1493;&#1509;</span> &quot;to be crushed,&quot; is in parallelism with
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1513;&#1489;&#1512;</span>] &quot;to be broken.&quot;--<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1497;&#1497;&#1501;</span>
+are, in the <i>usus loquendi</i> 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 <i>law</i> 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: &quot;for His <i>doctrine</i>,&quot; 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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1514;&#1493;&#1512;&#1492;</span> from that of God, just as, in a lower
+territory, even Asaph speaks the bold word: &quot;Hear, my people, my law.&quot; &quot;The singer
+comes forth as one who has full authority, the &#39;Seer&#39; and &#39;Prophet&#39; utter <i>laws</i>
+which leave no alternative between Salvation and destruction.&quot; 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 <i>judges</i> among
+the nations, and the law goes forth <span class="pagenum">[Pg 219]</span> 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: &quot;My righteousness
+is near, my salvation goes forth, <i>mine arms shall judge the nations</i>, the
+isles shall wait for me, and on mine arm shall they hope.&quot; The <i>judging</i> 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: &quot;And in <i>His name</i> shall the Gentiles trust.&quot; The
+desire for the commands of the Lord is an effect of the love of His <i>name</i>,
+<i>i.e.</i>, 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 5. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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, <span class="pagenum">[Pg 220]</span>
+will surely not explain this accumulation by a &quot;disposition, on the part of the
+Prophet, to diffuseness.&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 6. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">It is so obvious that <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1510;&#1491;&#1511;</span>
+must be translated by &quot;in righteousness,&quot; 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 <i>righteousness</i>, 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 <i>Gentiles</i> 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: &quot;I
+have raised him up in righteousness, and all his ways I will make straight.&quot; Similarly
+also in chap. xli. 2: &quot;Who raised up from the East him whom righteousness calls
+wherever he goes,&quot; <i>i.e.</i>, him, all whose steps are determined by God&#39;s righteousness,
+who, in all his undertakings, is guided by it.--The seizing by the hand, the keeping,
+&amp;c., are the consequence of His being called, and are equivalent to: just because
+I have called him, therefore will I, &amp;c. Luther remarks: &quot;Namely, for this reason,
+that Satan and the world, with all their might and wisdom, will <i>resist</i> thy
+work.&quot; In the words: &quot;For the Covenant of the people, and for the Light of the Gentiles,&quot;
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1501;</span> and <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1490;&#1493;&#1497;&#1501;</span>
+form an antithesis. The absence of the article shows that we ought properly to translate:
+&quot;For a Covenant of a people, for a Light of Gentiles.&quot; It is thus, in the first
+instance, only said that the Servant of God should be the personal covenant for
+a people; but <i>what</i> people that should be, cannot admit of a moment&#39;s doubt.
+To Israel, as such, the name of the <i>people</i> pre-eminently belongs. Israel,
+in preference to all others, is called <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1501;</span>
+(compare <i>Gesenius&#39;</i> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 221]</span> Thesaurus <i>s.v.</i>
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1490;&#1493;&#1497;</span>), because it is only the people of God
+that is a people in the full sense, connected by an internal unity; the Gentiles
+are <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1488; &#1506;&#1501;</span>, <i>non-people</i>, 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 <i>Covenant</i>. The covenant can belong to
+the covenant-people only, <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#8039;&#957; &#945;&#7985; &#948;&#953;&#945;&#952;&#8134;&#954;&#945;&#953;</span>, 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: &quot;This (man) is Peace,&quot;
+because in Him, peace, as it were, represents itself personally;--just as in chap.
+xlix. 6, He is called the <i>Salvation</i> 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, <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#948;&#953;&#945;&#952;&#942;&#954;&#951;&#962;
+&#7956;&#947;&#947;&#965;&#959;&#962;</span>, 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 <i>Mediator</i> 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: &quot;I will be their God, and they shall be my people.&quot; 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 <i>the Light of
+the Gentiles</i>. By the realization of this destination, an important feature in
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 222]</span> 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: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7969; &#963;&#969;&#964;&#951;&#961;&#943;&#945; &#7952;&#954; &#964;&#8182;&#957; &#7992;&#959;&#965;&#948;&#945;&#943;&#969;&#957; &#7952;&#963;&#964;&#943;&#957;</span> Light
+is here, according to the common <i>usus loquendi</i> of Scripture, a figurative
+designation of <i>salvation</i>. 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 <i>brilliant</i> misery. The
+following verse farther carries out and declares what is implied in the promise:
+&quot;Light of the Gentiles.&quot; Parallel is chap. lx. 3: &quot;And the heathen walk in thy (Zion&#39;s)
+light&quot;--they become partakers of the salvation which shines for Zion--&quot;and kings
+in the brightness which riseth to thee.&quot;--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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1501;</span> is used collectively, and refer
+it to the Gentile nations. But opposed to this explanation is the evident antithesis
+of <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1501;</span> and <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1490;&#1493;&#1497;&#1501;</span>;
+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 (<i>Hitzig</i>, <i>Ewald</i>) explain: &quot;covenant-people, <i>
+i.e.</i>, a mediatorial, connecting people, a bond of union between God and the
+nations.&quot; But the passage, chap. xlix. 8, is most decidedly opposed to this. <i>
+Farther</i>--The parallelism with <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1493;&#1512; &#1490;&#1493;&#1497;&#1501;</span>
+shows that <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1512;&#1497;&#1514; &#1506;&#1501;</span> is the <i>status constructus</i>.
+But <i>f&#339;dus alicujus</i>, is, according to the remark of <i>Gesenius</i>, <i>f&#339;dus
+cum aliquo sancitum</i>. 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, &amp;c.) According to <i>Knobel</i>: &quot;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.&quot; This explanation, <span class="pagenum">[Pg 223]</span>
+also, is opposed to the <i>usus loquendi</i>, according to which &quot;covenant of the
+people&quot; can have the sense only of &quot;covenant with the people,&quot; not a covenant among
+the people. And, <i>farther</i>, 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1512;&#1497;&#1514; &#1506;&#1501;</span>, 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: &quot;That thou mayest raise up the land, distribute desolate
+heritages, that thou mayest say to the prisoners: Go forth,&quot; &amp;c. In that passage
+the land, the desolate heritages, the prisoners, &amp;c., evidently correspond to the
+people. <i>Finally</i>--A covenant is a relation between two parties standing opposite
+one another. &quot;The word is used,&quot;<!--inserted quote--> says <i>Gesenius</i>, &quot;of
+a covenant formed between nations, between private persons, <i>e.g.</i>, David and
+Jonathan, between Jehovah and the people of Israel.&quot; But here no parties are mentioned
+to be united by the covenant.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 7. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">On account of the connection with the &quot;for the Light of the Gentiles,&quot;
+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 <i>Gentiles</i>; and the words: &quot;them that sit in
+darkness,&quot; moreover, evidently point back to &quot;for the Light of the Gentiles.&quot; 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 <i>proves</i>
+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
+<i>blindness</i>, 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: &quot;for the Light
+of the Gentiles,&quot; which, according to the common <i>usus loquendi</i>, and according
+to chap. ix. 1 (2) is not to be referred to the spiritual illumination especially,
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 224]</span> but to the bestowal of salvation. To this
+view we are likewise led by a comparison of ver. 16: &quot;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.&quot;
+The <i>blind</i> 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: &quot;Bring out them that are bound from the prison,&quot;
+<i>Knobel</i> remarks: &quot;The citizens of Judah were, to a great extent, imprisoned;
+the Prophet hopes for their deliverance by the theocratic portion of the people.&quot;
+A strange hope! By this coarsely literal interpretation, the connection with &quot;for
+the Light of the Gentiles&quot; is broken up; and this is the less admissible that the
+words at the close of the verse: &quot;those that sit in darkness,&quot; so clearly refer
+to it. <i>Imprisonment</i> is a figurative designation of the <i>miserable condition</i>,
+not less than, the <i>darkness</i>, 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, &quot;bound in fetters,&quot; are
+explained by the parallel &quot;holden in the cords of misery.&quot; When David, in Ps. cxlii.
+8, prays: &quot;Bring my soul out of the prison,&quot; he himself explains this in Ps. cxliii.
+11 by the parallel: &quot;Thou wilt bring my soul out of <i>trouble</i>;&quot; comp. also
+Ps. xxv. 17: &quot;O bring thou me out of my <i>distresses</i>.&quot; If we here understand
+the prison literally, we might, with the same propriety in other passages, also,
+<i>e.g.</i>, in Ps. lxvi. 11, understand <i>literally</i> the net, the snare, the
+trap.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 8: &quot;<i>I the Lord, that is my name, and my honour I will
+not give to another, nor my glory to idols.</i> Ver. 9. <i>The former</i> (things),
+<i>behold, they came to pass, and new</i> (things) <i>do I declare; before they
+spring forth, I cause you to hear.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">We have here the solemn close and exhortation. At the close of
+chap. xli. it had been pointed out, how the prediction of the <i>Conqueror from
+the East</i> serves for the glory of Jehovah, <span class="pagenum">[Pg 225]</span>
+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
+<i>Servant of God</i> 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 <i>Stier</i>,
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1512;&#1488;&#1513;&#1504;&#1493;&#1514;</span>, &quot;the former (things)&quot; means &quot;the redemption
+of the exiled by Cyrus,&quot; 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
+&quot;the former (things).&quot; By &quot;the new (things)&quot; 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 (<i>Michaelis</i>: <i>et nova, imprimis de Messia</i>),
+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&#39;s glory. The
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 226]</span> 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&#39;s time, seeing
+that the Prophet himself shows himself to be thoroughly penetrated by its altogether
+supernatural character.</p>
+<hr class="ftn">
+<div class="ftn">
+	<p class="ftnText"><a name="ftn_205a" href="#ftnRef_205a">
+	<sup class="ftnRef">[1]</sup></a> This embarrassment becomes still more obvious
+	in the explanation of <i>Vatke</i>, who understands by the Servant of God, &quot;the
+	harmless ideal abstract of the people;&quot; and that of <i>Beck</i>, who understands
+	thereby &quot;the notion of the people.&quot;</p>
+</div>
+<div class="ftn">
+	<p class="ftnText"><a name="ftn_208a" href="#ftnRef_208a">
+	<sup class="ftnRef">[2]</sup></a> The Hebrew word is
+	<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1513;&#1508;&#1496;</span>, which means &quot;judgment,&quot; &quot;right,&quot;
+	&quot;law.&quot; Dr. <i>Hengstenberg</i> has translated it by <i>Recht</i>, which is,
+	as nearly as possible, expressed by the English word &quot;right,&quot; (<i>jus</i>,)
+	as including &quot;law&quot; and &quot;statutes.&quot;--<i>Tr.</i></p>
+</div>
+<h3><a name="div2_226" href="#div2Ref_226">CHAPTER XLIX. 1-9.</a></h3>
+<p class="normal">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 <i>
+Gentiles</i> 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 <i>Israel</i>, 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">The Messianic explanation of our passage is already met with in
+the New Testament. It is with reference to it that <span class="pagenum">[Pg 227]</span>
+Simeon, in Luke ii. 30, 31, designates the Saviour as the
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#963;&#969;&#964;&#942;&#961;&#953;&#959;&#957;</span> of God, which He had prepared before
+the face of all people (comp. ver. 6 of our passage: &quot;That thou mayest be my salvation
+unto the end of the earth&quot;), as the <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#966;&#8182;&#962; &#949;&#7984;&#962; &#7936;&#960;&#959;&#954;&#940;&#955;&#965;&#968;&#953;&#957;
+&#7952;&#952;&#957;&#8182;&#957; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#948;&#972;&#958;&#945;&#957; &#955;&#945;&#959;&#8166; &#963;&#959;&#965; &#7992;&#963;&#961;&#945;&#942;&#955;</span>; 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: &quot;The Lord hath
+called me from the womb, from the bowels of my mother hath He made mention of my
+name,&quot; is alluded to in Luke ii. 21: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#922;&#945;&#8054; &#7952;&#954;&#955;&#942;&#952;&#951; &#964;&#8056;
+&#8004;&#957;&#959;&#956;&#945; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#959;&#8166; &#7992;&#951;&#963;&#959;&#8166;&#962;, &#964;&#8056; &#954;&#955;&#951;&#952;&#8050;&#957; &#8017;&#960;&#8056; &#964;&#959;&#8166; &#7936;&#947;&#947;&#941;&#955;&#959;&#965; &#960;&#961;&#8056; &#964;&#959;&#8166; &#963;&#965;&#955;&#955;&#951;&#966;&#952;&#8134;&#957;&#945;&#953; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#8056;&#957; &#7952;&#957; &#964;&#8135; &#954;&#959;&#953;&#955;&#943;&#8115;</span>
+(comp. i. 31: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#963;&#965;&#955;&#955;&#942;&#968;&#8131; &#7952;&#957; &#947;&#945;&#963;&#964;&#961;&#8054; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#964;&#941;&#958;&#8131; &#965;&#7985;&#972;&#957; &#954;&#945;&#8054;
+&#954;&#945;&#955;&#941;&#963;&#949;&#953;&#962; &#964;&#8056; &#8004;&#957;&#959;&#956;&#945; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#959;&#8166; &#7992;&#951;&#963;&#959;&#8166;&#957;</span>) as is sufficiently evident from
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7952;&#957; &#964;&#8135; &#954;&#959;&#953;&#955;&#943;&#8115;</span> <i>sc. matris</i>, which exactly
+answers to the <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1489;&#1496;&#1503;</span> 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:
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7984;&#948;&#959;&#8058; &#963;&#964;&#961;&#949;&#966;&#972;&#956;&#949;&#952;&#945; &#949;&#7984;&#962; &#964;&#8048; &#7956;&#952;&#957;&#951;&#903; &#959;&#8021;&#964;&#969; &#947;&#8048;&#961; &#7952;&#957;&#964;&#941;&#964;&#945;&#955;&#964;&#945;&#953; &#7969;&#956;&#8150;&#957;
+&#8001; &#922;&#973;&#961;&#953;&#959;&#962;� &#964;&#941;&#952;&#949;&#953;&#954;&#940; &#963;&#949; &#949;&#7984;&#962; &#966;&#8182;&#962; &#7952;&#952;&#957;&#8182;&#957; &#964;&#959;&#8166; &#949;&#7990;&#957;&#945;&#943; &#963;&#949; &#949;&#7984;&#962; &#963;&#969;&#964;&#951;&#961;&#943;&#945;&#957; &#7957;&#969;&#962; &#7952;&#963;&#967;&#940;&#964;&#959;&#965; &#964;&#8134;&#962; &#947;&#8134;&#962;</span>
+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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <i>Theodoret</i> and <i>Clericus</i>, 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: &quot;This was said with a view to the Lord
+Christ, who is the seed of Abraham, through whom the nations received the promise.&quot;
+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.</p>
+<p class="normal" dir="ltr"><i>Gesenius</i>, 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
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 228]</span> 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 <i>Beck</i> expresses it, the Prophet
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#954;&#945;&#964;&#8217; &#7952;&#958;&#959;&#967;&#8053;&#957;</span> 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., <i>e.g.</i>,
+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 <i>he is spoken of</i>. 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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--<i>Hitzig</i>, last
+of all--the Servant of God is to be <i>Israel</i>, 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 <i>nomen proprium</i>, but as an honorary
+name, to designate the high dignity and destination of the Servant of God. As this
+name had passed over from <span class="pagenum">[Pg 229]</span> 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,
+&amp;c. (<i>Knobel</i> remarks on this verse: &quot;Nothing is clearer than that the Servant
+of God is not identical with the mass of the people, but is something different.&quot;)
+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. <i>Maurer</i>,
+<i>Knobel</i>, and others, endeavour to explain it of <i>the better portion of the
+people</i>. 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 <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7952;&#954;&#955;&#959;&#947;&#8053;</span>, can scarcely be thought of,
+and is without any analogy. Nor is the mention of the <i>womb</i>. and <i>bowels
+of the mother</i>, 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 (<i>Jarchi</i>, <i>Kimchi</i>, <i>Abenezra</i>,
+<i>Grotius</i>, <i>Steudel</i>, <i>Umbreit</i>, <i>Hofmann</i>), the Servant of
+the Lord is to be none other than <i>the Prophet himself</i>. No argument has been
+adduced in favour of this view, except the use of the first person, (&quot;If here, without
+introduction and preparation, a discourse begins with the first
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 230]</span> person, it refers most naturally to the Prophet,
+who is the author of the Book&quot;),--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. <i>Farther</i>--Like all the other prophets, Isaiah was sent to the
+Jews, and not to the Gentiles; but at the very outset, <i>the most distant lands
+and all the distant nations</i> 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. <i>Umbreit</i>
+expressly acknowledges this: &quot;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.&quot; 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, &amp;c. <i>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.</i> 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
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 231]</span> 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 <i>Gesenius</i>,
+the Servant of the Lord is to be <i>the collective body of the prophets</i>, the
+prophetic order. In opposition to this view, <i>Stier</i> remarks: &quot;We maintain
+that, according to history, there did not at that time (the time of the exile, in
+which <i>Gesenius</i> 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.&quot; 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 <i>Gesenius</i>, 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.</p>
+<hr class="W20">
+<p class="normal">Ver. 1. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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&#39; 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; <span class="pagenum">[Pg 232]</span> while the enlightenment of the Gentiles,
+the worship of the kings, &amp;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
+<i>isles</i> 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 <i>first</i> book is engaged, but to the ends of the earth. At the
+close of the first book, in chap. xlviii. 20, it was said: &quot;Declare ye, tell this,
+utter it even to the end of the earth, say ye: The Lord hath redeemed his servant
+Jacob.&quot; 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 <i>more particularly</i>. 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: &quot;Unto the ends of the earth,&quot; in ver. 6 of
+the chapter before us, point back to the same words in chap. xlviii. 20.--<i>The
+Lord had called me from the womb.</i> 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: &quot;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&#39;s womb,
+although he was chosen before <span class="pagenum">[Pg 233]</span> the foundation
+of the world.&quot; 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: &quot;Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee; and before thou camest
+forth out of the womb I sanctified thee;&quot; and in harmony with this passage in Jeremiah--not
+with that before us--Paul says in Gal. i. 15: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#8001; &#952;&#949;&#8056;&#962;
+&#8001; &#7936;&#966;&#959;&#961;&#943;&#963;&#945;&#962;</span> (corresponding to: I have <i>sanctified</i> thee)
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#956;&#949; &#7952;&#954; &#954;&#959;&#953;&#955;&#943;&#945;&#962; &#956;&#951;&#964;&#961;&#972;&#962; &#956;&#959;&#965;</span>. But we have here
+merely the <i>introduction to what follows</i>, where the calling, to which the
+Servant of God had been destined from the womb appears as quite unique.--<i>From
+the bowels of my mother hath He made mention of my name.</i> The name is here not
+an ordinary proper name, but <i>a name descriptive of the nature</i>,--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: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#964;&#941;&#958;&#949;&#964;&#945;&#953;
+&#948;&#8050; &#965;&#7985;&#8056;&#957; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#954;&#945;&#955;&#941;&#963;&#949;&#953;&#962; &#964;&#8056; &#8004;&#957;&#959;&#956;&#945; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#959;&#8166; &#7992;&#951;&#963;&#959;&#8166;&#957;&#903; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#8056;&#962; &#947;&#8048;&#961; &#963;&#974;&#963;&#949;&#953; &#964;&#8056;&#957; &#955;&#945;&#8056;&#957; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#959;&#8166; &#7936;&#960;&#8056; &#964;&#8182;&#957;
+&#7937;&#956;&#945;&#961;&#964;&#953;&#8182;&#957; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#8182;&#957;</span>, 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 2. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">According to the common interpretation, the words: &quot;He hath made
+my mouth like a sharp sword. He hath made me a sharpened arrow,&quot; 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:
+&quot;Whom I uphold,&quot; in chap. xlii. 1, is parallel. The <i>shadow</i> 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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 234]</span> appear from a comparison
+of chap. li. 16: &quot;And I put my words in thy mouth, and I cover thee with the shadow
+of mine hand,&quot; 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 <i>rhetorical endowment</i> of the Servant of God; <i>that does
+not flow from the source of the protecting omnipotence of God</i>. These accessory
+clauses rather suggest the idea that, by the comparison of the <i>mouth</i> with
+the sharp sword, of the <i>whole person</i> with the sharpened arrow, there is indicated
+<i>the absolutely conquering power which, under the protection of omnipotence, adheres
+to the word and person of the Servant of God</i>, so that He will easily put down
+everything which opposes,--equivalent to: <i>He has endowed me with His omnipotence,
+so that my word produces destructive effects, and puts down all opposition, just
+as does His word</i>; 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: &quot;He smiteth
+the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He slayeth
+the wicked.&quot; 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. &quot;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.&quot; The same applies to chap. ii. 16. On Rev. xix. 15: &quot;And out
+of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations,&quot; we
+remarked: &quot;the sharp sword is not that of a teaching king, <span class="pagenum">
+[Pg 235]</span> 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.&quot; 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 <i>word</i> 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 (&quot;And He hath made <i>me</i> a sharpened arrow&quot;),
+attributed to the whole person. He, of whom it was already said in Ps. xlv. 6: &quot;Thine
+arrows are sharp, people fall under thee, they enter into the heart of the king&#39;s
+enemies,&quot; is himself to be esteemed as a sharp arrow.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 3. &quot;<i>And He said unto me: Thou art my Servant, O Israel,
+in whom I glorify myself.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">&quot;My Servant&quot; stands here as an honorary <i>designation</i>; 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 <i>Israel</i> 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.) <i>H�vernick</i> rightly remarks
+that the Messiah is here called Israel, &quot;in contrast to the people to whom this
+name does not properly belong.&quot; 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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 236]</span>
+an individual, but as the representative of the whole race, it is said there:
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7936;&#960;&#8125; &#7940;&#961;&#964;&#953; &#8004;&#968;&#949;&#963;&#952;&#949; &#964;&#8056;&#957; &#959;&#8016;&#961;&#945;&#957;&#8056;&#957; &#7936;&#957;&#949;&#8179;&#947;&#972;&#964;&#945;, &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#964;&#959;&#8058;&#962; &#7936;&#947;&#947;&#941;&#955;&#959;&#965;&#962;
+&#964;&#959;&#965;&#770; &#952;&#949;&#959;&#965;&#770; &#7936;&#957;&#945;&#946;&#945;&#943;&#957;&#959;&#957;&#964;&#945;&#962; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#954;&#945;&#964;&#945;&#946;&#945;&#943;&#957;&#959;&#957;&#964;&#945;&#962; &#7952;&#960;&#8054; &#964;&#8056;&#957; &#965;&#7985;&#8056;&#957; &#964;&#959;&#965;&#770; &#7936;&#957;&#952;&#961;&#974;&#960;&#959;&#965;</span> All
+those declarations of the Old Testament, in which the name of Jacob or Israel is
+used to designate the <i>election</i>, 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: &quot;Truly good is God to Israel,
+to such as are of a clean heart;&quot; and then Ps. xxiv. 6: &quot;They that seek thy face
+are Jacob,&quot; <i>i.e.</i>, 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&#39;s mercy
+and faithfulness; comp. John xii. 23: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7952;&#955;&#942;&#955;&#965;&#952;&#949;&#957; &#7969; &#8037;&#961;&#945;
+&#7989;&#957;&#945; &#948;&#959;&#958;&#945;&#963;&#952;&#8135; &#8001; &#965;&#7985;&#8056;&#962; &#964;&#959;&#8166; &#7936;&#957;&#952;&#961;&#974;&#960;&#959;&#965; </span>; xvii. 5: <span lang="el" class="Greek">
+&#954;&#945;&#8054; &#957;&#8166;&#957; &#948;&#959;&#958;&#945;&#963;&#972;&#957; &#956;&#949; &#963;&#973; &#960;&#940;&#964;&#949;&#961;</span>. The verb <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1508;&#1488;&#1512;</span>
+means in <i>Piel</i>, &quot;to adorn,&quot; in <i>Hithp.</i> &quot;to adorn one&#39;s self,&quot; &quot;to glorify
+one&#39;s self.&quot; Thus it occurs in Judg. vii. 2; Is. x. 15; lx. 21: &quot;Work of my hands
+for glorifying,&quot; <i>i.e.</i>, in which I glorify myself; lxi. 3: &quot;Planting of the
+Lord for glorifying.&quot; There is no reason for abandoning this well-supported signification
+either here or in chap. xliv. 23: &quot;The Lord hath redeemed Israel and glorified himself
+in Israel.&quot; 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: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#928;&#940;&#964;&#949;&#961; &#948;&#972;&#958;&#945;&#963;&#972;&#957; &#963;&#959;&#965; &#964;&#8056; &#8004;&#957;&#959;&#956;&#945;.</span>
+The Father, by glorifying the Son, glorifies at the same time His name. Those who
+explain <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1514;&#1508;&#1488;&#1512;</span> by: <i>per quem ornabor</i>,
+overlook the circumstance that, also in the phrase: &quot;Thou art my Servant,&quot; 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 4. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 237]</span> 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. <i>Jerome</i>, who remarks on this point: &quot;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?&quot; 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 &quot;I said,&quot; we are not at liberty to put:
+&quot;I imagined;&quot; the Servant of God had in reality expended His strength for nothing
+and vanity. As the <i>scene</i> of the vain labour of the Servant of God, the <i>
+heathen world</i> 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 <i>Israel</i> 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 <i>apostate</i> 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 <i>the preserved</i> of Israel, while the original mission had been
+directed to the <i>whole</i>. And this portion to which His activity is limited,
+is comparatively a <i>small</i> 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 <i>given up</i>
+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
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 238]</span> 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: &quot;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.&quot; 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: &quot;My right is with the Lord,
+and my reward with my God,&quot; compare Lev. xix, 13: &quot;The reward of him that is hired
+shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.&quot; 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 <i>with Him</i>; 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 5. &quot;<i>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.</i>
+Ver. <span class="pagenum">[Pg 239]</span>6. <i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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. <i>And now</i>, <i>i.e.</i>,
+since the matter stands thus (Gen. xlv. 8),--since Israel, to whom my mission is,
+in the first instance, directed, reject me. <i>Saith the Lord</i>--That which the
+Lord spoke follows in ver. 6 only, which, on account of the long interruption, again
+begins with: &quot;And He saith,&quot; 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:--<i>first</i>,
+the frustration of the original mission of the Servant of the Lord to the Jews;
+and <i>secondly</i>, 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: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#959;&#8016;&#954; &#7936;&#960;&#949;&#963;&#964;&#940;&#955;&#951;&#957; &#949;&#7984; &#956;&#8052;
+&#949;&#7984;&#962; &#964;&#8048; &#960;&#961;&#972;&#946;&#945;&#964;&#945; &#964;&#8048; &#7936;&#960;&#959;&#955;&#969;&#955;&#972;&#964;&#945; &#959;&#7988;&#954;&#959;&#965; &#7992;&#963;&#961;&#945;&#942;&#955;</span>. 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: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#960;&#959;&#961;&#949;&#973;&#949;&#963;&#952;&#949;
+&#948;&#8050; &#956;&#8118;&#955;&#955;&#959;&#957; &#960;&#961;&#8056;&#962; &#964;&#8048; &#960;&#961;&#959;&#946;&#945;&#964;&#945; &#964;&#8048; &#7936;&#960;&#959;&#955;&#969;&#955;&#972;&#964;&#945; &#959;&#7988;&#954;&#959;&#965; &#7992;&#963;&#961;&#945;&#942;&#955;.</span> Paul and Barnabas say,
+in Acts xiii. 46: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#8017;&#956;&#8150;&#957; &#7974;&#957; &#7936;&#957;&#945;&#947;&#954;&#945;&#8150;&#959;&#957; &#960;&#961;&#8182;&#964;&#959;&#957; &#955;&#945;&#955;&#951;&#952;&#8134;&#957;&#945;&#953;
+&#964;&#8056;&#957; &#955;&#972;&#947;&#959;&#957; &#964;&#959;&#8166; &#952;&#949;&#959;&#8166;� &#7952;&#960;&#949;&#953;&#948;&#8052; &#948;&#949; &#7936;&#960;&#969;&#952;&#949;&#8150;&#963;&#952;&#949; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#8056;&#957; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#959;&#8016;&#954; &#7936;&#958;&#943;&#959;&#965;&#962; &#954;&#961;&#943;&#957;&#949;&#964;&#949; &#7953;&#945;&#965;&#964;&#959;&#8058;&#962; &#964;&#8134;&#962;
+&#945;&#7984;&#969;&#957;&#943;&#959;&#965; &#950;&#969;&#8134;&#962;, &#7984;&#948;&#959;&#8058; &#963;&#964;&#961;&#949;&#966;&#972;&#956;&#949;&#952;&#945; &#949;&#7984;&#962; &#964;&#8048; &#7956;&#952;&#957;&#951;.</span> 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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1513;&#1497;&#1489;&#1489;</span> to Jehovah, and consider it as a Gerund.
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 240]</span> <i>reducendo</i>, or <i>qui reducit ad se
+Jacobum</i>. In the same way they explain also the Infinit. with
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;</span> in the following verse, as also in chap.
+li. 16. But although the Infinit. with <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;</span> 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1513;&#1493;&#1489;&#1489; &#1497;&#1506;&#1511;&#1489; &#1488;&#1500;&#1497;&#1493;</span> must indicate
+the destination for which He was formed. And it is not possible that Jehovah&#39;s bringing
+Jacob back to himself should be a display of Israel&#39;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.--&quot;<i>And Israel, which
+is not gathered.</i>&quot; Before <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1513;&#1512;</span>,
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1488;</span> must be supplied. According to the parallel
+words: &quot;To bring Jacob again to Him,&quot; 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: &quot;To bring Jacob
+again to Him.&quot; The image which lies at the foundation, is that of a scattered flock;
+comp. Mic. ii. 12. Parallel is Isaiah liii. 6: &quot;All we <i>like sheep</i> have gone
+astray, we have turned every one to his own way.&quot;--To the words under consideration
+the Lord alludes in Matt. xxiii. 37: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7992;&#949;&#961;&#959;&#965;&#963;&#945;&#955;&#8053;&#956; ...
+&#960;&#959;&#963;&#940;&#954;&#953;&#962; &#7968;&#952;&#941;&#955;&#951;&#963;&#945; &#7952;&#960;&#953; &#963;&#965;&#957;&#945;&#947;&#945;&#947;&#949;&#8150;&#957; &#964;&#8048; &#964;&#941;&#954;&#957;&#945; &#963;&#959;&#965; &#8003;&#957; &#964;&#961;&#972;&#960;&#959;&#957; &#7952;&#960;&#953;&#963;&#965;&#957;&#945;&#947;&#949;&#953; &#8004;&#961;&#957;&#953;&#962; &#964;&#8048; &#957;&#959;&#963;&#963;&#943;&#945;
+&#7952;&#945;&#8016;&#964;&#8134;&#962; &#8017;&#960;&#8056; &#964;&#8048;&#962; &#960;&#964;&#941;&#961;&#965;&#947;&#945;&#962; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#959;&#8016;&#954; &#7968;&#952;&#949;&#955;&#942;&#963;&#945;&#964;&#949;.</span>; comp. also Matt. ix. 36:
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7984;&#948;&#8060;&#957; &#948;&#8050; &#964;&#959;&#8058;&#962; &#8004;&#967;&#955;&#959;&#965;&#962; &#7952;&#963;&#960;&#955;&#945;&#947;&#967;&#957;&#943;&#963;&#952;&#951; &#960;&#949;&#961;&#8054; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#8182;&#957; &#8005;&#964;&#953; &#7974;&#963;&#945;&#957;
+&#7952;&#963;&#954;&#965;&#955;&#956;&#941;&#957;&#959;&#953; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#7952;&#961;&#961;&#953;&#956;&#956;&#941;&#957;&#959;&#953; &#8033;&#963;&#949;&#8054; &#960;&#961;&#972;&#946;&#945;&#964;&#945; &#956;&#8052; &#7956;&#967;&#959;&#957;&#964;&#945; &#960;&#959;&#953;&#956;&#941;&#957;&#945;.</span> On account of chap.
+xi. 12, it will not do to take <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1505;&#1507;</span> in the
+signification of &quot;to snatch away,&quot; &quot;to carry off,&quot; as is done by <i>Hitzig</i>.
+Moreover <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1488;&#1505;&#1507;</span> means, indeed, &quot;to be gathered,&quot;
+but never &quot;to be carried off&quot; The Mazoreths would read
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1488;</span> for <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1493;</span>:
+&quot;And that Israel might be gathered to <i>Him</i>.&quot; Thus it is rendered, among the
+ancient translators, by <i>Aquila</i> and the Chaldee; while <i>Symmachus</i>,
+<i>Theodoret</i>, and the Vulgate express the negation. Most of the modern interpreters
+have followed the Mazoreths. But the assumption of several of these, that
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1488;</span> is only a different writing for
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1493;</span>, is altogether without foundation, compare
+the remarks on chap. ix. 2; and the reading of the Mazoreths is just like all the
+<i>Kris</i>, a mere conjecture, owing its origin, as has already been
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 241]</span> remarked by <i>Jerome</i>, 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1505;&#1507;</span> in the signification &quot;to gather&quot;
+has the person to whom it is gathered never joined to it by means of
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;</span>, but commonly by means of
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1500;</span>, is of so much the greater importance,
+that <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;</span> has nothing to do with
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1500;</span>. When <i>Stier</i> remarks that ver. 6,
+where Jacob and Israel were again beside each other in a completely parallel clause,
+proves that Israel&#39;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 <i>election</i>.--The words: &quot;And I am honoured in the eyes of the Lord, and
+my God is my strength,&quot; <i>i.e.</i>, 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&#39;s unbelief offers an occasion &quot;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.&quot;
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1513;&#1493;&#1489;</span> in <i>Hiphil</i> frequently means &quot;to
+lead back,&quot; in the ordinary sense, but sometimes also &quot;to lead back into the former,
+or <i>normal</i> condition,&quot; &quot;to restore,&quot; compare remarks on Dan. ix. 25; Ps. lxxx.
+4. The parallel, &quot;to raise up,&quot; which is opposed to the <i>lying down</i> (Ps. xli.
+9), shows that here it stands in the sense of &quot;to restore.&quot; 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., <i>raising up and restoration</i>,
+is, in substance, the same which, according to what follows, He becomes to the
+<i>Gentiles</i>, <span class="pagenum">[Pg 242]</span> viz., <i>light and salvation</i>.
+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 <i>tribes of Jacob</i>, 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: &quot;And the preserved of Israel&quot; (the <i>Kethibh</i>
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1506;&#1497;&#1512;&#1497;</span> is an adjective form with a passive
+signification; the marginal reading <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1510;&#1493;&#1512;&#1497;</span>
+is the Part. Pass.); just as, similarly in Ps. lxxiii. 1, Israel is limited to the
+true Israel by the explanatory clause: &quot;Such as are of a clean heart.&quot; The verb
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1510;&#1512;</span>, &quot;to watch,&quot; is, according to <i>Gesenius</i>,
+especially used <i>de Jehova homines custodiente et tuente.</i> 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 <i>gives up</i>. Chap. lxv. 13,
+14: &quot;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,&quot; likewise points to a great separation
+which shall take place in the Messianic time. <i>Light</i> (compare remarks on chap.
+xlii. 6), and <i>salvation</i> 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: &quot;that my salvation be,&quot;
+but: &quot;that thou mayest be my salvation;&quot; for it is only when He is the salvation
+that such an indemnification is spoken of Moreover, the Infinitive with
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;</span> 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 <i>covenant</i> of the people, because this covenant
+finds in Him its truth; compare also the expression: &quot;This man is <i>peace</i>,&quot;
+in Mic. v. 4 (5). <i>Gesenius</i> rightly remarks, that <span class="pagenum">[Pg
+243]</span> there is here an allusion to the promises given to the Patriarchs, Gen.
+xii. 3, &amp;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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 7. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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>i.e.</i>,
+the high and glorious God, because the Servant of God is, in the first instance,
+sent to Israel as <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#948;&#953;&#940;&#954;&#959;&#957;&#959;&#962; &#960;&#949;&#961;&#953;&#964;&#959;&#956;&#8134;&#962; &#8017;&#960;&#8050;&#961; &#7936;&#955;&#951;&#952;&#949;&#943;&#945;&#962;
+&#952;&#949;&#959;&#8166; &#949;&#7984;&#962; &#964;&#8056; &#946;&#949;&#946;&#945;&#953;&#8182;&#963;&#945;&#953; &#964;&#8048;&#962; &#7952;&#960;&#945;&#947;&#947;&#949;&#955;&#943;&#945;&#962; &#964;&#8182;&#957; &#960;&#945;&#964;&#941;&#961;&#969;&#957;</span>, Rom. xv. 8; but still more,
+because He himself is the concentration of Israel (ver. 3), the
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#954;&#949;&#966;&#945;&#955;&#8052; &#964;&#959;&#8166; &#963;&#974;&#956;&#945;&#964;&#959;&#962; &#964;&#8134;&#962; &#7952;&#954;&#954;&#955;&#951;&#963;&#943;&#945;&#962;</span>, 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, &amp;c., must proceed chiefly
+<i>from the apostate portion of the covenant-people</i>: The <i>princes and kings</i>
+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<!--deleted dupl. 'in'-->
+His person, represented the <i>ideal</i> 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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg
+244]</span> 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: &quot;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;&quot; and it
+is the more natural to assume this reference that, in chap. lii. 14; liii. 3, this
+passage also is referred to <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1468;&#1456;&#1494;&#1465;&#1492;</span> is, after
+the example of <i>Kimchi</i>, viewed by several interpreters as an infinitive form
+standing in place of a Noun, &quot;despising or contemning,&quot; instead of &quot;contempt,&quot; and
+this again instead of &quot;object of contempt.&quot; Others view it as the <i>Stat. construct.</i>
+of an adjective <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1468;&#1464;&#1494;&#1465;&#1492;</span> with a passive signification.
+This latter view is more natural; and the reason which <i>Stier</i> adduces against
+it, viz., that of verbs <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1492;</span> no such forms are
+found, cannot be considered as conclusive. <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1494;&#1492;&#1470;&#1504;&#1508;&#1513;</span>,
+literally the &quot;despised one of the <i>soul</i>&quot; might, according to Ezek. xxxvi.
+5: &quot;Against Edom who have taken my land into their possession with the joy of all
+their heart, with the contempt of their soul,&quot; mean, &quot;who is inwardly and deeply
+despised,&quot; 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1508;&#1513;</span> is <i>here</i> parallel to
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1493;&#1497;</span>, and that the latter corresponds to the
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1501;</span> in Ps. xxii. &quot;The despised one of the soul&quot;
+must, accordingly, be he who is despised of every one. The soul corresponding to
+<i>man</i> in Ps. xxii. is, as it were, conceived of as a great concrete body. In
+a similar manner, &quot;soul&quot; is used for all that has a soul, in Gen. xiv. 21, where
+the king of Sodom says to Abraham: &quot;Give me the <i>soul</i>, and take the goods
+to thyself.&quot;--&quot;<i>To the abhorrence of the people.</i>&quot;
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1514;&#1506;&#1489;</span> in <i>Piel</i> never has another signification
+than &quot;to abhor.&quot; 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: &quot;To cause to abhor&quot; (<i>R�diger</i>:
+<i>horrorem incutiens populo, qui abominationi est populo</i>), interpreters cannot
+adduce even one apparent passage, except that before us. We are, therefore, only
+at liberty to explain, after the example of <i>Kimchi</i>: &quot;to the ... people abhorring,&quot;
+<i>i.e.</i>, to him against whom the <span class="pagenum">[Pg 245]</span> people
+feel an abhorrence. <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1490;&#1493;&#1497;</span><!--see 1856 ed, p 244-->
+is used of the Jewish people in Is. i. 4 also. <i>Hofmann</i> 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1501;</span>
+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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1508;&#1513;</span> and <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1490;&#1493;&#1497;</span>
+designate the generality of this hatred, <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1513;&#1500;&#1497;&#1501;</span>
+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: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#955;&#941;&#947;&#949;&#953; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#8183; &#8001; &#928;&#953;&#955;&#8118;&#964;&#959;&#962;� &#7952;&#956;&#959;&#8054;
+&#959;&#8016; &#955;&#945;&#955;&#949;&#8150;&#962;; &#959;&#8016;&#954; &#959;&#7990;&#948;&#945;&#962; &#8005;&#964;&#953; &#7952;&#958;&#959;&#965;&#963;&#943;&#945;&#957; &#7956;&#967;&#969; &#963;&#964;&#945;&#965;&#961;&#8182;&#963;&#945;&#943; &#963;&#949; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#7952;&#958;&#959;&#965;&#963;&#943;&#945;&#957; &#7956;&#967;&#969; &#7936;&#960;&#959;&#955;&#8166;&#963;&#945;&#943; &#963;&#949;</span>
+The <i>servant of rulers</i> forms the contrast to the servant of the Lord. But
+in the words: &quot;Kings shall see,&quot; &amp;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 &quot;He that was despised by every
+one, as the abhorrence of the people, as the servant of rulers.&quot; The historical
+commentary on these words we have in Matt. xxii. 39 ff.:
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#959;&#7985; &#948;&#949; &#960;&#945;&#961;&#945;&#960;&#959;&#961;&#949;&#965;&#8057;&#956;&#949;&#957;&#959;&#953; &#7956;&#946;&#955;&#945;&#963;&#966;&#8053;&#956;&#959;&#965;&#957; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#8056;&#957; &#954;.&#964;.&#955;. &#8001;&#956;&#959;&#943;&#969;&#962;
+&#948;&#8051; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#959;&#7985; &#7936;&#961;&#967;&#953;&#949;&#961;&#949;&#8150;&#962; &#7952;&#956;&#960;&#945;&#943;&#950;&#959;&#957;&#964;&#949;&#962; &#956;&#949;&#964;&#8048; &#964;&#8182;&#957; &#947;&#961;&#945;&#956;&#956;&#945;&#964;&#941;&#969;&#957; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#960;&#961;&#949;&#963;&#946;&#965;&#964;&#941;&#961;&#969;&#957; &#7956;&#955;&#949;&#947;&#959;&#957;� &#7940;&#955;&#955;&#959;&#965;&#962;
+&#7956;&#963;&#969;&#963;&#949;&#957; &#954;.&#964;.&#955;. &#964;&#8056; &#948;&#8125; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#8056; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#959;&#7985; &#955;&#8131;&#963;&#964;&#945;&#8054; &#959;&#7985; &#963;&#965;&#963;&#964;&#945;&#965;&#961;&#969;&#952;&#941;&#957;&#964;&#949;&#962; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#8183; &#8032;&#957;&#949;&#943;&#948;&#953;&#950;&#959;&#957; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#972;&#957;.</span>--After
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1512;&#1488;&#1493;</span> &quot;they shall see,&quot; the object must be
+supplied from ver. 6, viz., the brilliant turn which, under the Lord&#39;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 <i>Holy One
+of Israel</i>; 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.</p>
+<p class="continue"><span class="pagenum">[Pg 246]</span></p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 8. &quot;<i>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.</i> Ver. 9. <i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal"><i>The time of favour</i> may be either the time when God shows
+His delight in, and favour to His Servant, and, in Him, to the Church, <i>q. d.</i>,
+of delight in thee, mercy for thee,--in which case chap. lx. 10 would be parallel:
+&quot;In my <i>wrath</i> I smote thee, and in my favour have I had mercy on thee;&quot; or,
+&quot;in the time of favour,&quot; may be equivalent to: &quot;at the agreeable, acceptable time&quot;
+(LXX., which Paul follows in 2 Cor. vi. 1, 2, <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#954;&#945;&#953;&#961;&#8183;
+&#948;&#949;&#954;&#964;&#8183;</span>, Vulg. <i>tempore placito</i>); 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 &quot;Covenant of the people,&quot; 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1501;</span> 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: &quot;That thou mayest raise up the land, divide desolate heritages,&quot; 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
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 247]</span> steps into the back-ground, in order afterwards
+to come forth more prominently. The <i>ways</i> and <i>bare hills</i> 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.</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="div2_247" href="#div2Ref_247">CHAPTER L. 4-11.</a></h2>
+<p class="normal">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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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: &quot;He shall not fail
+nor run away,&quot; 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,
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 248]</span> 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 <i>carried out and expanded</i>.
+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.</p>
+<p class="normal">In the Messianic explanation of this Section, the Lord himself
+has gone before His Church. We read in Luke xviii. 31, 32,
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#960;&#945;&#961;&#945;&#955;&#945;&#946;&#8060;&#957; &#948;&#8050; &#964;&#959;&#8058;&#962; &#948;&#974;&#948;&#949;&#954;&#945; &#949;&#7990;&#960;&#949; &#960;&#961;&#8056;&#962; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#959;&#973;&#962;� &#7984;&#948;&#959;&#8058; &#7936;&#957;&#945;&#946;&#945;&#943;&#957;&#959;&#956;&#949;&#957;
+&#949;&#7984;&#962; &#7992;&#949;&#961;&#959;&#963;&#8057;&#955;&#965;&#956;&#945; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#964;&#949;&#955;&#949;&#963;&#952;&#942;&#963;&#949;&#964;&#945;&#953; &#960;&#940;&#957;&#964;&#945; &#964;&#8048; &#947;&#949;&#947;&#961;&#945;&#956;&#956;&#941;&#957;&#945; &#948;&#953;&#8048; &#964;&#8182;&#957; &#960;&#961;&#959;&#966;&#951;&#964;&#8182;&#957; &#964;&#8183; &#965;&#7985;&#8183; &#964;&#959;&#8166;
+&#7936;&#957;&#952;&#961;&#974;&#960;&#959;&#965;� &#960;&#945;&#961;&#945;&#948;&#959;&#952;&#942;&#963;&#949;&#964;&#945;&#953; &#947;&#8048;&#961; &#964;&#959;&#8150;&#962; &#7956;&#952;&#957;&#949;&#963;&#953; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#7952;&#956;&#960;&#945;&#953;&#967;&#952;&#942;&#963;&#949;&#964;&#945;&#953; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#8017;&#946;&#961;&#953;&#963;&#952;&#942;&#963;&#949;&#964;&#945;&#953; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#7952;&#956;&#960;&#964;&#965;&#963;&#952;&#942;&#963;&#949;&#964;&#945;&#953;
+&#954;&#945;&#8054; &#956;&#945;&#963;&#964;&#953;&#947;&#974;&#963;&#945;&#957;&#964;&#949;&#962; &#7936;&#960;&#959;&#954;&#964;&#949;&#957;&#959;&#8166;&#963;&#953;&#957; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#972;&#957;.</span> 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: &quot;I gave my back to the smiters (<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#956;&#945;&#963;&#964;&#953;&#947;&#974;&#963;&#945;&#957;&#964;&#949;&#962;</span>,
+LXX. <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#949;&#7984;&#962; &#956;&#945;&#963;&#964;&#953;&#947;&#945;&#962;</span>), and my cheeks to those
+plucking (<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7952;&#956;&#960;&#945;&#953;&#967;&#952;&#942;&#963;&#949;&#964;&#945;&#953;</span>--the plucking of the
+beard, an act of degrading wantonness), my face I hid not from shame (<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#8017;&#946;&#961;&#953;&#963;&#952;&#942;&#963;&#949;&#964;&#945;&#953;</span>)
+and spitting.&quot; <i>Bengel</i> draws attention to the fact of how highly Christ, in
+the passage quoted, placed the prophecy of the Old Testament: &quot;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.&quot; 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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 249]</span> ancient Christian
+Church. In it, the Messianic interpretation prevailed throughout; and <i>Grotius</i>,
+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 <i>Clericus</i>.</p>
+<p class="normal">In favour of the Messianic explanation there is the remarkable
+agreement existing between prophecy and fulfilment, comp. Matt. xxvi. 67, 68:
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#932;&#972;&#964;&#949; &#7952;&#957;&#941;&#960;&#964;&#965;&#963;&#945;&#957; &#949;&#7984;&#962; &#964;&#8056; &#960;&#961;&#972;&#963;&#969;&#960;&#959;&#957; &#8049;&#8016;&#964;&#959;&#8166;<!--see 1856 ed; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#959;&#8166;-->
+&#954;&#945;&#8054; &#7952;&#954;&#959;&#955;&#940;&#966;&#953;&#963;&#945;&#957; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#972;&#957;, &#927;&#7985; &#948;&#8050; &#7952;&#8164;&#8165;&#940;&#960;&#953;&#963;&#945;&#957; &#955;&#941;&#947;&#959;&#957;&#964;&#949;&#962;� &#960;&#961;&#959;&#966;&#942;&#964;&#949;&#965;&#963;&#959;&#957; &#7969;&#956;&#8150;&#957;, &#967;&#961;&#953;&#963;&#964;&#941;, &#964;&#943;&#962; &#7952;&#963;&#964;&#953;&#957;
+&#8001; &#960;&#945;&#943;&#963;&#945;&#962; &#963;&#949;</span>; xxvii. 30: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#954;&#945;&#8054; &#7952;&#956;&#960;&#964;&#973;&#963;&#945;&#957;&#964;&#949;&#962; &#949;&#7984;&#962;
+&#945;&#8016;&#964;&#8056;&#957; &#7956;&#955;&#945;&#946;&#959;&#957; &#964;&#8056;&#957; &#954;&#940;&#955;&#945;&#956;&#959;&#957; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#7956;&#964;&#965;&#960;&#964;&#959;&#957; &#949;&#7984;&#962; &#964;&#8052;&#957; &#954;&#949;&#966;&#945;&#955;&#8052;&#957; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#959;&#8166;</span>,--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. <i>Farther</i>--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. <i>Farther</i>--Ver.
+11, where the Servant of God ascribes to himself the judgment upon the unbelieving
+mass of the people: &quot;From <i>my</i> hand is this to you,&quot; in harmony with Matt.
+xxvi. 64 and other passages, where the Son of Man appears as executing judgment
+upon Jerusalem. <i>Finally</i>--The parallel passages.</p>
+<p class="normal">Most of the modern interpreters assume that the Prophet himself,
+Isaiah, or Pseudo-Isaiah, is the subject of the prophecy. <i>Jerome</i> 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.,
+<i>Paulus</i>. The explanation which refers it to the <i>whole</i> 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 250]</span>
+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. <i>Knobel</i>, in saying: &quot;This small
+unconnected Section, is the only one in the whole collection, in which the Prophet
+speaks of himself only, and represents his suffering&#39;s and hopes,&quot; 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <i>Hofmann</i>, 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! <i>It is only a person of central importance that is suitable to this context.</i>
+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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 251]</span> in admitting their knowledge of this, that
+it would be rather strange if they were destitute of such knowledge.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 4. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">The greater number of expositors explain a disciple&#39;s tongue by:
+&quot;A tongue such as instructed people or scholars possess,--an eloquent tongue.&quot; But
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1502;&#1491;</span>, everywhere else in Isaiah, means &quot;pupil,&quot;
+&quot;disciple,&quot; 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&#39;s
+tongue is such as the disciples of the Lord possess. Its foundation is formed by
+the disciple&#39;s <i>ear</i> mentioned at the close of the verse. He who hears the
+Lord&#39;s words, speaks also the Lord&#39;s words. The signification, &quot;learned,&quot; 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: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#954;&#8064;&#947;&#8060; &#7939; &#7972;&#954;&#959;&#965;&#963;&#945; &#960;&#945;&#961;&#700; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#959;&#8166; &#964;&#945;&#8166;&#964;&#945; &#955;&#945;&#955;&#8182; &#949;&#7984;&#962;
+&#964;&#8056;&#957; &#954;&#972;&#963;&#956;&#959;&#957;</span>, comp. iii. 34: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#8003;&#957; &#947;&#8048;&#961; &#7936;&#960;&#941;&#963;&#964;&#949;&#953;&#955;&#949;&#957;
+&#8001; &#952;&#949;&#8056;&#962; &#964;&#8048; &#8165;&#942;&#956;&#945;&#964;&#945; &#964;&#959;&#8166; &#952;&#949;&#959;&#8166; &#955;&#945;&#955;&#949;&#8150;</span>. The verb <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">
+&#1505;&#1502;&#1498;</span>, which occurs only here, means, according to the Arabic, &quot;to help,&quot; &quot;to
+support;&quot; <i>Aquila</i>: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#8017;&#960;&#959;&#963;&#964;&#951;&#961;&#8055;&#963;&#945;&#953;</span>, Vulg.
+<i>sustentare</i>. Like other similar verbs, <i>e.g.</i>,
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1505;&#1502;&#1498;</span>, in Gen. xxvii. 37, it is construed with
+a double accusative: &quot;that I may help the weary, word,&quot; <i>i.e.</i>, 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, <i>
+ibid.</i>, ver. 7; the broken-hearted, chap. lxi. 1; them that mourn, <i>ibid.</i>,
+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. <i>e.g.</i>, 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: &quot;He wakeneth, &amp;c.&quot; we are told in what manner the Lord gives to His Servant
+the disciple&#39;s tongue. <i>To waken</i> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 252]</span> <i>
+the ear</i> is equivalent to: to make attentive, to make ready for the reception
+of the divine communications. The expression &quot;morning by morning&quot; 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 5. &quot;<i>The Lord Jehovah hath opened mine ear, and I was not
+rebellious, and have not turned back.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">The phrases &quot;to open or uncover the ear&quot; have always the signification,
+&quot;to make known something to some one,&quot; &quot;to reveal to him something.&quot; &quot;to inform
+him,&quot; both in ordinary circumstances (comp. 1 Sam. xx. 12; Ruth iv. 4), and on the
+religious territory, comp. 2 Sam. vii. 27: &quot;For thou, Lord of Hosts, God of Israel,
+hast opened the ear of thy servant, saying: I will build thee an house;&quot; Isa. xlviii.
+8: &quot;Thou heardest not, thou knewest not, nor was formerly thine ear opened;&quot; chap.
+xlii. 20: &quot;The ear was opened to him.&quot; According to this well established <i>usus
+loquendi</i>, &quot;The Lord hath opened mine ear,&quot; can only mean: The Lord hath revealed
+to me, hath informed me inwardly; <i>Abenezra</i>:
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1490;&#1500;&#1492; &#1505;&#1493;&#1491;&#1493; &#1500;&#1497;</span> &quot;He has made known to me His secret.&quot;
+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,
+&amp;c. The words: &quot;The Lord hath opened mine ear&quot; here are connected with: &quot;The Lord
+wakeneth mine ear, that I may hear,&quot; 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. <i>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.</i> As the authors of these sufferings,
+we must conceive of the party opposed to the weary, viz., the proud, secure, unbroken
+sinners. On &quot;I was not rebellious,&quot; 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: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#960;&#955;&#8052;&#957; &#959;&#8016;&#967; &#8033;&#962; &#7952;&#947;&#8060; &#952;&#941;&#955;&#969; &#7936;&#955;&#955;&#700; &#8033;&#962; &#963;&#973;</span>,
+Matt. xxvi. 39.</p>
+<p class="continue"><span class="pagenum">[Pg 253]</span></p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 6. &quot;<i>I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to the
+pluckers, I hid not my face from shame and spitting.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">The words express in an individualizing manner the thought, that
+the Servant of God, in His vocation as the Saviour of the <i>personae miserabiles</i>,
+would experience the most shameful and ignominious treatment, and would patiently
+bear it. In God&#39;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 <i>substantial</i>
+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: &quot;and my cheeks to the pluckers&quot;--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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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?</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 7. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal"><span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1499;&#1500;&#1502;&#1514;&#1497;</span> refers to
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1499;&#1500;&#1502;&#1493;&#1514;</span> 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: &quot;I make my face like a flint&quot; denotes the &quot;holy
+hardness of perseverance&quot; (<i>Stier</i>); 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: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7952;&#947;&#941;&#957;&#949;&#964;&#959; &#948;&#8050; &#964;&#8183; &#963;&#965;&#956;&#960;&#955;&#951;&#961;&#959;&#8166;&#963;&#952;&#945;&#953; &#964;&#8048;&#962; &#7969;&#956;&#941;&#961;&#945;&#962;
+&#964;&#8134;&#962; &#7936;&#957;&#945;&#955;&#942;&#968;&#949;&#969;&#962; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#959;&#8166;, &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#8056;&#962; &#964;&#8056; &#960;&#961;&#972;&#963;&#969;&#960;&#959;&#957; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#959;&#8166; &#7952;&#963;&#964;&#942;&#961;&#953;&#958;&#949; &#964;&#959;&#8166; &#960;&#959;&#961;&#949;&#973;&#949;&#963;&#952;&#945;&#953; &#949;&#7984;&#962; &#7993;&#949;&#961;&#959;&#965;&#963;&#945;&#955;&#942;&#956;.</span></p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 8. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 254]</span> following
+verse are intentionally alluded to. The justification is one by <i>deeds</i>. It
+took place and was fulfilled, in the first instance, in the resurrection and glorification
+of Christ, and, then, in the destruction of Jerusalem.--<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1506;&#1500;
+&#1502;&#1513;&#1508;&#1496;&#1497;</span> literally, &quot;the master of my right,&quot; <i>i.e.</i>, he who according
+to his opinion or assertion which, by the issue is proved to be false, has a right
+over me, comp. the <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7952;&#957; &#7952;&#956;&#959;&#8054; &#959;&#8016;&#954; &#7956;&#967;&#949;&#953; &#959;&#8020;&#948;&#941;&#957;</span> which,
+in John xiv. 30, the Lord says in reference to the chief of His enemies.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 9. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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: &quot;The moth shall eat them
+up like a garment.&quot; Enmity to Christ and His Church is, to those who entertain it,
+a prophecy of sure destruction. The words: &quot;The moth shall eat them,&quot; are farther
+expanded in ver. 11, where it is described how the people who ventured to <i>condemn</i>
+the Servant of God, become a prey to destruction.</p>
+<p class="normal">The Servant of God closes with a double address; first, to the
+godly; and then, to the ungodly.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 10. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">From the words: &quot;Of mine hand,&quot; in ver. 11, it appears that the
+Servant of God is continuing the discourse. Hence &quot;the voice of His Servant,&quot; <i>
+q.d.</i>, the voice of me who am His Servant. By the words: &quot;Among you,&quot; 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 &quot;Unto
+him ye shall hearken,&quot; which, in Deut. xviii. 15, had been said in reference to
+<i>the</i> Prophet. <span class="pagenum">[Pg 255]</span> 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 <i>party</i>, 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: &quot;Let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his
+God,&quot; there is concealed the promise: he <i>may</i> trust, his darkness shall be
+changed into light, his sorrow into joy. When the destruction of Jerusalem approached,
+the cry came to believing Israel: &quot;Lift up your heads, for your redemption draweth
+nigh,&quot; 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 11. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <i>not</i> 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 <i>fire</i> is often in Scripture the
+fire of war, chap. ix. 18; Jer. li. 5; Rev. viii. 7-10. According to several interpreters
+(<i>Hitzig</i>, <i>Ewald</i>, <i>Knobel</i>), it is assumed that the discourse is
+here not of &quot;self-assistance by rebellion,&quot; but &quot;of the attacks of the wicked upon
+the godly, and of the destruction, into which these attacks turn out for their authors.&quot;
+But this view is opposed by the circumstance that the darkness
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 256]</span> 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:
+&quot;Walk in the <i>light</i> of your fire.&quot; They now have a light which enlightens
+their darkness; but this self-created light consumes them.--To <i>gird</i> stands
+for, &quot;to surround one&#39;s self with a girdle,&quot; &quot;to put on a girdle.&quot; In substance
+it is equivalent &quot;to provide one&#39;s self with it.&quot;--The
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7941;&#960;&#945;&#958; &#955;&#949;&#947;&#8057;&#956;&#949;&#957;&#959;&#957;</span>
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1494;&#1497;&#1511;&#1493;&#1514;</span> cannot with certainty be explained from
+the dialects. The connection and parallelism are in favour of the signification
+&quot;sparks,&quot; &quot;flames,&quot; which is found as early as in the Septuagint (<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#966;&#955;&#8057;&#947;&#945;</span>),
+and Vulg. (<i>flammas</i>). In Syriac <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1494;&#1497;&#1511;&#1488;</span>
+has the signification &quot;lightning.&quot; Those who explain it by &quot;fiery darts&quot; are not
+at liberty to refer it to the <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1494;&#1511;&#1497;&#1501;</span> in Prov.
+xxvi. 18. The signification &quot;flames&quot; (not &quot;sparks,&quot; as <i>Stier</i> holds), is,
+in that passage, quite suitable; simple arrows could there not be mentioned after
+the fiery darts without making the discourse feeble.--<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1499;&#1493;</span>
+&quot;walk ye,&quot; is equivalent to: &quot;ye shall walk,&quot; yet with an intimation of the fact
+that this result, as we are immediately afterwards expressly told, proceeds from
+the speaker: <i>sic volo, sic jubeo.</i> The words: &quot;From mine hand is this to you,&quot;
+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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;</span> in <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1502;&#1506;&#1510;&#1489;&#1492;</span>
+serves for designating the condition: so that you belong to pain,
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1513;&#1499;&#1489;</span> occurs in <span class="pagenum">[Pg 257]</span>
+chap. xliii. 17 of the Egyptians lying down; comp. Ps. xli. 9: &quot;He that <i>lieth</i>
+shall rise up no more.&quot; In the announcement that Israel&#39;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: &quot;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.&quot;</p>
+<h3><a name="div2_257" href="#div2Ref_257">CHAPTER LI. 1-16.</a></h3>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 1. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">The discourse in chap. li. to lii. 12 is not addressed to the
+whole of Israel, but to the <i>election</i>. 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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,
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 258]</span> 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;</span>
+a Gerund, &quot;planting,&quot; or &quot;by planting,&quot;--a supposition which is beset with great
+difficulties. It was only by an inconsistency that <i>Stier</i>, who, in chap. xlix.
+rejects this view, could here agree to it. And, farther, it is obvious that the
+words at the close: &quot;Thou art my people,&quot; are the <i>words</i> 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: &quot;I put my
+words in thy mouth,&quot; 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 <i>Gesenius</i> and <i>Umbreit</i>, that the discourse is addressed to the prophetical
+order. Nor is it defensible to explain: &quot;to plant the heaven and lay the foundation
+of the earth,&quot; by: to establish the new state of Israel. To these arguments it may
+be added that, according to this explanation, the words: &quot;Thou art my people,&quot; 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 <i>a priori</i> 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: &quot;I put my word in thy mouth,&quot;
+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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 259]</span>
+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>I cover thee in
+the shadow of mine hand</i>, designates the divine protection and providence which
+are indispensable in order that the Servant of God may fulfil His vocation to be
+God&#39;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 <i>perform</i> 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 <i>new</i>
+heaven, a <i>new</i> 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 <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#960;&#945;&#955;&#953;&#947;&#947;&#949;&#957;&#949;&#963;&#943;&#945;</span> 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 <i>usus loquendi</i>
+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 <i>saying</i>, according to the preceding:
+That thou mayest plant, &amp;c., is not to be referred to the mere announcing; but,
+according to the frequent <i>usus loquendi</i>, it includes the performing also,
+just as <i>e.g.</i>, in ver. 12, the <span class="pagenum">[Pg 260]</span> comforting
+is effected by a discourse <i>in deeds</i>. 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.</p>
+<h3><a name="div2_260" href="#div2Ref_260">CHAPTERS LII. 13-LIII. 12.</a></h3>
+<p class="normal">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 <i>Luther&#39;s</i> demand,
+every Christian should have committed <i>verbatim</i>. Christ is here, with wonderful
+clearness, described to us in His highest work--His atoning suffering.</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <i>elect</i> 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, <span class="pagenum">[Pg 261]</span> 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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.</p>
+<p class="normal">By the &quot;<i>Behold</i>,&quot; 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 262]</span> in which it stands to the portions
+surrounding it. Its relation to what goes before is thus strikingly designated by
+<i>Calvin</i>: &quot;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.&quot; 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; <i>watchmen</i>, 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.<sup class="ftnRef"><a name="ftnRef_262a" href="#ftn_262a">[1]</a></sup>
+&quot;How beautiful&quot;--so verse 7 runs--&quot;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.&quot; 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
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 263]</span> whole extent. As the substance of the salvation,
+the circumstance that Zion&#39;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 &quot;the Lord reigneth,&quot; 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:
+&quot;The <i>voice</i> of thy watchmen! they lift up the voice, they shout together;
+for they see eye to eye that the Lord returneth to Zion.&quot; 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&#39;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: &quot;Break forth into joy, shout together, ye ruins
+of Jerusalem, for the Lord comforteth Jerusalem, redeemeth His people.&quot; 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, <i>true</i> comfort and consolation.--Ver. 10: &quot;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.&quot; The making bare of the arm of the Lord
+designates the manifestation, by deeds, of <span class="pagenum">[Pg 264]</span>
+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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Chap. lii. 13. &quot;<i>Behold, my Servant shall act wisely, He shall
+be exalted and extolled, and be very high.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal"><span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1513;&#1499;&#1497;&#1500;</span> always means &quot;to act
+wisely&quot; (LXX. <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#963;&#965;&#957;&#8053;&#963;&#949;&#953;</span>; <i>Aquil. Sym.</i>:
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7952;&#960;&#953;&#963;&#952;&#951;&#956;&#959;&#957;&#953;&#963;&#952;&#8053;&#963;&#949;&#964;&#945;&#953;</span>), never &quot;to be successful&quot;
+(the Chaldean, whom most of the modern interpreters follow, renders it by
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1510;&#1500;&#1495;</span>), 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:
+&quot;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;&quot; comp. 1 Kings ii. 3,
+where David says to Solomon: &quot;And keep the charge of the Lord thy God ... in order
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 265]</span> that thou mayest act wisely in all that thou
+doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself;&quot; Ps. ci. 2, where David, speaking
+in the name of his family, says: &quot;I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way;&quot;
+and 2 Kings xviii. 7, where it is said of Hezekiah: &quot;And the Lord was with him,
+and whithersoever he went forth, he acted wisely.&quot; According to these fundamental
+and parallel passages, the expression, &quot;He shall act wisely&quot; refers to the administration
+of government, and is equivalent to: He shall rule wisely like his ancestor David.
+<i>Stier</i> is wrong in opposing the view, that the Messiah here presents himself
+as King. He says: &quot;The King has here stepped behind the Prophet, Witness, Martyr,
+Saviour;&quot; 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 <i>prosperity and success</i>
+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: &quot;My Servant shall, after having, through the deepest humiliation,
+attained to dominion, administer it well, and thereby attain to the highest glory.&quot;
+To the words: &quot;He shall act wisely&quot; correspond, afterwards, the words: &quot;The pleasure
+of the Lord shall prosper by His hand,&quot; chap. liii. 10. The fact that a person acts
+wisely is, in a twofold aspect, a fruit of his connection with God: <i>first</i>,
+because God is the source and fountain of all wisdom, and, <i>secondly</i>, 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: &quot;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?&quot; 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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1488;&#1491;</span> &quot;very&quot; in order most emphatically to point
+out the glory of the exaltation of the Servant of God.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 14. &quot;<i>As many were shocked at thee--so marred from man
+was His look, and His form from the sons of man</i>--Ver. 15. <i>So shall He sprinkle
+many nations; kings shall shut their</i> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 266]</span>
+<i>mouths on account of Him, for they who had not been told, they see, and they
+who did not hear, they perceive.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 14 contains the <i>protasis</i>, ver. 15 the <i>apodosis</i>.
+The former describes the deep humiliation, the latter the highest glorification
+of the Servant of God. The <i>so</i> 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: &quot;At thee;&quot; while, in ver. 15, He speaks of Him in the third
+person: &quot;He shall sprinkle;&quot; &quot;on account of <i>Him</i>&quot; 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. <i>
+H�vernick</i> and <i>Stier</i> refuse to admit the existence of a parenthesis. Their
+reasons: &quot;Parentheses are commonly an ill-invented expedient only,&quot; and: &quot;It is
+not likely that the same particle should have a different signification in these
+two clauses following immediately the one upon the other,&quot; are not entirely destitute
+of force, but are far-outweighed by counter-arguments. They say that the <i>apodosis</i>
+begins with the first <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1499;&#1503;</span>, and that in ver.
+15 a second <i>apodosis</i> follows. But no tolerable thought comes out in this
+way;--it is hard to co-ordinate two <i>apodoses</i>,--and the transition from the
+2d to the 3d person remains unaccounted for. <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1513;&#1502;&#1501;</span>
+&quot;to be desolated&quot; is then transferred to the spiritual desolation and devastation,
+and receives the signification &quot;to be horrified,&quot; &quot;to be shocked.&quot;--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 <i>Gentiles</i>; 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. <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1513;&#1495;&#1514;</span>, properly &quot;corruption,&quot;
+stands here as <i>abstractum pro concreto</i>, in the signification, &quot;corrupted,&quot;
+&quot;marred.&quot; As to its form, it is in the <i>status constructus</i> which, in close
+connections, can stand even <span class="pagenum">[Pg 267]</span> before Prepositions.
+From the corresponding <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1495;&#1491;&#1500; &#1488;&#1497;&#1513;&#1497;&#1501;</span> 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1503;</span>
+serves for designating the distance, &quot;from man,&quot; &quot;from the sons of men,&quot; 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: &quot;I am a worm and
+no man.&quot; 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: &quot;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.&quot; 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
+<i>part</i>, the <i>whole</i> 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 <i>sufferings</i> also. Thus, among the ancient interpreters,
+it was viewed by <i>Jerome</i>: &quot;The horrid appearance of His form is not thereby
+indicated, but that He came in humility and poverty;&quot; and among recent interpreters
+by <i>Martini</i>: &quot;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.&quot; 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 <i>Cross</i> 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 <i>suffering</i> of the Servant of God, and that, moreover, a suffering
+which, in the first instance, <span class="pagenum">[Pg 268]</span> manifested itself
+upon His own holy body. <i>Farther</i>--We must also take into consideration that
+the <i>sprinkling</i>, 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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1494;&#1492;</span> occurs in very many passages, and signifies
+in <i>Hiphil</i>, everywhere, &quot;to sprinkle.&quot; It is especially set apart and used
+for the sprinkling with the blood of atonement, and the water of purification. When
+&quot;the anointed priest&quot; had sinned, he took of the blood of the <i>sacrifice</i>,
+and <i>sprinkled</i> 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 <i>blood</i> before the Ark of the Covenant, in order to obtain forgiveness
+for the people. Lev. xvi. 14, comp. also vers. 18, 19: &quot;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.&quot; 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 <i>clean</i> person shall <i>sprinkle</i> upon the
+unclean, on the third day, and on the seventh day, &quot;with the water in which are
+the ashes of the red heifer&quot; 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, <i>e.g.</i>, in Ps. i. 9: &quot;Purge me with
+hyssop, and I shall be clean;&quot; Ezek. xxxvi. 25: &quot;And I sprinkle clean water upon
+you, and you shall be clean from all your filthiness.&quot; 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
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 269]</span> have a symbolical and typical character. That
+which was done to the outward impurity was, in point of fact, done to the <i>sin</i>
+which the people of the Old Testament, well versed in the symbolical language, beheld
+under its image. Hence, here also, the <i>sprinkling</i> has the signification of
+<i>cleansing</i> 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: &quot;When His soul maketh a sin-offering,&quot; in ver. 10, and: &quot;He shall justify,&quot;
+in ver. 11, correspond. Among the ancient expositors, this translation is followed
+by the Syriac and Vulgate, the <i>asperget</i> of which <i>Jerome</i> thus explains:
+&quot;He shall sprinkle many nations, cleansing them by His blood, and in baptism consecrating
+them to the service of God.&quot; In the New Testament, it is alluded to in several passages.
+Thus, in 1 Pet. i. 2, where the Apostle speaks of the
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#8165;&#945;&#957;&#964;&#953;&#963;&#956;&#8056;&#962; &#945;&#7989;&#956;&#945;&#964;&#959;&#962; &#7992;&#951;&#963;&#959;&#8166; &#935;&#961;&#953;&#963;&#964;&#959;&#8166;</span>.<!--see 1856 ed, p. 268, &#8165;&#945;&#957;&#964;&#953;&#963;&#956;&#8056;&#957;-->
+Farther, in Heb. x. 22: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7952;&#8164;&#8165;&#945;&#957;&#964;&#953;&#963;&#956;&#941;&#957;&#959;&#953; &#964;&#8048;&#962; &#954;&#945;&#961;&#948;&#943;&#945;&#962;
+&#7936;&#960;&#8056; &#963;&#965;&#957;&#949;&#953;&#948;&#942;&#963;&#949;&#969;&#962; &#960;&#959;&#957;&#951;&#961;&#8118;&#962;</span>; xii. 24: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#954;&#945;&#8054; &#945;&#7989;&#956;&#945;&#964;&#953;
+&#8165;&#945;&#957;&#964;&#953;&#963;&#956;&#959;&#8166; &#954;&#961;&#949;&#8150;&#964;&#964;&#959;&#957; &#955;&#945;&#955;&#959;&#8166;&#957;&#964;&#953; &#960;&#945;&#961;&#8048; &#964;&#8056;&#957; &#7949;&#946;&#949;&#955;</span>, 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. <i>Schr�der observ. ad origin. Hebr.</i> c. viii. �
+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. <i>Stier</i> declares &quot;that, for this time, he must take
+the part of modern Exegesis against the prevailing tradition of the Church.&quot; Yet
+his disrelish for the doctrine of the atonement held by the Church has no doubt
+exercised a considerable influence in this matter; and <i>Hofmann</i>, 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. &quot;The verb ought not to be construed with the Accusative of the thing to be sprinkled,
+but with <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1500;</span>.&quot; <i>Reinke</i> (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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1514;</span> is
+there not the <span class="pagenum">[Pg 270]</span> sign of the Accusative, but
+a Preposition. <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1514; &#1507;&#1504;&#1497;</span> in the signification
+&quot;before,&quot; is, elsewhere also, very frequently used. But even <i>Gesenius</i> is
+compelled to agree with <i>Simonis</i>.<sup class="ftnRef"><a name="ftnRef_270a" href="#ftn_270a">[2]</a></sup>
+and to acknowledge that, in the proper name <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1494;&#1497;&#1492;</span>
+the verb is connected with an Accusative. The deviation is there still greater,
+inasmuch as the <i>Kal</i> 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1510;&#1491;&#1497;&#1511;</span>, which everywhere else is
+construed with the Accusative, is followed by <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;</span>;
+and likewise in <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1512;&#1508;&#1488;</span>, followed by
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;</span> in chap. liii. 5. The signification of the
+verb, in such cases, undergoes a slight modification.
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1494;&#1492;</span> with <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1500;</span>
+means &quot;to sprinkle;&quot; with the Accusative, &quot;to sprinkle upon.&quot; This modification
+of the meaning has the analogy of other languages in its favour. In the Ethiopic,
+the verb <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1494;&#1495;</span>, which corresponds to the Hebrew
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1494;&#1492;</span>, is used of the sprinkling of both persons
+and things; Heb. ix. 19, xi. 28; Ps. li. 9. In Latin, we may say: <i>spargere aquam</i>,
+but also <i>spargere corpus aqua</i>; <i>aspergere quid alicui</i>, but also <i>
+re aliquem</i>, <i>conspergere</i>, <i>perspergere</i>, <i>respergere quem</i>.
+&quot;Why should not this be allowed to the Jews also,&quot;--remarks <i>K�cher</i>--&quot;who
+have to make up for the defect of compound verbs by the varied use of simple verbs?&quot;
+But the Prophet had a special reason, in the liberty specially afforded by the higher
+style, for deviating from the ordinary connection. The
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1500;</span> had to be avoided, because, had it been
+put, the perception of the correspondence of the subsequent
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1500;&#1497;&#1493;</span> with the
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1500;&#1497;&#1498;</span>, in ver. 14, would have become more difficult.--2.
+It is asserted that it is against the connection; that the contrast to
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1513;&#1501;</span><!--see 1856 ed, p. 270; Isa 52:14--> induces
+us to expect something corresponding. <i>Beck</i> says: &quot;A change in those who formerly
+abhorred the Servant is to be expressed here, not <i>a deed by the Servant himself</i>.&quot;
+If there were here, indeed, a contrast intended to the many who formerly were shocked,
+we might answer that, indirectly, the words: &quot;He shall sprinkle,&quot; suggest, indeed,
+an opposite conduct of the &quot;many Gentiles.&quot; No one is cleansed by the Servant of
+God, who does not allow himself to be cleansed by <span class="pagenum">[Pg 271]</span>
+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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1513;&#1502;&#1502;&#1493;</span> is not <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">
+&#1497;&#1494;&#1492;</span>, but rather <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1511;&#1508;&#1510;&#1493;</span>, is clearly shown
+by <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1500;&#1497;&#1493;</span>, which corresponds with
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1500;&#1497;&#1498;</span>. The <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1494;&#1492;</span>
+corresponds rather to: &quot;He was disfigured.&quot; Just as this states the cause of their
+being shocked, so in: &quot;He shall sprinkle,&quot; 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, &quot;a deed by the Servant himself&quot; before us,
+in whatever way we may view the <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1494;&#1492;</span>.--3. &quot;If
+<i>sprinkling</i> 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
+&#39;blood&#39; might easily be supplied from the verb&#39;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.&quot; But the sprinkling with <i>oil</i>,
+denoting sanctification, appears only quite isolated, and has for its foundation
+the sprinkling with blood, comp. Exod. xxix. 21: &quot;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.&quot; The sprinkling with <i>water</i> 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:
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#949;&#7984; &#947;&#8048;&#961; &#964;&#8056; &#945;&#7991;&#956;&#945;</span> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 272]</span>
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#964;&#945;&#8059;&#961;&#969;&#957; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#964;&#961;&#8049;&#947;&#969;&#957; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#963;&#960;&#959;&#948;&#8056;&#962; &#948;&#945;&#956;&#940;&#955;&#949;&#969;&#962; &#8165;&#945;&#957;&#964;&#943;&#950;&#959;&#965;&#963;&#945; &#964;&#959;&#8058;&#962;
+&#954;&#949;&#954;&#959;&#953;&#957;&#969;&#956;&#941;&#957;&#959;&#965;&#962; &#7937;&#947;&#953;&#940;&#950;&#949;&#953; &#960;&#961;&#8056;&#962; &#964;&#8052;&#957; &#964;&#8134;&#962; &#963;&#945;&#961;&#954;&#8056;&#962; &#954;&#945;&#952;&#945;&#961;&#972;&#964;&#951;&#964;&#945;&#903; &#956;&#8118;&#955;&#955;&#959;&#957; &#964;&#8056; &#945;&#7991;&#956;&#945; &#964;&#959;&#8166; &#935;&#961;&#953;&#963;&#964;&#959;&#8166;
+... &#954;&#945;&#952;&#945;&#961;&#953;&#949;&#8150; &#964;&#8052;&#957; &#963;&#965;&#957;&#949;&#943;&#948;&#951;&#963;&#953;&#957; &#7969;&#956;&#8182;&#957; &#7936;&#960;&#8056; &#957;&#949;&#954;&#961;&#8182;&#957; &#7956;&#961;&#947;&#969;&#957; &#949;&#7984;&#962; &#964;&#8056; &#955;&#945;&#964;&#961;&#949;&#973;&#949;&#953;&#957; &#952;&#949;&#8183; &#950;&#8182;&#957;&#964;&#953;.</span>
+The defilement by dead bodies, against which the water of purification was specially
+used, is the most significant symbol of sinners and sins.--4. &quot;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.&quot; Thus <i>Umbreit</i> argues. But
+in opposition to this view, it is sufficient to refer to: &quot;He shall justify,&quot; in
+chap. liii. 11, which is parallel to &quot;He shall sprinkle.&quot; 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:
+&quot;And He sitteth and ruleth upon the throne, and He is a Priest upon His throne.&quot;--It
+has now become current to derive <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1494;&#1492;</span> from
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1494;&#1492;</span> in the signification &quot;to leap&quot;--&quot;He shall
+cause to leap. This explanation made its appearance at first in a very cautious
+way.&quot; <i>Martini</i> says: &quot;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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1494;&#1492;</span>.&quot; 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 <i>usus loquendi</i>
+is in <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1494;&#1492;</span> so sure, that we are not entitled
+to take the explanation from the Arabic. The verb is, in Hebrew, never used except
+of <i>fluids</i>. In <i>Kal</i>, it does not mean &quot;to leap,&quot; but &quot;to spatter,&quot; Lev.
+vi. 20 (27): &quot;And upon whose garment is <i>spattered</i> of the blood;&quot; 2 Kings
+ix. 33; Is. lxiii. 5. In <i>Hiphil</i>, 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. &quot;He shall make to leap&quot; would be far
+too indefinite,--a circumstance <span class="pagenum">[Pg 273]</span> which appears
+from the vague and arbitrary conjectures of the supporters of this view. <i>Gesenius</i>,
+in his Commentary, <i>Stier</i>, and others, think of a leaping for joy, in support
+of which they have quoted the <i>Kamus</i>, according to which the verb is used
+of wanton asses! According to <i>Gesenius</i> in the <i>Thesaurus</i>, <i>Hofmann</i>,
+and others, the Gentiles are to leap up, in order to show their <i>reverence</i>
+for the Servant of God. According to <i>Hitzig</i> and others, it is to leap for
+<i>astonishment</i>, while, according to <i>Umbreit</i> and others, it is for <i>
+joyful admiration</i>. One sees that the mere &quot;He shall make to leap&quot; 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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1494;&#1492;</span>, 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1513;&#1502;&#1502;&#1493;</span>, be led to expect just this.<sup class="ftnRef"><a name="ftnRef_273a" href="#ftn_273a">[3]</a></sup>--In
+the <i>protasis</i>, the discourse is only of many; here, it is of many nations
+(<i>Gousset</i>: &quot;It is emphatic, so that it comprehends all, and denotes, at the
+same time, that they are numerous&quot;), 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 <i>shutting of the mouth</i> occurs elsewhere,
+too, repeatedly, as a sign of reverence and humble submission. The reference of
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1500;&#1497;&#1493;</span> to <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1500;&#1497;&#1498;</span>,
+shows that <i>Ewald</i> is wrong in explaining it by &quot;besides Him.&quot; Since the preceding
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1500;</span> designated the object of the horror,--the
+substratum of it--it must here, too, designate the substratum of the shutting of
+the mouth, and &quot;over Him,&quot; be equivalent to: &quot;on account of Him,&quot; &quot;out of reverence
+for Him.&quot;--In the exposition of the last words, the old translations differ. We
+may explain them either: &quot;They to whom it had not been <span class="pagenum">[Pg
+274]</span> told, see;&quot; thus the LXX.: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#959;&#7991;&#962; &#959;&#8016;&#954; &#7936;&#957;&#951;&#947;&#947;&#941;&#955;&#951;
+&#960;&#949;&#961;&#8054; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#959;&#8166;, &#8004;&#968;&#959;&#957;&#964;&#945;&#953;, &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#959;&#7985; &#959;&#8020;&#954; &#7936;&#954;&#951;&#954;&#972;&#945;&#963;&#953;, &#963;&#965;&#957;&#942;&#963;&#959;&#965;&#963;&#953;</span>, 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: &quot;That which had not been told them,
+they see,&quot; &amp;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, &amp;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: &quot;That have not heard
+my fame, neither have seen my glory,&quot; 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: &quot;Who had not been told, who
+did not hear,&quot; refer to the Messianic announcement which was given to Israel only,
+and from which the Gentiles were excluded.<sup class="ftnRef"><a name="ftnRef_274a" href="#ftn_274a">[4]</a></sup></p>
+<p class="normal">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 <i>shocked</i>, and of the <i>cause</i>. The commentary upon
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1513;&#1502;&#1502;&#1493;</span> &quot;they were shocked,&quot; is given in ver.
+1: a great portion of the Jews do not believe in the salvation which had appeared.
+The enlargement of: &quot;so marred,&quot; &amp;c., is given in vers. 2, 3. The cause of the
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 275]</span> unbelief is, that the glory of the Servant
+of God is concealed behind humiliation, misery, and shame.</p>
+<p class="normal">Chap. liii. 1: &quot;<i>Who believes that which we hear, and the arm
+of the Lord, to whom it is revealed?</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <i>portion</i>
+only, in such a manner as if it were general. Similar representations we elsewhere
+frequently meet with, <i>e.g.</i>, Ps. xiv. 3 (compare my Commentary); Jer. v. 1--<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1513;&#1502;&#1493;&#1506;&#1492;</span>
+is commonly understood in the signification, &quot;message&quot; or &quot;discourse.&quot; But in favour
+of the explanation: &quot;That which is heard by us,&quot; <i>q.d.</i>, &quot;that which we hear,&quot;
+there is, in the first instance, the <i>usus loquendi</i>. The word never occurs
+in any other than its original signification, &quot;that which is heard,&quot; and in the
+signification, &quot;rumour,&quot; which is closely connected with the former. In Isa. xxviii.
+9, a passage which is most confidently referred to in proof of the signification,
+<i>institutio</i>, <i>doctrina</i>, <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1513;&#1502;&#1493;&#1506;&#1492;</span>
+is that which the Prophet hears from God. The mockers who exclaim: &quot;Whom will he
+make to understand <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1513;&#1502;&#1493;&#1506;&#1492;</span>?&quot; take, with a sneer,
+out of his mouth the word upon which chap. xxi. 10: &quot;That which I have heard of
+the Lord of Hosts, I declare unto you,&quot; forms a commentary,
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7944;&#954;&#959;&#8053;</span> too, by which, in the New Testament,
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1513;&#1502;&#1493;&#1506;&#1492;</span> is rendered, has not at all the signification,
+&quot;discourse,&quot; &quot;preaching.&quot; <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7944;&#954;&#959;&#8053;</span> in Rom. x. 16,
+17, is not the preaching, but the hearing, as is shown by the
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#956;&#8052; &#959;&#8016;&#954; &#7972;&#954;&#959;&#965;&#963;&#945;&#957;</span> in ver. 18. The
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7936;&#954;&#959;&#8053;</span>, according to ver. 17:
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7969; &#948;&#8050; &#7936;&#954;&#959;&#8052; &#948;&#953;&#8048; &#8165;&#942;&#956;&#945;&#964;&#959;&#962; &#920;&#949;&#959;&#8166;</span>, is the passive
+to the active to the word of God. &quot;Who believes our
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7936;&#954;&#959;&#8053;</span>, our hearing,&quot; <i>i.e.</i>, that which
+we hear, which is made known to us by the Word of God. In a passive sense,
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7936;&#954;&#959;&#8053;</span> stands likewise in the passages Matt.
+iv. 24, xiv. 1, xxiv. 6, which <i>Stier</i> cites in support of the signification
+&quot;discourse,&quot; &quot;preaching;&quot; it is that which has been heard by some one, &quot;rumour,&quot;
+&quot;report.&quot; In Heb. iv. 2 (as also in 1 Thess. ii. 13)
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#955;&#972;&#947;&#959;&#962; &#7936;&#954;&#959;&#8134;&#962;</span>, is the word which they heard.
+That passage: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#959;&#8016;&#954; &#8032;&#966;&#941;&#955;&#951;&#963;&#949;&#957; &#8001; &#955;&#972;&#947;&#959;&#962; &#964;&#8134;&#962; &#7936;&#954;&#959;&#8134;&#962; &#7952;&#954;&#949;&#943;&#957;&#959;&#965;&#962;,
+&#956;&#8052; &#963;&#965;&#947;&#954;&#949;&#954;&#949;&#961;&#945;&#956;&#941;&#957;&#959;&#965;&#962; &#964;&#8135; &#960;&#943;&#963;&#964;&#949;&#953; &#964;&#959;&#8150;&#962; &#7936;&#954;&#959;&#973;&#963;&#945;&#963;&#953;</span>, may simply be considered as a
+paraphrase of our: Who believes that which we hear. A second argument in favour
+of our explanation: &quot;That which we hear&quot; lies in the relation
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 276]</span> to the preceding, which, only when thus explained,
+arranges itself suitably: &quot;Those understand what they formerly did not hear; Israel,
+on the contrary, does not believe that which they have heard.&quot; Of great importance,
+<i>finally</i>, 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 <i>
+we</i> everywhere refers to the <i>believing Church</i>. But, for this reason, it
+is difficult to think here of the order of the teachers, which must be the case
+when we translate: &quot;Who believes our preaching.&quot; 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 <i>Future</i>,
+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.<sup class="ftnRef"><a name="ftnRef_276a" href="#ftn_276a">[5]</a></sup>
+<i>Stier</i> rightly remarks: &quot;Between &#39;the arm of God,&#39; and ourselves, a
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1513;&#1502;&#1493;&#1506;&#1492;</span>] is placed as the medium, and the point
+is to believe in it.&quot; 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 <i>arm of the Lord</i> comes into consideration
+as the seat of His divine power; comp. chap. xl. 10, li. 5-9, lii. 10.
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 277]</span> According to the context, the manifestation
+of this power in Christ is here spoken of <i>Stier</i> says: &quot;In this Servant, the
+redeeming arm manifests itself, personifies itself Christ himself is, as it were,
+the outstretched arm of the Lord.&quot; In Rom. i. 16, the Gospel is designated as
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#948;&#973;&#957;&#945;&#956;&#953;&#962; &#952;&#949;&#959;&#8166; &#949;&#7984;&#962; &#963;&#969;&#964;&#951;&#961;&#943;&#945;&#957; &#960;&#945;&#957;&#964;&#8054; &#964;&#8183; &#960;&#953;&#963;&#964;&#949;&#973;&#959;&#957;&#964;&#953;.</span>
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1490;&#1500;&#1492;</span> is elsewhere commonly construed with
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1500;</span> or <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;</span>,
+here with <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1500;</span>. This indicates that the revealing
+of the arm of the Lord is of a <i>supernatural</i> 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, <i>in the eyes of all</i> (comp. chap. lii.
+10: &quot;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&quot;); 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: &quot;With seeing eyes they
+do not see, and with hearing ears they do not hear.&quot; What was the <i>cause</i> 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 2. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">The relation of this verse to the preceding one was correctly
+seen by <i>Michaelis</i>: &quot;The cause of the offence is this, that He does not rise
+or stand out like the cedar, but He grows up gradually,&quot; &amp;c. The subject, the Servant
+of God, is easily inferred from <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1500;&#1497;&#1493;</span> 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 <i>sprout</i>, the twig, designates, even in itself, the poor condition; and,
+notwithstanding <i>Stier&#39;s</i> 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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 278]</span> supply &quot;from a dry ground.&quot; 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, <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1490;&#1494;&#1506;</span>. in chap. xi. 8.
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1493;&#1504;&#1511;</span> elsewhere always signifies &quot;suckling;&quot;
+comp. here chap. xi. 8. Of the sprout, elsewhere, the feminine
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1493;&#1504;&#1511;&#1514;</span> is used. According to <i>Stier</i>,
+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.:
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#8033;&#962; &#960;&#945;&#953;&#948;&#8055;&#959;&#957;</span>. The suffix in
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1508;&#1504;&#1497;&#1493;</span> &quot;before Him&quot; refers to the immediately
+preceding <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1492;&#1493;&#1492;</span>, not to the people. <i>Before
+Him</i>, 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
+&quot;before Him&quot; does not by any means here form the main thought; it only gives a gentle
+and incidental hint.--The <i>root</i> 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, <i>Stier</i> strikingly remarks: &quot;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.&quot; 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
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 279]</span> despised Him. The
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1493;&#1504;&#1512;&#1488;&#1492;&#1493;</span> is, by most of the modern interpreters,
+in opposition to the accents, connected with the first member: &quot;He had no form nor
+comeliness that <i>we should have seen Him</i>.&quot; But from internal reasons, this
+explanation must be rejected. &quot;To see,&quot; in the sense of &quot;to perceive,&quot; 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1512;&#1488;&#1492;</span> with the
+Accusat., without <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;</span>, ever having the signification,
+&quot;to look at,&quot; &quot;to consider with delight.&quot; The circumstance that the Future is used
+in the sense of the Present: &quot;and we see Him,&quot; is explained from the Prophet&#39;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 <i>Ecce Homo</i>, the full historical realization of it.
+<i>Calvin</i> rightly points out that that which here, in the first instance, is
+said of the Head, is repeated upon the Church; He says: &quot;This must not be understood
+of Christ&#39;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.&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 3. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">In the preceding verse, we are told what the Servant of God had
+<i>not</i>, 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 <i>offend</i> and <i>repulse</i> him to whom the arm of the Lord had not been
+revealed,--the full measure of misery and the cross. Instead of &quot;the most unworthy
+among men,&quot; the text literally translated has: &quot;one ceasing from among men&quot; (<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1495;&#1491;&#1500;</span>
+in the signification &quot;ceasing&quot; in Ps. xxxix. 5), <i>i.e.</i>, one who ceases to
+belong to men, to be a man, exactly corresponding to &quot;from man,&quot; and &quot;from the sons
+of men,&quot; in the sketch, ver. 14, and to: &quot;I am a worm and no man,&quot; in Ps. xxii.
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 280]</span> The explanation: &quot;Forsaken by men, rejected
+of men,&quot; is opposed by the <i>usus loquendi</i>, and by these parallel passages.--&quot;A
+man of pains&quot;--one who, as it were, possesses pains as his property. There is a
+similar expression in Prov. xxix. 1: &quot;A man of chastenings&quot;--one who is often chastened.
+&quot;An acquaintance of disease,&quot;--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 &quot;knowing.&quot;--There is no reason for supposing
+that disease stands here <i>figuratively</i>. 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1495;&#1500;&#1497;</span>
+in ver. 10, evidently refers to the <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1495;&#1500;&#1497;</span> in
+this place. As an acquaintance of disease, the Lord especially showed himself in
+His <i>passion</i>. And then <i>every sorrow</i> 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: &quot;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.&quot; <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1505;&#1514;&#1497;&#1512;</span> always means &quot;to hide;&quot; the
+whole phrase occurs in chap. l. 6, in the signification &quot;to hide the face.&quot;
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1505;&#1514;&#1512;</span> is the Participle in <i>Hiphil</i>. 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: &quot;Like one hiding His face
+from us,&quot; is the evident reference to the law in Lev. xiii. 45: &quot;The leper in whom
+the plague is, his clothes shall be rent and his head bare, <i>and the beard he
+shall have covered over</i>, and shall cry: Unclean, unclean,&quot;--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 <i>sin</i>. No horror was like that which was felt
+in his presence. <i>Hence</i> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 281]</span> <i>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.</i> It is the more
+natural to suppose this reference to the leper, that probably, the
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1495;&#1491;&#1500; &#1488;&#1497;&#1513;&#1497;&#1501;</span> likewise pointed to the leper. The
+leper was &quot;one ceasing from men.&quot; In 2 Kings xv. 5; 2 Chron. xxvi. 21, a house in
+which lepers dwell is called a &quot;house of liberty,&quot; <i>i.e.</i>, of separation from
+all human society; compare the expression &quot;free among the dead,&quot; 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1490;&#1493;&#1506;</span> in ver. 4 likewise
+points. <i>Beck&#39;s</i> objection: &quot;The point in question here is not that which the
+unfortunate man does but that which others do in reference to him,&quot; is based upon
+a misconception. Neither the one nor the other is spoken of The comparative
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1499;</span> must not be overlooked. The comparison with
+the leper, the culminating point of all contempt, is highly suitable to the parallelism
+with <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1489;&#1494;&#1492;</span>. Ordinarily
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1505;&#1514;&#1512;</span> is now understood as a <i>substantivum
+verbale</i>: &quot;He was like hiding of the face before Him,&quot; <i>i.e.</i>, 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.--<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1489;&#1494;&#1492;</span>
+is not the 1st pers. Fut. but Partic. Niph., &quot;despised.&quot;--The close of the verse
+returns to its beginning, after having been, in the middle, established and made
+good.</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <i>vicarious character</i>, to which (ver. 7) the conduct of the Servant
+of God under His sufferings corresponds.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 4. &quot;<i>But our diseases He bore, and our pains He took upon
+Him: and we esteemed Him plagued, smitten of God, and afflicted.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">The words <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1495;&#1500;&#1497;</span> and
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1499;&#1488;&#1489;</span> 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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 282]</span> 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. <i>Beck</i> remarks: &quot;Properly speaking,
+they had not become sick or unfortunate at all; this had <i>a priori</i> 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.&quot;
+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, <i>spiritual</i> 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 <i>sins</i>, do not occur at all in the Old
+Testament. The circumstance that in the parallel passage, vers. 11 and 12, the bearing
+of the <i>transgressions</i> and <i>sins</i> 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, <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1513;&#1488; &#1495;&#1500;&#1497;</span> 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: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#960;&#940;&#957;&#964;&#945;&#962; &#964;&#959;&#8058;&#962; &#954;&#945;&#954;&#8182;&#962;
+&#7956;&#967;&#959;&#957;&#964;&#945;&#962; &#7952;&#952;&#949;&#961;&#940;&#960;&#949;&#965;&#963;&#949;&#957;, &#8005;&#960;&#969;&#962; &#960;&#955;&#951;&#961;&#969;&#952;&#8135; &#964;&#8056; &#8165;&#951;&#952;&#8050;&#957; &#948;&#953;&#8048; &#7976;&#963;&#945;&#912;&#959;&#965; &#964;&#959;&#8166; &#960;&#961;&#959;&#966;&#942;&#964;&#959;&#965; &#955;&#941;&#947;&#959;&#957;&#964;&#959;&#962;� &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#8056;&#962;
+&#964;&#8048;&#962; &#7936;&#963;&#952;&#949;&#957;&#949;&#943;&#945;&#962; &#7969;&#956;&#8182;&#957; &#7956;&#955;&#945;&#946;&#949; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#964;&#8048;&#962; &#957;&#972;&#963;&#959;&#965;&#962; &#7952;&#946;&#940;&#963;&#964;&#945;&#963;&#949;</span>; and this deserves a consideration
+so much the more careful, that the Evangelist here intentionally deviates from the
+Alexandrine version (<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#959;&#8023;&#964;&#959;&#962; &#964;&#8048;&#962; &#7937;&#956;&#945;&#961;&#964;&#8055;&#945;&#962; &#7969;&#956;&#8182;&#957; &#966;&#8051;&#961;&#949;&#953;
+&#954;&#945;&#8054; &#960;&#949;&#961;&#8054; &#7969;&#956;&#8182;&#957; &#8000;&#948;&#965;&#957;&#8118;&#964;&#945;&#953;</span>). In doing so, &quot;we <span class="pagenum">[Pg 283]</span>
+do not give an external meaning to that which is to be understood spiritually;&quot;
+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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1513;&#1488;</span> by &quot;to take away;&quot; but even the parallel
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1505;&#1489;&#1500;</span> is conclusive against such a view; and,
+farther, the ordinary use of <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1513;&#1488;</span> of the bearing
+of the punishment of sin, <i>e.g.</i>, 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 <i>put away</i> our sicknesses and pains,
+but He has, as our substitute, <i>taken them upon Him</i>; 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 <i>sins</i>, of which the
+sufferings are the consequence; compare 1 Peter ii. 24:
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#8003;&#962; &#964;&#8048;&#962; &#7937;&#956;&#945;&#961;&#964;&#943;&#945;&#962; &#7969;&#956;&#8182;&#957; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#8056;&#962; &#7936;&#957;&#942;&#957;&#949;&#947;&#954;&#949;&#957; &#7952;&#957; &#964;&#8183; &#963;&#974;&#956;&#945;&#964;&#953;
+&#945;&#8016;&#964;&#959;&#8166; &#7952;&#960;&#8054; &#964;&#8056; &#958;&#973;&#955;&#959;&#957;</span>.--<i>Plagued</i>, <i>smitten of God</i>, <i>afflicted</i>,
+are expressions which were commonly used in reference to the visitation of sinful
+men. It is especially in the word <i>plagued</i>, which is intentionally placed
+first, that the reference to a self-deserved suffering is strongly expressed, compare
+Ps. lxxiii. 14: &quot;For all the day long am I <i>plagued</i>, and my chastisement is
+new every morning.&quot; Of Uzziah, visited on account of his sin, it is said in 2 Kings
+xv. 5: &quot;And the Lord inflicted a <i>plague</i> upon the king, and he was a leper
+unto the day of his death.&quot; <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1490;&#1506;</span> &quot;plague&quot; is
+in Lev. xiii., as it were, <i>nomen proprium</i> for the leprosy, which in the law
+is so distinctly designated as a punishment of sin.--<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1499;&#1492;</span>
+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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 284]</span> 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 5, &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal"><span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1493;&#1488;</span> &quot;He&quot; 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: &quot;He, on account of our transgressions.&quot;
+There is no reason for deviating:, in the case of <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">
+&#1495;&#1500;&#1500;</span>, from the original signification &quot;to pierce,&quot; and adopting the general
+signification &quot;to wound;&quot; the LXX. <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7952;&#964;&#961;&#945;&#965;&#956;&#945;&#964;&#8055;&#963;&#952;&#951;</span>.
+<i>The chastisement of our peace</i> 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; <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#948;&#953;&#954;&#945;&#953;&#969;&#952;&#941;&#957;&#964;&#949;&#962; &#7952;&#954; &#960;&#943;&#963;&#964;&#949;&#969;&#962; &#949;&#7984;&#961;&#942;&#957;&#951;&#957;
+&#7956;&#967;&#959;&#956;&#949;&#957; &#960;&#961;&#8056;&#962; &#964;&#8056;&#957; &#952;&#949;&#8056;&#957; &#948;&#953;&#8048; &#964;&#959;&#8166; &#954;&#965;&#961;&#943;&#959;&#965; &#7969;&#956;&#8182;&#957; &#7992;&#951;&#963;&#959;&#8166; &#935;&#961;&#953;&#963;&#964;&#959;&#8166;</span>, 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 <i>chastisement</i> can, according to the context, be only an actual
+one, only such as consists in the infliction of some <i>evil</i>. It is in misconception
+and narrowness of view that the explanation of the followers of <i>Menke</i> originated:
+&quot;The instruction for our peace is with Him.&quot; This explanation militates against
+the whole context, in which not the <i>doctrine</i> but the <i>suffering</i> of
+the Servant of God is spoken of; against the parallelism <span class="pagenum">[Pg
+285]</span> with: &quot;By His wounds we are healed;&quot; against the
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1500;&#1497;&#1493;</span>, &quot;upon Him,&quot; which, according to a comparison
+with: &quot;He bore our disease, and took upon Him our pains,&quot; must indicate that the
+punishment lay upon the sufferer like a pressing <i>burden</i>. 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 <i>Hitzig</i> remarks:
+&quot;<i>The chastisement of our peace</i> 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.&quot; <i>Stier</i>, too, endeavours to explain the &quot;chastisement
+of our peace,&quot; in an artificial way. According to him, there is always implied in
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1493;&#1505;&#1512;</span> 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1493;&#1505;&#1512;</span> 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,
+<i>e.g.</i>, in Prov. xv. 10: &quot;Bad <i>chastisement</i> shall be to those that forsake
+the way, and he that hateth chastisement shall die,&quot; on which <i>Michaelis</i> remarks:
+&quot;<i>In antanaclasi ad correptionem amicam et paternum, mortem et mala quaelibet
+inferens, in ira</i>,&quot; 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 &quot;setting right&quot; 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 <i>retribution</i>, and
+that the Servant of God stands forth as our Substitute.--<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1512;&#1508;&#1488;</span>,
+Preter. Niph., hence &quot;healing has been bestowed upon us;&quot;--<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1512;&#1508;&#1488;</span>
+with <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;</span>, in the signification &quot;to bring healing,&quot;
+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
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 286]</span> 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 6. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal"><i>Calvin</i> remarks: &quot;In order the more strongly to impress
+upon the hearts of men the benefits of Christ&#39;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.&quot;--<i>All we</i>--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.--<i>We have turned
+every one to his own way</i>; we walked through life solitary, forsaken, miserable,
+separated from God and the good Shepherd, and deprived of His pastoral care. According
+to <i>Hofmann</i>, the going astray designates the <i>liability</i> to punishment,
+but not the misery of the speakers; and the words also: &quot;We have turned,&quot; &amp;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: &quot;I go astray like a lost sheep, seek thy servant,&quot; 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: &quot;I saw
+all Israel scattered upon the hills as sheep that have not a shepherd.&quot; <i>Michaelis</i>
+pertinently remarks: &quot;Nothing is so miserable as sheep without a shepherd,--a thing
+which Scripture so often repeats, Num. xxvii. 17,&quot; &amp;c. As a commentary upon our
+passage, Ezek. xxxiv. 4-6 may serve; <span class="pagenum">[Pg 287]</span> and according
+to that passage we shall be compelled to think of their being destitute of the care
+of a shepherd: &quot;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.&quot; The point of comparison is very distinctly
+stated in Matt. ix. 36 also: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7984;&#948;&#8060;&#957; &#948;&#8050; &#964;&#959;&#8058;&#962; &#8004;&#967;&#955;&#959;&#965;&#962; &#7952;&#963;&#960;&#955;&#945;&#947;&#967;&#957;&#943;&#963;&#952;&#951;
+&#960;&#949;&#961;&#8054; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#8182;&#957;, &#8005;&#964;&#953; &#7974;&#963;&#945;&#957; &#7952;&#963;&#954;&#965;&#955;&#956;&#941;&#957;&#959;&#953; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#7952;&#8164;&#8165;&#953;&#956;&#941;&#957;&#959;&#953; &#8033;&#963;&#949;&#8054; &#960;&#961;&#972;&#946;&#945;&#964;&#945; &#956;&#8052; &#7956;&#967;&#959;&#957;&#964;&#945; &#960;&#959;&#953;&#956;&#941;&#957;&#945;.</span>
+Without doubt, turning to one&#39;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&#39;s wandering and going astray, the bad condition of the
+shepherd must be considered, comp. Jer. l. 6: &quot;Perishing sheep were my people; their
+shepherds led them astray,&quot; John x. 8: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#960;&#940;&#957;&#964;&#949;&#962; &#8005;&#963;&#959;&#953;
+&#960;&#961;&#8056; &#7952;&#956;&#959;&#8166; &#7974;&#955;&#952;&#959;&#957;, &#954;&#955;&#941;&#960;&#964;&#945;&#953; &#949;&#7984;&#963;&#8054; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#955;&#8131;&#963;&#964;&#945;&#943;</span>--<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1508;&#1490;&#1506;</span>
+with <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;</span> signifies &quot;to hit;&quot; hence <i>Hiphil</i>,
+&quot;to cause to hit.&quot; The iniquities of the whole community <i>hit</i> 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 <i>done</i> 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:
+&quot;The Lord is my Shepherd,&quot; now become a truth, comp. John x. 4.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 7. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">In these words, we have a description of the manner in which the
+Servant of God <i>bore</i> 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1490;&#1513;</span>,
+&quot;He was oppressed:&quot; then, this condition of the Servant <span class="pagenum">[Pg
+288]</span> of God is brought into connection with His <i>conduct</i>, which, only
+in this connection, appears in its full majesty.--<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1490;&#1513;</span>
+is the Preterite in <i>Niphal</i>, and not, as <i>Beck</i> thinks, 1st pers. Fut.
+<i>Kal</i>. For the Future would be here unusual; the verb has elsewhere the Future
+in <i>o</i>; the suffix is wanting, and the sense which then arises suits only the
+untenable supposition that, in vers. 1-10, the <i>Gentiles</i> are speaking. The
+<i>Niphal</i> 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.
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1490;&#1513;</span> and <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1506;&#1504;&#1492;</span>
+&quot;to be humbled, oppressed, abused,&quot; 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
+&quot;and He&quot; separate <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1506;&#1504;&#1492;</span> from what precedes,
+and connect it with what follows. The explanation: &quot;He was oppressed, but He suffered
+patiently,&quot; has this opposed to it, that the two <i>Niphals</i>, 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1508;&#1514;&#1495;</span>, 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 <i>lamb</i> 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&#39;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: &quot;And He does
+not open His mouth,&quot; are not to be referred to the lamb, as some think, (even the
+circumstance that the preceding <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1512;&#1495;&#1500;</span> is a feminine
+noun militates against this view), but, like the first: &quot;He does not open His mouth,&quot;
+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: <span class="pagenum">[Pg 289]</span>
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#8003;&#962; &#955;&#959;&#953;&#948;&#959;&#961;&#959;&#973;&#956;&#949;&#957;&#959;&#962; &#959;&#8016;&#954; &#7936;&#957;&#964;&#949;&#955;&#959;&#953;&#948;&#972;&#961;&#949;&#953;, &#960;&#940;&#963;&#967;&#969;&#957; &#959;&#8016;&#954; &#7968;&#960;&#949;&#943;&#955;&#949;&#953;,
+&#960;&#945;&#961;&#949;&#948;&#943;&#948;&#959;&#965; &#948;&#8050; &#964;&#8183; &#954;&#961;&#943;&#957;&#959;&#957;&#964;&#953; &#948;&#953;&#954;&#945;&#943;&#969;&#962;</span>; and likewise Matt. xxvii. 12-14:
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#954;&#945;&#8054; &#7952;&#957; &#964;&#8183; &#954;&#945;&#964;&#951;&#947;&#959;&#961;&#949;&#8150;&#963;&#952;&#945;&#953; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#8056;&#957; &#8017;&#960;&#8056; &#964;&#8182;&#957; &#7936;&#961;&#967;&#953;&#949;&#961;&#941;&#969;&#957; &#954;&#945;&#8054;
+&#960;&#961;&#949;&#963;&#946;&#965;&#964;&#941;&#961;&#969;&#957; &#959;&#8016;&#8050;&#957; &#7936;&#960;&#949;&#954;&#961;&#943;&#957;&#945;&#964;&#959;. &#932;&#972;&#964;&#949; &#955;&#941;&#947;&#949;&#953; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#8183; &#8001; &#928;&#953;&#955;&#8118;&#964;&#959;&#962;� &#959;&#8016;&#954; &#7936;&#954;&#959;&#973;&#949;&#953;&#962; &#960;&#972;&#963;&#945;&#963;&#959;&#965; &#954;&#945;&#964;&#945;&#956;&#945;&#961;&#964;&#965;&#961;&#959;&#8166;&#963;&#953;&#957;;
+&#954;&#945;&#8054; &#959;&#8016;&#954; &#7936;&#960;&#949;&#954;&#961;&#943;&#952;&#951; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#8183; &#960;&#961;&#8056;&#962; &#959;&#8016;&#948;&#8050;&#957; &#7955;&#957; &#8165;&#8134;&#956;&#945;, &#8037;&#963;&#964;&#949; &#952;&#945;&#965;&#956;&#940;&#950;&#949;&#953;&#957; &#964;&#8056;&#957; &#7969;&#947;&#949;&#956;&#972;&#957;&#945; &#955;&#943;&#945;&#957;.</span>
+Comp. xxvi. 62; Mark xv. 5; Luke xxiii. 9; John xix. 9.</p>
+<p class="normal">The third subdivision of the principal portion, vers. 8-10, describes
+<i>the reward of the Servant of God</i>, by expanding the words: &quot;Kings shall shut
+their mouths on account of Him,&quot; in chap. lii. 15, and &quot;He shall be exalted,&quot; in
+ver. 13.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 8. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#954;&#8064;&#947;&#8060; &#7953;&#8048;&#957;
+&#8017;&#968;&#969;&#952;&#8182; &#7952;&#954; &#964;&#8134;&#962; &#947;&#8134;&#962; &#960;&#940;&#957;&#964;&#945;&#962; &#7953;&#955;&#954;&#973;&#963;&#969; &#960;&#961;&#8056;&#962; &#7952;&#956;&#945;&#965;&#964;&#972;&#957;</span>), 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.--<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1510;&#1512;</span> &quot;oppression,&quot;
+as Ps. cvii. 39, properly, according to the signification of the verb: &quot;Shutting
+up,&quot; &quot;restraining,&quot; &quot;hindering.&quot; 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.--<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1513;&#1508;&#1496;</span>
+is commonly referred to the judgment which the enemies of the Servant of God passed
+upon Him, The premised <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1510;&#1512;</span> 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, <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1513;&#1508;&#1496;</span> serves as a limitation
+for <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1510;&#1512;</span>. 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 <i>divine</i> 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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 290]</span> Him by
+God.--<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1511;&#1495;</span> with
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1503;</span> &quot;to be taken away from;&quot; according to
+<i>Stier</i>: &quot;taken away from suffering, being delivered from it by God&#39;s having
+taken Him to himself, to the land of eternal bliss.&quot; 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: &quot;<i>De angustia et judicio sublatus est</i>;&quot;
+by <i>Jerome</i>, who says on this passage: &quot;From tribulation and judgment He ascended,
+as a conqueror, to the Father;&quot; and by <i>Michaelis</i> who thus interprets it:
+&quot;He was taken away, and received at the right hand of the Majesty.&quot; By several interpretations,
+the words are still referred to the state of humiliation of the Servant of God:
+&quot;<i>Through</i> oppression and judgment He was <i>dragged to execution</i>.&quot; 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; <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1511;&#1495;</span> cannot, by itself, signify
+&quot;to be dragged to execution&quot;--in that case, as in Prov. xxiv. 11, &quot;to death&quot; would
+have been added; <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1503;</span> must be taken in the signification,
+&quot;from,&quot; &quot;out of,&quot; as in the subsequent <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1488;&#1512;&#1509;</span>,
+compare 2 Kings iii. 9, where <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1511;&#1495;</span> with
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1503;</span> signifies &quot;to take from.&quot; 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:
+&quot;And he was no more, for God had <i>taken</i> him.&quot;--<i>And His generation who can
+think it out?</i> <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1491;&#1493;&#1512;</span>, properly &quot;circle,&quot;
+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.<sup class="ftnRef"><a name="ftnRef_290a" href="#ftn_290a">[6]</a></sup>
+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. <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1513;&#1493;&#1495;</span> and
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1513;&#1497;&#1495;</span> &quot;to meditate,&quot; is commonly connected with
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;</span> of the object, but occurs also with
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 291]</span> the simple Accusative, in the signification
+&quot;to meditate upon something,&quot; in Ps. cxlv. 5. There is, as it appears, an allusion
+to the promise to Abraham, Gen. xiii. 16: &quot;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,&quot;--a promise which received its complete fulfilment just by the Servant
+of God. The explanation which we have given was adopted by the LXX.:
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#964;&#8052;&#957; &#947;&#949;&#957;&#8051;&#945;&#957; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#959;&#8166; &#964;&#8055;&#962; &#948;&#953;&#951;&#947;&#8053;&#963;&#949;&#964;&#945;&#953;.</span> Next to it,
+comes the explanation: &quot;Who can think out His <i>posterity</i>;&quot; but against this,
+it is conclusive that <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1491;&#1493;&#1512;</span> never occurs in
+the signification &quot;posterity.&quot; The parallel passage in ver. 10: &quot;He shall see seed,&quot;
+or &quot;posterity,&quot; holds good even for our view; for since the posterity is a <i>spiritual</i>
+one, it is substantially identical with <i>generation</i> here. But it may, <i>a
+priori</i>, be expected that the same thing shall be designated from various aspects.
+If &quot;generation&quot; be taken in the signification &quot;posterity,&quot; then the words: &quot;He shall
+see seed&quot; 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1491;&#1493;&#1512;</span> significations which cannot
+be vindicated. Thus, the translation of <i>Luther</i>: &quot;Who shall disclose the length
+of His life?&quot; that of <i>Hitzig</i>: His destiny; that of <i>Beck</i>: His importance
+and influence in the history of the world; that of <i>Knobel</i>: His dwelling place,
+<i>i.e.</i>, His grave, who considered? The signification, &quot;dwelling place,&quot; does
+not at all belong to <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1491;&#1493;&#1512;</span>. In Isaiah xxxviii.
+12, <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1491;&#1493;&#1512;</span> are the cotemporaries from whom the
+dying man is taken away, and who are withdrawn from him: &quot;My <i>generation</i> is
+taken away, and removed from me like a shepherd&#39;s tent&quot;--dying Hezekiah there laments.
+Inadmissible, likewise, is the explanation: &quot;Who of His cotemporaries will consider,
+or considered, it&quot; for <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1514;</span>, the sign of the
+Accusative, cannot stand before the <i>Nomin. Absol.</i> 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: &quot;the true cause of
+His death,&quot; &quot;the importance and fruit of His death,&quot; &quot;the salvation lying behind
+it&quot; (<i>Stier</i>), are very <span class="pagenum">[Pg 292]</span> 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.--&quot;<i>For He was
+cut off from the land of the living, for the transgression of my people, whose the
+punishment.</i>&quot; 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. <i>He has deserved this reward by His having suffered for the
+sins of His people, as their substitute.</i> The first clause must not be separated
+from the second: &quot;for the transgression,&quot; &amp;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.
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1490;&#1494;&#1512;</span> &quot;to be cut off&quot; 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1490;&#1512;&#1494;</span> also has, in Psa. xxxi. 23,
+the signification of extermination. <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1502;&#1493;</span>, poetical
+form for <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1492;&#1501;</span>, refers to the collective
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1501;</span>. Before it, the relative pronoun is to
+be understood: for the sin of my people, whose the punishment, <i>q.d.</i>, whose
+property the punishment was, to whom it belonged. <i>Stier</i> 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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1502;&#1493;</span> as a Singular: &quot;on account of the transgression
+of my people, punishment was to Him.&quot; And passages, indeed, are not wanting where
+the supposition that <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1493;</span> designates the Singular,
+has some appearance of probability; but, upon a closer examination, this appearance
+everywhere vanishes.<sup class="ftnRef"><a name="ftnRef_292a" href="#ftn_292a">[7]</a></sup>
+Moreover, as we have already remarked, it is, on account of the sense, inadmissible
+to separate the two clauses.--By <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1502;&#1497;</span> &quot;my people,&quot;
+the hypothesis of the non-Messianic interpreters is set aside, that in
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 293]</span> vers. 1-10 the <i>Gentiles</i> 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, <i>in the first
+instance</i>, intended (comp. <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#963;&#974;&#963;&#949;&#953; &#964;&#8056;&#957; &#955;&#945;&#8056;&#957; &#945;&#8017;&#964;&#959;&#8166;
+&#7936;&#960;&#8056; &#964;&#8182;&#957; &#7937;&#956;&#945;&#961;&#964;&#953;&#8182;&#957; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#8182;&#957;</span>, 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 9. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal"><span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1493;&#1497;&#1514;&#1503;</span> is intentionally without
+a definite Subject, <i>q.d.</i>: it was given to Him, <i>Ewald</i> � 273a. The acting
+subject could not be at all more distinctly marked out, because there was a <i>double</i>
+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: &quot;He shall
+divide spoil with the strong.&quot; The <i>wicked</i> 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 <i>Josephus</i>, Arch. iv. 8, � 6, says:
+&quot;He who has blasphemed God shall, after having been stoned, be hung up for a day,
+and be buried quietly and without honour.&quot; <i>Maimonides</i> (see <i>Iken</i> on
+this passage in the Biblia Hagana ii. 2) says: &quot;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.&quot; 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. <i>And with a rich</i> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 294]</span>
+(they gave Him His grave) <i>in His death</i>: they gave Him His grave, first with
+the wicked; but, indeed, He received it with a rich, since God&#39;s providence was
+watching over the dead body of His Servant. <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1493;&#1497;&#1514;&#1503;</span>,
+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
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7940;&#957;&#952;&#961;&#969;&#960;&#959;&#962; &#960;&#955;&#959;&#8059;&#963;&#953;&#959;&#962;</span> 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. <i>In His death</i> is, in point of fact, equivalent to: &quot;after
+He had died;&quot; but, notwithstanding, there is no necessity for giving to the
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;</span> the signification &quot;after.&quot; Death rather
+denotes the <i>condition of death</i>; <i>in death</i> is contrasted with: <i>in
+life</i>. Altogether in the same manner we find in Lev. xi. 31: &quot;Whosoever doth
+touch them in their death,&quot; for, &quot;after they have died.&quot; <i>Farther</i>--1 Kings
+xiii. 31: &quot;In my death you shall bury me in the sepulchre.&quot; The Plural
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1493;&#1514;&#1497;&#1501;</span> &quot;the deaths,&quot; &quot;conditions of death,&quot;
+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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1495;&#1497;&#1497;&#1501;</span>, for which reason it commends itself
+to explain <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1512;&#1509; &#1495;&#1497;&#1497;&#1501;</span> in the preceding verse,
+&quot;land of life,&quot; instead of &quot;land of the living.&quot; 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.--<i>Because He had done no violence</i>, &amp;c.
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1500;</span> very frequently denotes the cause upon
+which the effect depends, <i>e.g.</i>, 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, &amp;c. But this use of <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1500;</span>
+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:
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#8005;&#964;&#953; &#7936;&#957;&#959;&#956;&#8055;&#945;&#957; &#959;&#8016;&#954; &#7952;&#960;&#959;&#8055;&#951;&#963;&#949;</span>. The innocence is designated
+negatively, and in an external manner (<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1495;&#1502;&#1505;</span>
+and <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1512;&#1502;&#1492;</span> are gross sins). The reason of this
+is <span class="pagenum">[Pg 295]</span> 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: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#8003;&#962; &#7937;&#956;&#945;&#961;&#964;&#943;&#945;&#957; &#959;&#8016;&#954; &#7952;&#960;&#959;&#943;&#951;&#963;&#949;
+&#959;&#8016;&#948;&#8050; &#949;&#8017;&#961;&#941;&#952;&#949; &#948;&#972;&#955;&#959;&#962; &#7952;&#957; &#964;&#8183; &#963;&#964;&#972;&#956;&#945;&#964;&#953; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#959;&#8166;</span>. Instead of &quot;violence,&quot; Peter intentionally
+employs &quot;sin.&quot;--<i>Hofmann</i> has advanced the following arguments against the
+explanation which we have given. 1. &quot;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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">
+&#1512;&#1513;&#1506;&#1497;&#1501;</span> and <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1513;&#1497;&#1512;</span>. 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?&quot; But in this argument, <i>Hofmann</i> overlooks the circumstance, that
+the wicked are specially <i>criminals</i>--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 <i>burial</i>. 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. &quot;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.&quot;
+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&#39;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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 296]</span>
+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 <i>with</i> Joseph, but in his grave only, but in an ideal point
+of view <i>with</i> has its full right. Comp. chap. xiv. 19, where it is said to
+the king of Babylon: &quot;But thou art cast out of thy grave,&quot; 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.--<i>Beck</i> says: &quot;The orthodox
+expositors are strongly embarrassed with these words.&quot; 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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1513;&#1497;&#1512;</span>. 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 <i>Luther</i> (marginal note: &quot;rich man, one who in his doings founds himself
+on riches,&quot; <i>i.e.</i>, an ungodly man), and <i>Calvin</i> 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 &quot;he who is wicked, notwithstanding his riches&quot;), nor from the word of the Lord
+in Matt. xix. 23: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#948;&#965;&#963;&#954;&#972;&#955;&#969;&#962; &#960;&#955;&#959;&#973;&#963;&#953;&#959;&#962; &#949;&#7984;&#963;&#949;&#955;&#949;&#973;&#963;&#949;&#964;&#945;&#953; &#949;&#7984;&#962;
+&#964;&#8052;&#957; &#946;&#945;&#963;&#953;&#955;&#949;&#943;&#945;&#957; &#964;&#8182;&#957; &#959;&#8016;&#961;&#945;&#957;&#8182;&#957;.</span> 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: &quot;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.&quot;
+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
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 297]</span> with a glittering appearance, and that it
+is therefore necessary to warn those who are apt to choose them for their highest
+good. <i>Stier</i> 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 <i>burial</i>. 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: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7936;&#960;&#941;&#952;&#945;&#957;&#949;
+&#948;&#8050; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#8001; &#960;&#955;&#959;&#973;&#963;&#953;&#959;&#962; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#7952;&#964;&#940;&#966;&#951;</span>, according to his riches; it is in hell only
+that he receives his reward. In opposition to <i>Gesenius</i>, <i>Hitzig</i> remarks:
+&quot;That transition of the signification is a fable.&quot; Following the example of <i>Martini</i>
+he derives <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1513;&#1497;&#1512;</span> from the Arabic. But in opposition
+to that, <i>Gesenius</i> again remarks in the <i>Thesaurus</i>: &quot;<i>Sed haud minoribus
+difficultatibus laborat ea ratio, qua improbitatis significatum voluerunt Martinius
+et Hitzigius, collata nimirum radice</i> <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1513;&#1512;</span>
+&quot;<i>caespitavit</i>.&quot; <i>Tum enim haec radix nullam prorsum cum verbo</i>
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1513;&#1512;</span> <i>necessitudinem habet, ita ut</i>
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1513;&#1497;&#1512;</span> <i>h. l.</i>
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#945;&#960;. &#955;&#949;&#947;.</span> <i>esset; tum caespitandi vis nusquam
+ad peccatum, licet ad fortunam adversam, translata est.</i>&quot; 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 <i>Beck</i>,
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1513;&#1497;&#1512;</span> is another form for
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1512;&#1497;&#1509;</span>. Others would change the reading. <i>
+Ewald</i> proposes <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1513;&#1497;&#1511;</span>; B�ttcher,
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1513;&#1497; &#1512;&#1506;</span>. 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1456;&#1502;&#1493;&#1514;&#1497;&#1493;</span>
+&quot;in His death,&quot; <i>Gesenius</i> and others propose to read
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1464;&#1502;&#1493;&#1514;&#1497;&#1493;</span>, to which they assign the signification
+&quot;His tomb-hill.&quot; But, altogether apart from this arbitrary change of the vowels,
+there is opposed to this conjecture the circumstance, that
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1502;&#1492;</span> never occurs of the grave. According to
+<i>Gesenius</i>, <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1502;&#1493;&#1514;</span>, in Ezek. xliii. means
+&quot;tombs;&quot; but the common signification &quot;high places,&quot; must be retained there also.
+In a spiritual point of view the sanctuaries of the Lord had become &quot;high places.&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 10. &quot;<i>And the Lord was pleased painfully to crush</i>
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 298]</span> <i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal"><i>And the Lord was pleased</i>--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&#39;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. <i>Here</i> 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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1495;&#1508;&#1509; &#1497;&#1492;&#1493;&#1492;</span> of the close stands to
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1492;&#1493;&#1492; &#1495;&#1508;&#1509;</span> of the beginning; so that the sense
+is: It was the pleasure, &amp;c., and this for the purpose that, after having made an
+offering for sin, He should see seed, &amp;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. <i>Painfully to crush Him.</i>
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1495;&#1500;&#1492;</span> &quot;to be sick,&quot; &quot;to suffer pains.&quot; In this
+sense the <i>Niphal</i> occurs in Amos vi. 6, and the participle
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1495;&#1500;&#1492;</span> in the signification &quot;painful,&quot; &quot;grievous,&quot;
+in Nah. iii. 19; Jer. xiv. 17, and other passages, In <i>Hiphil</i> it means: &quot;to
+make painful,&quot; Mic. vi. 13. The common explanation, &quot;The Lord was pleased to crush
+Him, He has made Him sick,&quot; has this against it, that Copula and Suffix are wanting
+in <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1495;&#1500;&#1497;</span>, 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.--<i>When His soul hath given restitution.</i> There
+cannot be any doubt that, in a formal point of view, it is the soul which gives
+restitution. <i>Knobel&#39;s</i> explanation: &quot;His soul gives itself,&quot; is not countenanced
+by the <i>usus loquendi</i>; <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1513;&#1497;&#1501;</span> is not a
+reflective verb. As little can we suppose with <i>Hofmann</i> that
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1514;&#1513;&#1497;&#1501;</span> is the second person, and an address
+to Jehovah. In opposition to this view, there is not only the circumstance that
+Jehovah is spoken <i>of</i> 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 <i>by</i> God, <span class="pagenum">[Pg 299]</span> but always
+<i>to</i> 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
+<i>offering</i>, the <i>restitution</i>; 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, <i>who</i> it is that offers the restitution; what
+the restitution was, it was necessary distinctly to point out. <i>Farther</i>--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, <i>a priori</i>,
+probable that it will be the object offered up. In Lev. xvii. 11, it is said: &quot;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,&quot; viz.,
+by the soul &quot;<i>per animam, vi animae in eo sanguine constantis</i>&quot; (<i>Gussetius</i>).<sup class="ftnRef"><a name="ftnRef_299a" href="#ftn_299a">[8]</a></sup>
+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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1508;&#1513;</span>
+&quot;soul,&quot; stands here simply for the personal pronoun,--&quot;His soul,&quot; for &quot;He,&quot; a <i>
+usus loquendi</i> 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
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#948;&#953;&#8048; &#960;&#957;&#949;&#973;&#956;&#945;&#964;&#959;&#962; &#945;&#7984;&#969;&#957;&#943;&#959;&#965; &#7953;&#945;&#965;&#964;&#8056;&#957; &#960;&#961;&#959;&#963;&#942;&#957;&#949;&#947;&#954;&#949;&#957; &#7940;&#956;&#969;&#956;&#959;&#957; &#964;&#8183;
+&#952;&#949;&#8183;</span>; 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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 300]</span> 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, <i>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.</i> All that is necessary is to translate: &quot;If His soul puts or
+gives a trespass-offering;&quot; for, &quot;to put,&quot; stands here, as it does so frequently,
+in the sense of &quot;to give,&quot; compare Ezek. xx. 28, where it is used in this sense
+in reference to sacrifice. But, in point of fact, this is equivalent to: &quot;If it
+is made a trespass-offering,&quot; or, &quot;If He, the Servant of God, offers it as a trespass-offering.&quot;
+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: &quot;They ascend, for my pleasure, mine altar.&quot;
+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: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7952;&#947;&#974; &#949;&#7984;&#956;&#953; &#8001; &#960;&#959;&#953;&#956;&#8052;&#957; &#8001; &#954;&#945;&#955;&#972;&#962;&#903;
+&#8001; &#960;&#959;&#953;&#956;&#8052;&#957; &#8001; &#954;&#945;&#955;&#8056;&#962; &#964;&#8052;&#957; &#967;&#965;&#967;&#8052;&#957; &#945;&#8017;&#964;&#959;&#8166; &#964;&#943;&#952;&#951;&#963;&#953;&#957; &#8017;&#960;&#8050;&#961; &#964;&#8182;&#957; &#960;&#961;&#959;&#946;&#940;&#964;&#969;&#957;.</span> Ver. 15:
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#954;&#945;&#8054; &#964;&#8052;&#957; &#967;&#965;&#967;&#942;&#957; &#956;&#959;&#965; &#964;&#943;&#952;&#951;&#956;&#953; &#8017;&#960;&#8050;&#961; &#964;&#8182;&#957; &#960;&#961;&#959;&#946;&#940;&#964;&#969;&#957;.</span>
+Vers. 17, 18: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#948;&#953;&#8048; &#964;&#959;&#8166;&#964;&#959; &#8001; &#960;&#945;&#964;&#8052;&#961; &#956;&#949; &#7936;&#947;&#945;&#960;&#8119;, &#8005;&#964;&#953; &#7952;&#947;&#8060;
+&#964;&#943;&#952;&#951;&#956;&#953; &#964;&#8052;&#957; &#968;&#965;&#967;&#942;&#957; &#956;&#959;&#965; &#7989;&#957;&#945; &#960;&#940;&#955;&#953;&#957; &#955;&#940;&#946;&#969; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#942;&#957;. &#927;&#8016;&#948;&#949;&#8054;&#962; &#945;&#7988;&#961;&#949;&#953; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#8052;&#957; &#7936;&#960;&#700; &#7952;&#956;&#959;&#8166;, &#7936;&#955;&#955;&#700; &#7952;&#947;&#8060;
+&#964;&#943;&#952;&#951;&#956;&#953; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#8052;&#957; &#7936;&#960;&#700; &#7952;&#956;&#945;&#965;&#964;&#959;&#8166;&#903; &#7952;&#958;&#959;&#965;&#963;&#943;&#945;&#957; &#7956;&#967;&#969; &#952;&#949;&#8150;&#957;&#945;&#953; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#942;&#957;, &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#7952;&#958;&#959;&#965;&#963;&#943;&#945;&#957; &#7956;&#967;&#969; &#960;&#940;&#955;&#953;&#957; &#955;&#945;&#946;&#949;&#8150;&#957;
+&#945;&#8016;&#964;&#942;&#957;.</span> In John xv. 13: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#956;&#949;&#943;&#950;&#959;&#957;&#945; &#964;&#945;&#973;&#964;&#951;&#962; &#7936;&#947;&#940;&#960;&#951;&#957;
+&#959;&#8016;&#948;&#949;&#8054;&#962; &#7956;&#967;&#949;&#953; &#7989;&#957;&#945; &#964;&#8054;&#962; &#964;&#8052;&#957; &#968;&#965;&#967;&#8052;&#957; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#959;&#8166; &#952;&#8135; &#8017;&#960;&#8050;&#961; &#966;&#943;&#955;&#969;&#957; &#945;&#8017;&#964;&#959;&#8166;.</span> The expression:
+&quot;To put one&#39;s soul for some one,&quot; 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 <i>usus loquendi</i>. The following reasons prove that it refers to
+the Old Testament, and especially to the passage under consideration. 1. Its Hebraizing
+character. <i>De Wette</i> and <i>L�cke</i> erroneously take
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#952;&#949;&#8150;&#957;&#945;&#953;</span> in the sense of laying down; but that
+is too negative. It is evident that the Hebraism &quot;to put,&quot; instead of &quot;to give,&quot;
+has been <span class="pagenum">[Pg 301]</span> transferred into Greek, as is proved
+by the synonymous <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#948;&#959;&#8166;&#957;&#945;&#953; &#964;&#8052;&#957; &#968;&#965;&#967;&#8052;&#957; &#945;&#8017;&#964;&#959;&#8166;</span> 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 <i>putting</i> of His soul, refer to the passage under consideration, this
+must be acknowledged of those also in which He speaks of a <i>giving</i> of His
+soul, as in Matt. xx. 28: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#948;&#959;&#8166;&#957;&#945;&#953; &#964;&#8052;&#957; &#968;&#965;&#967;&#8052;&#957; &#945;&#8017;&#964;&#959;&#8166; &#955;&#973;&#964;&#961;&#959;&#957;
+&#7936;&#957;&#964;&#8054; &#960;&#959;&#955;&#955;&#8182;&#957;</span>, where the <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#955;&#973;&#964;&#961;&#959;&#957;</span> clearly
+points to the <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1513;&#1501;</span> 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.--<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1513;&#1501;</span> is, in Numb.
+v. 5, called that of which some one has unjustly robbed another, and which he is
+bound to <i>repay</i> to him. An essential feature of sin is the <i>robbing of God</i>
+which is thereby committed, the debt thereby incurred, which implies the necessity
+of <i>recompence</i>. 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1513;&#1501;</span>, 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 <i>Genuineness of the Pentateuch</i>, 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: <i>Die Opfer der Heil. Schrift</i>, Berlin 1852). This antetypical sacrifice
+will be offered up by the true High-Priest. For the sins of the human race which
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 302]</span> 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 <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7937;&#956;&#945;&#961;&#964;&#961;&#8055;&#945;</span> for us, that
+in Him we might be made righteous before God; Rom. viii. 3, according to which God
+sent Christ <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#960;&#949;&#961;&#8054; &#7937;&#956;&#945;&#961;&#964;&#961;&#8055;&#945;&#962;</span>, as a sin-offering;
+Rom. iii. 25, where Christ is called <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7985;&#955;&#945;&#963;&#964;&#8053;&#961;&#953;&#959;&#957;</span>,
+propitiation; 1 John ii. 2: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#954;&#945;&#8054; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#8056;&#962; &#7985;&#955;&#945;&#963;&#956;&#972;&#962; &#7952;&#963;&#964;&#953;
+&#960;&#949;&#961;&#8054; &#964;&#8182;&#957; &#7937;&#956;&#945;&#961;&#964;&#953;&#8182;&#957; &#7969;&#956;&#8182;&#957;</span>, iv. 10; Heb. ix. 14.--The
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1460;&#1501;</span> at the beginning must not be explained
+by &quot;<i>as</i>&quot; a signification, which it never has; it has its ordinary signification
+&quot;when,&quot; and the Future is to be understood as a real Future: the offering of the
+trespass-offering is the <i>condition</i> of His seeing, &amp;c., and, according to
+the context, indeed, the absolutely <i>necessary</i> condition. The translation:
+&quot;Even if&quot; 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 &quot;He shall see seed,&quot; &quot;when&quot; only is suitable, and not &quot;even if.&quot;--In
+the words: &quot;He shall see seed, prolong His days,&quot; 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1513;&#1501;</span>,
+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
+<i>seed</i> 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 &quot;children&quot; is frequently used in a spiritual
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 303]</span> 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 <i>sons</i> 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 <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#964;&#941;&#954;&#957;&#959;&#957;</span>.
+Matt. ix. 2; and with special emphasis. His apostles as <i>little children</i>,
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#964;&#949;&#954;&#957;&#943;&#945; &#7956;&#964;&#953; &#956;&#953;&#954;&#961;&#8056;&#957; &#956;&#949;&#952;&#700; &#8017;&#956;&#8182;&#957; &#949;&#7984;&#956;&#953;</span>, 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. <i>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.</i> The words: &quot;He shall prolong
+His days,&quot; allude, as it appears, to the promise which was given to David and his
+seed, comp. Ps. xxi 5: &quot;He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it to him, even length
+of days for ever and ever;&quot; 1 Sam. vii. 13: &quot;I will establish the throne of His
+kingdom for ever,&quot; 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 <i>
+isolated</i>, 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. <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1495;&#1508;&#1509;</span> never
+means &quot;business,&quot; but always &quot;pleasure;&quot; and this signification, which occurs in
+chap. xliv. 28 also, is here the less to be given up, that the
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1495;&#1508;&#1509;</span> here, at the close, evidently refers to
+the <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1495;&#1508;&#1509;</span> at the beginning. By this reference,
+the reason is stated why it was the <i>pleasure</i> 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">In vers. 11 and 12, we have the closing words of the Lord.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 11. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="continue"><span class="pagenum">[Pg 304]</span></p>
+<p class="normal">The <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1503;</span> in
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1506;&#1502;&#1500;</span> is &quot;on account of.&quot; 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: &quot;<i>Pro eo quod
+laboravit anima ejus</i>;&quot; the LXX. rather feebly: <span lang="el" class="Greek">
+&#65279; &#7936;&#960;&#8056; &#964;&#959;&#965;&#770; &#960;&#972;&#957;&#959;&#965; &#964;&#951;&#770;&#962; &#968;&#965;&#967;&#951;&#770;&#962; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#959;&#965;&#770;</span>. With <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">
+&#1497;&#1512;&#1488;&#1492;</span> 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, &quot;they shall see,&quot; 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: &quot;He is satisfied,&quot; point out that the blissful consequences of the atoning
+suffering will take place in the highest fulness. <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">
+&#1489;&#1491;&#1506;&#1514;&#1493;</span> 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 <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7936;&#947;&#940;&#960;&#951; &#964;&#959;&#8166; &#952;&#949;&#959;&#8166;</span>
+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. &quot;By His knowledge&quot; 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 <i>faith</i>, 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 <i>J. H. Michaelis</i> says: <i>Per scientiam sui</i> (<i>Clericus</i>:
+<i>Cognitione sui</i>), <i>non qua ipse cognoscit, sed qua vera fide et fiducia
+ipse tanquam propitiator cognoscitur.</i> The explanation: &quot;By His knowledge (in
+the sense of understanding) or wisdom,&quot; 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1510;&#1491;&#1497;&#1511;</span> to
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1510;&#1491;&#1497;&#1511;</span> shows that here, too, He is considered
+as such. To supply, as is done by some interpreters: &quot;in which (knowledge) He perceived
+the only possible means of redemption and reconciliation, and gave practical effect
+to this knowledge,&quot; is, after all, too unnatural; the <span class="pagenum">[Pg
+305]</span> discourse would in that case be so incomplete that we should have been
+shut up to conjectures. Others translate: &quot;By His doctrine;&quot; but
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1491;&#1506;&#1514;</span> never means &quot;doctrine.&quot; The explanation:
+&quot;By His full, absolute knowledge of the divine counsel&quot; (<i>H�vernick</i>), or,
+&quot;by the absolute knowledge of God&quot; (<i>Umbreit</i>), puts into the simple word,
+which only means &quot;knowledge,&quot; more than is implied in it. According to the parallelism
+with the subsequent words: &quot;He shall bear their iniquities.&quot; and according to the
+context (for, in the whole section, the Servant of God is not described as a <i>
+Teacher</i>, but as a <i>Priest</i>, as He who, in order to expiate our sin, has
+offered himself up as a sacrifice), <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1510;&#1491;&#1497;&#1511;</span>
+must not be translated &quot;to convert,&quot; but to &quot;justify.&quot; In favour of this translation
+is also the construction with <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;</span>, which is
+to be accounted for from a modification of the signification: &quot;to bring righteousness.&quot;
+But it is specially the position of <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1510;&#1491;&#1497;&#1511;</span> 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 <i>usus loquendi</i>, the meaning <i>to
+justify</i> 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 &quot;to convert,&quot; viz., Dan. xii. 3: &quot;And the wise,
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1513;&#1499;&#1497;&#1500;&#1497;&#1501;</span>, shall shine as the brightness of
+the firmament, and <i>justify</i> many as the stars, for ever and ever.&quot; 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1513;&#1499;&#1497;&#1500;&#1497;&#1501;</span> of Daniel with the
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1513;&#1499;&#1497;&#1500;</span> with which the prophecy under consideration
+opens (chap, lii, 13), and Daniel&#39;s: &quot;justify many,&quot; with the passage before us.
+The justification, which in its full sense belongs to Christ the Head only, is by
+Daniel ascribed to the &quot;wise,&quot; because they are the instruments through whom many
+attain justification; <i>Calvin</i>: <i>Quia causa sunt ministerialis justitiae
+et salutis multorum.</i> <i>H�vernick</i> refers, for a comparison, to 1 Tim. iv.
+16: &quot;For, in doing this, thou shalt save both thyself and them that hear thee.&quot;
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1491;&#1497;&#1511;</span> must not be immediately connected with
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1489;&#1491;&#1497;</span>; for, in that case, it ought to have
+stood after it, and been qualified <span class="pagenum">[Pg 306]</span> by the
+article. On the contrary, <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1491;&#1497;&#1511;</span> stands first,
+because it stands by itself and substantively: &quot;The righteous One, My Servant.&quot;
+A similar construction occurs, Jer. iii., vii. 10: &quot;And she does not turn unto me,
+the treacherous one, <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1490;&#1497;&#1512;&#1492;</span>, her sister Judah.&quot;
+By thus making <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1510;&#1491;&#1497;&#1511;</span> prominent, and connecting
+it immediately with <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1510;&#1491;&#1497;&#1511;</span>, 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. <i>Maurer</i> thus
+pertinently expresses this: &quot;To many, for righteous is my Servant, shall He procure
+righteousness.&quot; By these words thus the <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1494;&#1492;</span>,
+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: &quot;By His wounds we are healed,&quot; ver. 5. The &quot;many&quot; points back to chap. liii.
+15, and forms the contrast not to <i>all</i> (<i>Stier</i>: &quot;Because He cannot,
+overturning all laws, save all by coercion, or arbitrary will,&quot;--a limitation which
+would in this context be out of place), but to <i>few</i>: The one, the many, Rom.
+v. 15.--&quot;And He shall bear their iniquities;&quot; 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 <i>Jerome</i> says: &quot;And He himself shall
+bear the iniquities which they could not bear, and by the weight of which they were
+borne down.&quot; <i>Calvin</i> expresses himself thus: &quot;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.&quot; In opposition to those who translate: &quot;He
+<i>bore</i> their iniquities,&quot; (the Future might, in that case, he accounted for
+from the Prophet&#39;s viewing the whole transaction as present), even <i>Gesenius</i>
+has remarked that the preceding and subsequent Futures all refer to the state of
+glorification. Even the parallelism with <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1510;&#1491;&#1497;&#1511;</span>
+shows that we must translate as the LXX. do: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#954;&#945;&#8054; &#964;&#8048;&#962;
+&#7937;&#956;&#945;&#961;&#964;&#943;&#945;&#962; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#969;&#770;&#957; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#8056;&#962; &#7936;&#957;&#959;&#943;&#963;&#949;&#953;</span>. Moreover, the subject of discourse in the
+whole verse is not the <i>acquiring</i> of the righteousness, which was done in
+the state of humiliation, but the <i>communication</i> of it, as the subjective
+condition of which the knowledge of the Servant of God was mentioned in the preceding
+clause. <span class="pagenum">[Pg 307]</span> 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>i.e.</i>, He causes His vicarious suffering to be imputed to them,
+and grants them pardon. The expression: &quot;He shall bear their iniquities&quot; is, in
+point of fact, identical with: &quot;He shall <i>justify</i> them.&quot; 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 <i>
+knows</i> Him. The &quot;taking away&quot; is implied in <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1493;&#1505;&#1489;&#1500;</span>
+in so far only, as it is done by <i>bearing</i>. It was only because he was misled
+by his rationalistic tendencies, that <i>Gesenius</i> explains: &quot;And He lightens
+the burden of their sins, <i>i.e.</i>, by His doctrine He shall correct them, and
+thereby procure to them pardon.&quot; 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 12. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">The first words are thus explained by many interpreters: &quot;Therefore
+I will give Him mighty ones for His portion, and strong ones He shall divide as
+a spoil.&quot; But <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1495;&#1500;&#1511;</span> with
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;</span> cannot mean simply &quot;to allot,&quot; (although,
+indeed, this explanation is given by the LXX.; <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#65279; &#948;&#953;&#8048;
+&#964;&#959;&#965;&#770;&#964;&#959; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#8056;&#962; &#954;&#955;&#951;&#961;&#959;&#957;&#959;&#956;&#942;&#963;&#949;&#953; &#960;&#959;&#955;&#955;&#959;&#8058;&#962;</span>; Vulg.: <i>ideo dispertiam ei plurimos</i>);
+it only signifies &quot;to give a portion in,&quot; Job xxxix. 17. From the comparison with
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1512;&#1489;&#1497;&#1501;</span> in ver. 11 and at the close of this verse,
+as well as from the reference to the <i>many nations</i> in the sketch, ver. 15,
+it is evident that <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1512;&#1489;&#1497;&#1501;</span> here, too, cannot
+mean &quot;mighty ones,&quot; but &quot;many.&quot; Even elsewhere, the signification &quot;great ones,&quot;
+&quot;mighty ones,&quot; appears oftentimes to be only forced upon
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1512;&#1489;&#1497;&#1501;</span>. In Job xxxv. 9, the &quot;many&quot; are the many
+evil-doers; and in Job xxxii. 9, the utterance: &quot;Not the <i>many</i> are wise,&quot;
+is explained from the circumstance, that the view given by Job&#39;s friends was that
+of the great mass. The fact that the <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1514;</span> in
+the second clause is not the sign of the Accusative, but a Preposition,
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 308]</span> is probable even from the circumstance, that
+the former <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1514;</span> commonly stands before qualified
+nouns only; and, farther from the corresponding; &quot;with the transgressors.&quot; But what
+is conclusive is, that the phrase <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1495;&#1500;&#1511; &#1513;&#1500;&#1500;</span>
+always means &quot;to divide spoil,&quot; never &quot;to distribute as spoil,&quot; and that the phrase
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1495;&#1500;&#1511; &#1513;&#1500;&#1500; &#1488;&#1514; &#1490;&#1488;&#1497;&#1501;</span> &quot;to divide spoil with the
+proud&quot; 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
+<i>equality</i> 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 <i>humiliation</i>, 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. &quot;Because He hath poured out His soul unto death,&quot;
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1512;&#1492;</span> in the <i>Niphal</i>, &quot;to be poured out,&quot;
+means in <i>Piel</i> &quot;to pour out,&quot; Gen. xxiv. 20, and Ps. cxli. 8, where it is
+said of the soul: &quot;Do not pour out my soul,&quot; just as here the <i>Hiphil</i> is used.
+The term has been transferred to the <i>soul</i> from the <i>blood</i>, in which
+is the soul. Gen. ix. 4: &quot;Flesh with its soul (namely with its blood) you shall
+not eat.&quot; Ver. 5: &quot;Your blood in <span class="pagenum">[Pg 309]</span> which your
+souls.&quot; <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1502;&#1504;&#1492;</span>, &quot;He was numbered,&quot; 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 <i>reward</i>. This voluntary undergoing, however, is not implied in the word
+itself, but only in the connection with: &quot;He hath poured out His soul;&quot; for that
+signifies a voluntary act. The <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1508;&#1513;&#1506;&#1497;&#1501;</span> here,
+just as the <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1512;&#1513;&#1506;&#1497;&#1501;</span> in ver. 9, are not sinners,
+but criminals. This appears from the connection in which the being &quot;numbered with
+the transgressors&quot; stands with the &quot;pouring out of the soul unto death.&quot; 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 <i>criminals</i>. It
+is in this sense also that our Lord understands the words, in His quotation of them
+in Luke xxii. 37: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#955;&#941;&#947;&#969; &#947;&#8048;&#961; &#8017;&#956;&#8150;&#957;, &#8005;&#964;&#953; &#7957;&#964;&#953; &#964;&#959;&#8166;&#964;&#959; &#964;&#8056;
+&#947;&#949;&#947;&#961;&#945;&#956;&#956;&#941;&#957;&#959;&#957; &#948;&#949;&#8150; &#964;&#949;&#955;&#949;&#963;&#952;&#8134;&#957;&#945;&#953; &#7952;&#957; &#7952;&#956;&#959;&#943;, &#964;&#972;� &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#956;&#949;&#964;&#8048; &#7936;&#957;&#972;&#956;&#969;&#957; &#7952;&#955;&#959;&#947;&#943;&#963;&#952;&#951;, &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#947;&#8048;&#961; &#964;&#8056; &#960;&#949;&#961;&#8054;
+&#7952;&#956;&#959;&#8166; &#964;&#941;&#955;&#959;&#962; &#7956;&#967;&#949;&#953;</span>; 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: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#960;&#8182;&#962; &#959;&#8022;&#957; &#960;&#955;&#951;&#961;&#969;&#952;&#8182;&#963;&#953;&#957; &#945;&#7985; &#947;&#961;&#945;&#966;&#945;&#8054;, &#8005;&#964;&#953;
+&#959;&#8021;&#964;&#969; &#948;&#949;&#8150; &#947;&#949;&#957;&#941;&#963;&#952;&#945;&#953;</span>; ver. 56, where, after having reproached the guards for
+having numbered Him with criminals: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#8033;&#962; &#7952;&#960;&#8054; &#955;&#8131;&#963;&#964;&#8052;&#957;
+&#7952;&#958;&#942;&#955;&#952;&#949;&#964;&#949; &#956;&#949;&#964;&#8048; &#956;&#945;&#967;&#945;&#953;&#961;&#8182;&#957; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#958;&#973;&#955;&#969;&#957; &#963;&#965;&#955;&#955;&#945;&#946;&#949;&#8150;&#957; &#956;&#949;</span>, He says to them:
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#964;&#959;&#8166;&#964;&#959; &#948;&#8050; &#8005;&#955;&#959;&#957; &#947;&#941;&#947;&#959;&#957;&#949;&#957; &#7989;&#957;&#945; &#960;&#955;&#951;&#961;&#969;&#952;&#8182;&#963;&#953;&#957; &#945;&#7985; &#947;&#961;&#945;&#966;&#945;&#8054; &#964;&#8182;&#957;
+&#960;&#961;&#959;&#966;&#951;&#964;&#8182;&#957;.</span>. 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.--&quot;And He
+beareth the sin of many, and for the transgressors He shall make intercession.&quot;
+By <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1493;&#1492;&#1493;&#1488;</span>, it is indicated that the subsequent
+words are no more to be viewed as depending on <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1514;&#1495;&#1514;
+&#1488;&#1513;&#1512;</span>.--<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1508;&#1490;&#1497;&#1506;</span> 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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1513;&#1488;</span> must therefore be viewed as a <i>Praeteritum
+propheticum</i>. It corresponds with <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1505;&#1489;&#1500;</span>
+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
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 310]</span> here brought into close connection with the
+bearing of the sin, by which Christ represents himself as being the true <i>sin-offering</i>
+(comp. ver. 10, where He was designated as the true <i>trespass-offering</i>), 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. <i>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.</i>
+This is evident from the connection also in which: &quot;For the transgressors He shall
+make intercession,&quot; stands with: &quot;He was numbered with the transgressors.&quot; The vicarious
+suffering is thereby pointed out as the ground of the intercession. <i>Calvin</i>
+says: &quot;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.&quot; Comp. Rom. viii. 34: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#8003;&#962; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#7952;&#957;&#964;&#965;&#947;&#967;&#940;&#957;&#949;&#953;
+&#8017;&#960;&#8050;&#961; &#7969;&#956;&#8182;&#957;</span>; Hebr. ix. 24, according to which passage Christ is entered into
+the holy places <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#957;&#8166;&#957; &#7952;&#956;&#966;&#945;&#957;&#953;&#963;&#952;&#8134;&#957;&#945;&#953; &#964;&#8183; &#960;&#961;&#959;&#963;&#974;&#960;&#8179; &#964;&#959;&#8166; &#952;&#949;&#959;&#8166;
+&#8017;&#960;&#8050;&#961; &#7969;&#956;&#8182;&#957;</span>; 1 John ii. 1: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#960;&#945;&#961;&#940;&#954;&#955;&#951;&#964;&#959;&#957; &#7956;&#967;&#959;&#956;&#949;&#957;
+&#960;&#961;&#8056;&#962; &#964;&#8056;&#957; &#960;&#945;&#964;&#941;&#961;&#945; &#7992;&#951;&#963;&#959;&#8166;&#957; &#935;&#961;&#953;&#963;&#964;&#8056;&#957; &#948;&#943;&#954;&#945;&#953;&#959;&#957;</span>.</p>
+<hr class="W20">
+<p class="normal">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.</p>
+<hr class="ftn">
+<div class="ftn">
+	<p class="ftnText"><a name="ftn_262a" href="#ftnRef_262a">
+	<sup class="ftnRef">[1]</sup></a> 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. &quot;Proceeding
+	from the certainty of deliverance&quot;--so <i>Hitzig</i> remarks--&quot;the Prophet here
+	<i>beholds</i> in spirit that going on, to which, in chap. xl. 9, he exhorts.&quot;
+	If the Prophet beholds at all in the spirit, why should he not see in spirit
+	the misery also?</p>
+</div>
+<div class="ftn">
+	<p class="ftnText"><a name="ftn_270a" href="#ftnRef_270a">
+	<sup class="ftnRef">[2]</sup></a> <i>Simonis. Onom.</i>:
+	<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1494;&#1497;&#1492;</span>, <i>quem aspergat</i>, <i>i.e.</i>,
+	<i>purificet et expiet Domimus</i>; <i>Gesenius</i>: <i>quod vix aliter explicari
+	potest quam</i>: <i>quem consperget</i>, <i>i.e.</i>, <i>expiabit Jehova.</i>
+	<i>F�rst</i> gives a different derivation; but it at once shows itself to be
+	untenable.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="ftn">
+	<p class="ftnText"><a name="ftn_273a" href="#ftnRef_273a">
+	<sup class="ftnRef">[3]</sup></a> In order to defend this explanation, interpreters
+	have referred to the LXX: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#959;&#8021;&#964;&#969; &#952;&#945;&#965;&#956;&#940;&#963;&#959;&#957;&#964;&#945;&#953; &#7956;&#952;&#957;&#951;
+	&#960;&#959;&#955;&#955;&#8048; &#7952;&#960;&#700; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#8179;&#770;</span>; but even <i>Martini</i> remarks: &quot;From a dark passage,
+	they have tried, by ingenious conjecturing, to bring out any sense whatsoever.&quot;</p>
+</div>
+<div class="ftn">
+	<p class="ftnText"><a name="ftn_274a" href="#ftnRef_274a">
+	<sup class="ftnRef">[4]</sup></a> Thus <i>Theodoret</i> says: &quot;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.&quot; <i>Jerome</i>: &quot;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&#39;s
+	prophecy against them.&quot; <i>Calvin</i>: &quot;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.&quot;</p>
+</div>
+<div class="ftn">
+	<p class="ftnText"><a name="ftn_276a" href="#ftnRef_276a">
+	<sup class="ftnRef">[5]</sup></a> According to <i>Knobel</i>, 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.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="ftn">
+	<p class="ftnText"><a name="ftn_290a" href="#ftnRef_290a">
+	<sup class="ftnRef">[6]</sup></a> <i>Gesenius</i>: <i>Neglecta actatis notione
+	saepe est genus hominum, in bonam partem--in malam partem</i>;--and in reference
+	to the passage under consideration: <i>Genus ejus, Servi Jehovae, sunt homines
+	qui iisdem cum illo studiis tenentur.</i> In the same manner it is explained
+	by <i>Maurer</i>, who refers to Ps. xiv. 5, xxiv. 6.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="ftn">
+	<p class="ftnText"><a name="ftn_292a" href="#ftnRef_292a">
+	<sup class="ftnRef">[7]</sup></a> The double <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">
+	&#1500;&#1502;&#1493;</span> in Deut. xxxiii. 2 refers to Israel, not to God. In reference to
+	the <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1502;&#1493;</span> in Is. xliv. 15, <i>J. H. Michaelis</i>
+	remarks: <i>iis talibus diis.</i> ver. 7. But the suffix rather refers to the
+	trees, ver. 14; comp. <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1492;&#1501;</span> in ver. 15.
+	If construed thus, the sense is much more expressive. In Job xxii. 2,
+	<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1513;&#1499;&#1497;&#1500;</span> 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 <i>Ewald</i> quotes in � 247
+	d.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="ftn">
+	<p class="ftnText"><a name="ftn_299a" href="#ftnRef_299a">
+	<sup class="ftnRef">[8]</sup></a> Thus <i>B�hr</i>, <i>Symbolik</i>, ii. S.
+	207, says: It is not the material elements of the blood which make it a means
+	of expiation, but it is the <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1508;&#1513;</span> which
+	is connected with it, which is in it, whose instrument and bearer it is, which
+	gives to it atoning power. The <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1508;&#1513;</span> 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1508;&#1513;</span> in the sacrificial
+	blood, is, according to this passage, the <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1508;&#1513;</span>
+	of him who offers up the sacrifice.</p>
+</div>
+<p class="continue"><span class="pagenum">[Pg 311]</span></p>
+<h3><a name="div2_311" href="#div2Ref_311">I. HISTORY OF THE INTERPRETATION.</a></h3>
+<h4><a name="div3_311" href="#div3Ref_311">A. WITH THE JEWS.</a></h4>
+<p class="normal">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, <i>e.g.</i>, <i>Abenezra</i>, <i>Jarchi</i>, <i>Abarbanel</i>,
+<i>Moses Nachmanides</i>. <i>Gesenius</i> also says: &quot;It was only the later Jews
+who abandoned this interpretation,--no doubt, in consequence of their controversies
+with the Christians.&quot; We shall here collect, from the existing Jewish writings,
+the principal passages in which this interpretation occurs. The whole translation
+of the Chaldee Paraphrast, <i>Jonathan</i>, notwithstanding the many perversions
+in which he indulges, refers the prophecy to Christ. He paraphrases the very first
+clause: <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1488; &#1497;&#1510;&#1500;&#1495; &#1506;&#1489;&#1491;&#1497; &#1502;&#1513;&#1497;&#1492;&#1488;</span><!--See 1856 ed and following quote for word sequence-->
+&quot;behold my Servant Messiah shall prosper.&quot; The <i>Medrash Tanchuma</i>, an old commentary
+on the Pentateuch (ed. Cracov. f. 53, c. 3, l. 7), remarks on the words:
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1461;&#1504;&#1468;&#1460;&#1492; &#1497;&#1463;&#1513;&#1465;&#1456;&#1499;&#1468;&#1460;&#1497;&#1500; &#1506;&#1463;&#1489;&#1456;&#1491;&#1468;&#1460;&#1497;</span><!--See 1856 ed and following quote for word sequence-->
+(ed. Cracov. f. 53, c. 3, l. 7): <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1502;&#1513;&#1497;&#1495; &#1497;&#1512;&#1493;&#1501; &#1493;&#1490;&#1489;&#1492;
+&#1493;&#1504;&#1513;&#1488; &#1502;&#1488;&#1493;&#1491; &#1493;&#1512;&#1497;&#1501; &#1502;&#1503; &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1493;&#1504;&#1513;&#1488; &#1502;&#1502;&#1513;&#1492; &#1493;&#1490;&#1491;&#1492; &#1502;&#1503; &#1502;&#1500;&#1488;&#1499;&#1497; &#1492;&#1513;&#1512;&#1514; &#1494;&#1492; &#1502;&#1500;&#1498;</span> (&quot;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&quot;). 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 <i>Pesikta</i>, cited in the treatise <i>Abkath
+Rokhel</i> (<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1489;&#1511;&#1514; &#1512;&#1493;&#1499;&#1500;</span>, printed separately
+at Venice in 1597, and reprinted in <i>Hulsii Theologia Judaica</i>, where
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 312]</span> this passage occurs p. 309): &quot;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: &#39;Wilt thou heal and redeem my sons after
+6000 years?&#39; He answered Him: &#39;I will.&#39; Then God said to Him: &#39;Wilt thou then also
+bear the punishment in order to blot out their sins, as it is written: &#39;<i>But he
+bore our diseases</i>&#39; (chap. liii. 4)? And He answered Him: I will joyfully bear
+them.&quot; 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 <i>Moses Haddarshan</i> expresses himself on Gen. i. 3 (Latin in <i>Galatinus</i>,
+<i>De Arcanis Cath. ver.</i> p. 329; in the original in <i>Raimund Martini Pug.
+Fid.</i> fol. 333; comp. <i>Wolf</i>, <i>Bibl. Hebr.</i> i. p. 818): &quot;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.&quot; Compare another passage,
+in which ver. 5 is referred to the Messiah, in <i>Raim. Martin</i>, fol. iv. 30.
+In the Talmud (<i>Gemara</i>, <i>tract. Sanhedrim</i>, chap. xi.), it is said of
+the Messiah: &quot;He sits before the gates of the city of Rome among the sick and the
+leprous&quot; (according to ver. 3). To the question: What is the name of the Messiah,
+it is answered: He is called <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1495;&#1497;&#1493;&#1493;&#1512;&#1488;</span> &quot;<i>the
+leper</i>,&quot; and, in proof, ver. 4 is quoted according to the erroneous interpretation
+of <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1490;&#1493;&#1506;</span> by <i>leprosus</i>,--an interpretation
+which is met with in <i>Jerome</i> also.--In the work <i>Rabboth</i> (a commentary
+on the Pentateuch and the five <i>Megilloth</i>, 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.
+<i>Wolf</i>, I. c. II., p. 1423, sqq. in commentary on Ruth ii. 14 [p. 46, <i>ed.
+Cracov.</i>]), the fifth verse is quoted, and referred to the sufferings of the
+Messiah.--In the <i>Medrash Tillim</i> (an allegorical commentary on the Psalms,
+printed at Venice in 1546), it is said in Ps. ii. 7, (fol. 4): &quot;The things of King
+Messiah and His mysteries are announced <span class="pagenum">[Pg 313]</span> in
+the Law, the Prophets, and the Hagiographa. In the Prophets, <i>e.g.</i>, in the
+passage Is. lii. 13, and xlii. 1; in the Hagiographa, <i>e.g.</i>, Ps. cx. and Dan.
+vii. 13.&quot; In the book <i>Chasidim</i> (a collection of moral tales, printed at Venice
+and Basle in 1581) p. 60, the following story is to be found: &quot;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 (<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1513;&#1497;&#1495; &#1505;&#1493;&#1489;&#1500; &#1506;&#1493;&#1504;&#1493;&#1514;
+&#1497;&#1513;&#1512;&#1488;&#1500;</span>).&quot; The ancient explanation is, from among the later interpreters, assented
+to by <i>Rabbi Alschech</i> (his commentary on Is. liii. is given entire in <i>Hulsii
+Theologia Judaica</i>, p. 321 sqq.). He says: &quot;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>i.e.</i>, the Messiah, must be considered as the subject of this prophecy,--a
+view which is indeed quite obvious.&quot; 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
+<i>Sohar</i>. 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. (<i>Sohar</i>, ed. Amstelod. p. ii. fol. 212; ed.
+<i>Solisbac.</i> p. ii. f. 85; <i>Sommeri</i> theol. <i>Sohar</i> p. 94.) &quot;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.&quot;--&quot;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
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 314]</span> written: But He took upon himself our sicknesses,&quot;
+&amp;c. In another passage (<i>Sohar</i>, <i>ed. Amstelod</i> p. iii. f. 218; <i>Solisbac.</i>
+iii. f. 88; <i>Sommeri theol. Sohar</i> p. 89; <i>Ausz�ge aus dem Buche Sohar, mit
+Deutscher Uebersetzung</i>, Berlin 52, S. 32), it is said: &quot;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.&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg
+315]</span> 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 <i>Hulsius</i> is pertinently called a <i>carnificina Judaeorum</i>, 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">In proof of what we have said, we here briefly present the arguments
+with which <i>Abarbanel</i> 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:
+&quot;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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 316]</span> 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&#39;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.&quot; (There then follows a quotation of several passages
+treating of the exalted Messiah.)</p>
+<p class="normal">That it was nevertheless difficult for the carnally-minded among
+the Jews to reject the tradition, is seen from the paraphrase of <i>Jonathan</i>.
+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.
+<i>Jonathan</i> (see his paraphrase, among others, in <i>Lowth&#39;s</i> comment, edited
+by <i>Koppe</i>, on the passage; and in <i>Hulsii Theol. Judaica</i>) 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 <i>Jonathan</i> says that the Messiah will give <i>His</i>
+soul unto death; but it may be that thereby he understands merely the intrepid courage
+with which the Messiah will expose himself to all <span class="pagenum">[Pg 317]</span>
+dangers, in the conflict with the enemies of the covenant-people.</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <i>Abarbanel</i>, 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 <i>Hulsius</i>, <i>l.c.</i>, p. 339, both in the original and translation.)
+The interpreters may be divided into two main classes: 1. Those who by
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1489;&#1491; &#1497;&#1492;&#1493;&#1492;</span> understand some collective body;
+and, 2. Those who refer the prophecy to a single individual. The first class again
+falls into two subdivisions, (<i>a</i>), those who make the whole Jewish people
+the subject, in contrast to the Gentiles; and (<i>b</i>) 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">1. (<i>a.</i>) 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 <i>Origen</i> was making use of this passage against some learned
+Jews, they answered: that &quot;that which here was prophesied of one, referred to the
+whole people, and was fulfilled by their dispersion.&quot; This explanation is followed
+by <i>R. Salomo Jarchi</i>, <i>Abenezra</i>, <i>Kimchi</i>, <i>Abarbanel</i>, <i>
+Lipmann</i> (<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1505;&#1508;&#1512; &#1504;&#1510;&#1495;&#1493;&#1503;</span>, 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
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 318]</span> 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, <i>e.g.</i>,
+<i>Abenezra</i> and <i>Rabbi Lipmann</i>, understand, indeed, by the
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1489;&#1491; &#1497;&#1492;&#1493;&#1492;</span>, the pious portion only of the people
+who remained faithful to Jehovah; but this makes no material difference, inasmuch
+as they, too, contrast the <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1489;&#1491; &#1497;&#1492;&#1493;&#1492;</span> 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">(<i>b</i>). Others consider the appellation
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1489;&#1491; &#1497;&#1492;&#1493;&#1492;</span> 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 <i>Kimchi</i>,
+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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1497;&#1503; &#1497;&#1506;&#1511;&#1489;</span> or <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">
+&#1506;&#1497;&#1503; &#1497;&#1513;&#1512;&#1488;&#1500;</span>, which has been very frequently printed, and which contains all
+sorts of tales from the Talmud. He says: &quot;It is right to suppose that the whole
+section contains a prophecy regarding the righteous ones who are visited by sufferings.&quot;
+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 <i>Rabbi Akiba</i>
+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 <i>Rabbi</i> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 319]</span> <i>
+Alshech</i>. As we have already seen, he refers only chap. lii. 13&#8211;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 <i>Rabbi Akiba</i>, 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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, <i>Abarbanel</i> advances still another, which refers it to
+king Josiah. <i>Rabbi Saadias Haggaon</i> explained the whole section of Jeremiah.</p>
+<p class="normal">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.</p>
+<h3><a name="div3_319" href="#div3Ref_319">B. HISTORY OF THE INTERPRETATION WITH
+THE CHRISTIANS.</a></h3>
+<p class="normal">Among Christians, the interpretation has taken nearly the same
+course as among the Jews. Similar causes have produced <span class="pagenum">[Pg
+320]</span> 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">1. Even, <i>a priori</i>, 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 <i>
+Seidel</i>--who, given up to total unbelief, asserted that the Messiah had never
+yet come, nor would ever come, (comp. <i>Jac. Martini l.</i> 3, <i>de tribus Elohim</i>,
+p. 592)--and of <i>Grotius</i>, 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. <i>Augustine</i>, <i>
+De Civitate Dei</i>, i. 18, c. 29, says: &quot;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>i.e.</i>,
+concerning the King, and the Kingdom established by Him; so that some interpreters
+would rather call him an Evangelist than a Prophet.&quot; In proof of this assertion,
+he then quotes the passage under consideration, and closes with the words: &quot;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.&quot; In a similar manner he expresses himself in: <i>De consensu
+Evangelistarum</i> l. i. c. 31. <i>Theodoret</i> remarks on this passage (<i>opp.
+ed. Hal.</i> t. ii. p. 358): &quot;The Prophet represents to us, in this passage, the
+whole course of His (Christ&#39;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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 321]</span> to the holy prophets in such a manner
+that they did not merely hear Him declare these things, but saw them.&quot; In a similar
+manner, <i>Justin</i>, <i>Irenaeus</i>, <i>Cyril</i> of Alexandria, and <i>Jerome</i>,
+express themselves. From the Churches of the Reformation, we shall here quote the
+testimonies of two of their founders only. <i>Zwingle</i>, in <i>Annot. ad h. l.</i>
+(opp. t. iii. Tur. 1544, fol. 292) says: &quot;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.&quot; <i>Luther</i> remarks on the passage: &quot;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.&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">It was reserved to the last quarter of the last century to be
+the first to reject the Messianic interpretation. <i>At a time when Naturalism exercised
+its sway, it could no longer be retained.</i><sup class="ftnRef"><a name="ftnRef_321a" href="#ftn_321a">[1]</a></sup>
+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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 322]</span> 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: (<i>a.</i>), those interpretations which refer the prophecy
+to the whole Jewish people; (<i>b.</i>), those which refer it to the Jewish people
+in the abstract; (<i>c.</i>), those which refer it to the pious portion of the Jewish
+people; (<i>d.</i>), those which refer it to the order of the priests; (<i>e.</i>),
+those which refer it to the order of the prophets.</p>
+<p class="normal">1. (<i>a.</i>) 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 <i>Doederlein</i>, (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 <i>Schuster</i> (in a special treatise, G�ttingen 1794); by <i>Stephani</i>
+(<i>Gedanken �ber die Entstehung u. Ausbildung der Idee von inem Messias</i>, <i>
+N�rnberg</i> 1787); by the author of the letters on Isaiah liii., in the 6th vol.
+of <i>Eichhorn&#39;s Bibliothek</i>; by <i>Eichhorn</i> (in his exposition of the Prophets);
+by <i>Rosenm�ller</i> (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
+<i>Hitzig</i>, <i>Hendewerk</i>, and <i>K�ster</i> (<i>de Serv. Jeh.</i> 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&#39;s are not the punishment
+of its own sins, but that it had suffered as a substitute for their sins.</p>
+<p class="normal">(<i>b.</i>) The hypothesis which makes the Jewish people in the
+abstract--in antithesis to its single members--the subject of this prophecy, was
+discovered by <i>Eckermann</i>, <i>theol. Beitr�ge</i>, <span class="pagenum">[Pg
+323]</span> Bd. i. H. i. S. 192 ff. According to <i>Ewald</i>, the prophecy refers
+to &quot;Israel according to its true idea.&quot; According to <i>Bleek</i>, the Servant of
+God is a &quot;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.&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">(<i>c.</i>) The hypothesis, that the pious portion of the Jewish
+people--in contrast to the ungodly--are the subject, has been defended especially
+by <i>Paulus</i> (<i>Memorabilien</i>, Bd. 3, S. 175-192, and <i>Clavis</i> on Isaiah).
+His view was adopted by <i>Ammon</i> (<i>Christologie</i>, 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 <i>Von C�lln</i> in his <i>Biblische
+Theologie</i>; by <i>Thenius</i> in <i>Wiener&#39;s Zeitschrift</i>, ii. 1; by <i>Maurer</i>
+and <i>Knobel</i>. The latter says: &quot;Those who were zealous adherents of the Theocracy
+had a difficult position among their own people, and had to suffer most from foreign
+tyrants.&quot; 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">(<i>d.</i>) The hypothesis which makes the priestly order the
+subject, has been defended by the author of: <i>Ausf�hrliche Erkl�rung der s�mmtlichen
+Weissagungen des A. T.</i> 1801.</p>
+<p class="normal">(<i>e.</i>) The hypothesis which makes the collective body of
+the prophets the subject, was first advanced by <i>Rosenm�ller</i> in the treatise:
+<i>Leiden und Hoffnungen der Propheten Jehovas</i>, <span class="pagenum">[Pg 324]</span>
+in <i>Gablers Neuestes theol. Journal</i>, vol. ii. S. 4, p. 333 ff. From him it
+came as a legacy to <i>De Wette</i> (<i>de morte Jes. Chr. expiatoria</i>, p. 28
+sqq.), and to <i>Gesenius</i>. According to <i>Schenkel</i> (<i>Studien und Kritiken</i>
+36) &quot;the prophetic order was the quiet, hidden blossom, which early storms broke.&quot;
+According to <i>Umbreit</i> 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 &quot;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.&quot; The
+manner in which <i>Umbreit</i> 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. <i>Hofmann</i> (<i>Schriftbeweis</i>,
+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: &quot;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.&quot; 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. &quot;Of a priestly
+self-sacrifice of the Servant of God&quot;--says <i>Hofmann</i>, S. 101, 2--&quot;I cannot
+find anything. The assertion that the words <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1494;&#1492; &#1490;&#1493;&#1497;&#1501;</span>,<!--see 1856 ed. for comma-->
+denote a priestly work, no longer requires a refutation. His
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 325]</span> 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.&quot; 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 <i>Hofmann</i> does not
+recoil from even the most violent interpretations, in order to remove the exclusive
+reference to Christ, appears, <i>e.g.</i>, from his remark, S. 132, that &quot;the chastisement
+of our peace&quot; designates an actual chastisement, which convinces them of their sin,
+and of the earnestness of divine holiness, and thus serves for their salvation.
+Surely <i>Gesenius</i> and <i>Hitzig&#39;s</i> explanations are far more unbiassed.</p>
+<p class="normal">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, (<i>Augusti</i>),
+King Hezekiah, (<i>Konynenburg</i> and <i>Bahrdt</i>), the Prophet Isaiah himself,
+(<i>St�udlin</i>), an unknown prophet supposed to have been killed by the Jews in
+the captivity (an anonymous author in <i>Henke&#39;s Magazin</i>, 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 (<i>Bolten</i> on Acts
+viii. 33), the Maccabees (an anonymous writer in the <i>Theologische Nachrichten</i>,
+1821, S. 79 ff.) Even at this present time, this kind of explanation is not altogether
+obsolete. <i>Schenkel</i> thinks that &quot;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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 326]</span> 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.&quot; <i>Ewald</i> (Proph. ii. S. 407) says:
+&quot;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.&quot; 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <i>Dathe</i>, <i>Doederlein</i> (who, however,
+wavers in the last edition of his translation), <i>Hensler</i>, <i>Lowth</i>, <i>
+Kocher</i>, <i>Koppe</i>, <i>J. D. Michaelis</i>, <i>v. d. Palm</i>, <i>Schmieder</i>.
+In addition to these we may mention: <i>Storr</i>, <i>dissertatio qua Jes. liii.
+illustratur</i>, T�bingen, 1790; <i>Hansi Comment. in Jes. liii.</i>, 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); <i>Kr�ger</i>,
+<i>Comment. de Jes. liii., interpret</i>; <i>Jahn</i>, <i>Append. ad Hermen. fasc
+ii.</i>; <i>Steudel</i>, <span class="pagenum">[Pg 327]</span> <i>Observ. ad Jes.
+liii.</i>, <i>T�bingen</i> 1825, 26; <i>Sack</i>, in the <i>Apologetik</i>; <i>Reinke</i>,
+<i>exegesis in Jes. liii.</i>, M�nster 1836; <i>Tholuck</i>, in his work: <i>Das
+A. T. in N. T.</i>; <i>H�vernick</i>, in the lectures on the Theology of the Old
+Testament; <i>Stier</i>, in the Comment. on the second part of Isaiah.</p>
+<hr class="ftn">
+<div class="ftn">
+	<p class="ftnText"><a name="ftn_321a" href="#ftnRef_321a">
+	<sup class="ftnRef">[1]</sup></a> The author of the article: <i>Ueber die Mess.
+	Zeiten</i> in <i>Eichhorn&#39;s Bibliothek d. bibl. Literatur</i>, 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, &quot;that the prophets do not foretel any thing of future things,
+	except what they know and anticipate without special divine inspiration.&quot;</p>
+</div>
+<hr class="W20">
+<h3><a name="div2_327" href="#div2Ref_327">II. THE ARGUMENTS AGAINST THE MESSIANIC
+INTERPRETATION.</a></h3>
+<p class="normal">The arguments against the Messianic interpretation cannot be designated
+in any other way than as <i>insignificant</i>. 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 <i>Zemach</i>, and which the Chaldee Paraphrast
+explains by <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1513;&#1497;&#1495;&#1488; &#1493;&#1497;&#1514;&#1490;&#1500;&#1497;</span> &quot;<i>Messiam et revelabitur</i>;&quot;
+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
+<i>future</i>; 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&#8211;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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 328]</span> still future.
+It is only an interpreter so thoroughly prosaic as <i>Knobel</i> who can advance
+the assertion: &quot;No prophet occupies, in prophecy, another stand-point than that
+which in reality be occupies.&quot; In this, <i>e.g.</i>, <i>Hitzig</i> does not by any
+means assent to him; for be (<i>Hitzig</i>) remarks on chap. lii. 7: &quot;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.&quot; And the same expositor
+farther remarks on Jer. vi. 24-26: &quot;This is a statement of how people would then
+speak, and, thereby, a description of the circumstances of that time.&quot; 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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1508;&#1514;&#1495;</span> in ver. 7,
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1514;&#1513;&#1497;&#1501;</span> in ver. 10, and, according to the explanations
+of <i>Gesenius</i> and others, also <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1508;&#1490;&#1497;&#1506;</span>
+in ver. 12 while, on the other hand, he sometimes speaks of the glorification in
+the Preterite.<sup class="ftnRef"><a name="ftnRef_328a" href="#ftn_328a">[1]</a></sup>
+Compare <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1511;&#1495;</span> in ver. 8,
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1513;&#1488;</span> 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: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7952;&#954;&#963;&#964;&#8053;&#963;&#959;&#957;&#964;&#945;&#953;--&#7936;&#948;&#959;&#958;&#8053;&#963;&#949;&#953;</span>;
+<i>Aqui.</i> and <i>Theod.</i>, ver. 2, <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7936;&#957;&#945;&#946;&#8053;&#963;&#949;&#964;&#945;&#953;</span>.--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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 329]</span> 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 <i>ground</i>
+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, <i>e.g.</i>, 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, <span class="pagenum">[Pg 330]</span> 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&#39;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 <i>a priori</i> 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
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#954;&#945;&#964;&#700; &#7952;&#958;&#959;&#967;&#8053;&#957;</span> 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. </p>
+<hr class="ftn">
+<div class="ftn">
+	<p class="ftnText"><a name="ftn_328a" href="#ftnRef_328a">
+	<sup class="ftnRef">[1]</sup></a> The same thing occurs also in the parallel
+	passages, chap. xlix. 9, on which <i>Gesenius</i> was constrained to remark:
+	&quot;As the deliverance was still impending, the Preterites cannot well be understood
+	in any other way than as Futures.&quot;</p>
+</div>
+<hr class="W20">
+<h3><a name="div2_330" href="#div2Ref_330">III. THE ARGUMENTS IN FAVOUR OF THE MESSIANIC
+INTERPRETATION.</a></h3>
+<p class="normal">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
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 331]</span> of the people. How deeply rooted was this
+interpretation, appears even from the declaration of John the Baptist, John i. 29:
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7988;&#948;&#949; &#8001; &#7936;&#956;&#957;&#8056;&#962; &#964;&#959;&#8166; &#952;&#949;&#959;&#8166; &#8001; &#945;&#7988;&#961;&#969;&#957; &#964;&#8134;&#957; &#7937;&#956;&#945;&#961;&#964;&#943;&#945;&#957; &#964;&#959;&#8166; &#954;&#972;&#963;&#956;&#959;&#965;</span>.
+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. <i>Bengel</i>, following
+the example of <i>Erasmus</i>, remarks, in reference to the article before
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7936;&#956;&#957;&#8056;&#962;</span>: &quot;The article looks back to the prophecy
+which was given concerning Him under this figure, in Is. liii. 7.&quot; As regards
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#952;&#949;&#959;&#8166;</span>, compare ver. 10: &quot;It pleased the Lord
+painfully to crush Him,&quot; and ver. 2: &quot;Before Him;&quot; as regards
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#8001; &#945;&#7988;&#961;&#969;&#957;</span>, &amp;c. comp. ver. 4, rendered by the
+LXX.: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#959;&#8023;&#770;&#964;&#959;&#962; &#964;&#8048;&#962; &#7937;&#956;&#945;&#961;&#964;&#943;&#945;&#962; &#7969;&#956;&#969;&#770;&#957; &#966;&#941;&#961;&#949;&#953;</span>; comp.
+ver. 11.</p>
+<p class="normal">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 (<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#964;&#8048;
+&#960;&#949;&#961;&#8054; &#7952;&#956;&#959;&#8166; &#964;&#941;&#955;&#959;&#962; &#7956;&#967;&#949;&#953;</span>), comp. Matt. xxvi. 51, and that therefore the declaration:
+&quot;And He was reckoned among the transgressors&quot; must be fulfilled in Him. In Mark
+ix. 12, the Lord asks: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#960;&#8182;&#962; &#947;&#941;&#947;&#961;&#945;&#960;&#964;&#945;&#953; &#7952;&#960;&#8054; &#964;&#8056;&#957; &#965;&#7985;&#8056;&#957;
+&#964;&#959;&#8166; &#7936;&#957;&#952;&#961;&#974;&#960;&#959;&#965;, &#7989;&#957;&#945; &#960;&#959;&#955;&#955;&#8048; &#960;&#940;&#952;&#8131; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#7952;&#958;&#959;&#965;&#948;&#949;&#957;&#951;&#952;&#8135;</span>, with a reference to &quot;from man,&quot;
+and &quot;from the sons of man&quot; in lii. 14,--to &quot;He had no form nor comeliness&quot; in ver.
+2,--to &quot;despised,&quot; <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1489;&#1494;&#1492;</span>, which, by <i>Symmachus</i>
+and <i>Theodotian</i> is rendered by <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7952;&#958;&#959;&#965;&#948;&#949;&#957;&#969;&#956;&#8051;&#957;&#959;&#962;</span>,
+in ver. 3. In the Gospel of John, the Lord emphatically and repeatedly points out,
+that the words: &quot;When His soul hath given restitution,&quot; 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,
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 332]</span> 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 <i>De Wette</i>, <i>Gesenius</i> 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. <i>e.g.</i>,
+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 <i>Gesenius</i> himself
+acknowledges elsewhere, that we have here the text for the whole Apostolic preaching
+on the atoning death of Jesus. &quot;Most Hebrew readers&quot;--so he says, Th. iii. S. 191--&quot;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.&quot;
+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.</p>
+<p class="normal">In favour of the Messianic interpretation are not only the passages
+from the second part, chap. xlii., &amp;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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg
+333]</span> Servant of God, and of the shedding of His blood. Several interpreters
+have endeavoured to explain away this feature which they dislike. <i>Kimchi</i>
+says: &quot;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.&quot; A futile evasion!
+It is not the Gentiles who speak in chap. liii. 1&#8211;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, &quot;He shall sprinkle many nations;&quot; and so likewise in the name of
+God, in chap. liii. 11, 12. According to <i>Martini</i>, <i>De Wette</i>, 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 (<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1494;&#1492;</span>), liii. 10 (<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1513;&#1501;</span>),
+and ver. 12: &quot;He bears the sins of many,&quot; (compare Levit. xvi. 21, 22; <i>Michaelis</i>:
+&quot;<i>Ut typice hircus pro Isra�litis</i>&quot;) the Servant of God appears as the antitype
+of the Old Testament sin-offerings in which, as has been proved (compare my pamphlet:
+<i>Die Opfer der heil. Schrift</i>, 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,
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 334]</span> 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. <i>Rosenm�ller</i>
+(<i>Gabler&#39;s</i> Journal, ii. S. 365), <i>Gesenius</i>, <i>Hitzig</i> have indeed
+candidly confessed that the passage contained the doctrine of vicarious satisfaction,
+after <i>Alshech</i> had, among the Jews, given the honour to truth.</p>
+<hr class="W20">
+<h3><a name="div2_334" href="#div2Ref_334">IV. EXAMINATION OF THE NON-MESSIANIC
+INTERPRETATIONS.</a></h3>
+<p class="normal">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.</p>
+<p class="normal">1. According to them, the contents of the section in question
+present themselves as a mere <i>fancy</i>; 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1489;&#1497;&#1488;</span>, 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1497;&#1513;</span>;
+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
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 335]</span> not be wanting. It is, <i>e.g.</i>, 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, <i>e.g.</i>, xlii.
+24, 25; xlviii. 20, 21; xliii. 10&#8211;14.</p>
+<p class="normal">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 (&quot;Because He had done no violence, neither was any deceit in His mouth&quot;), but
+more especially still, according to ver. 11 (&quot;He, the righteous one, my Servant,
+shall justify the many&quot;) 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&#8211;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 <i>Gesenius</i>, who (l. c., S. 189) endeavoured to prove that &quot;it is very general&quot;
+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. <i>Genuineness and Authenticity
+of the Pentateuch</i>, Vol. ii. p. 446 ff. The same holds true in reference to 2
+Sam. xxi. 1&#8211;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
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 336]</span> interest of his family, and with their concurrence,
+that the wicked deed had been perpetrated. (<i>Michaelis</i> says: &quot;In order that
+he might appropriate their goods to himself and to <i>his family</i>, under the
+pretext of a pious zeal for Judah and Israel.&quot;) 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&#8211;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 <i>Gesenius</i>, it is there said: &quot;And they of understanding
+shall fall, in order to purge, purify, and make white those (the others).&quot; But
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1492;&#1501;</span> refers rather to the
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1513;&#1499;&#1497;&#1500;&#1497;&#1501;</span> 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: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#960;&#940;&#957;&#964;&#945;&#962; &#8017;&#966;&#700; &#7937;&#956;&#945;&#961;&#964;&#943;&#945;&#957;
+&#949;&#7990;&#957;&#945;&#953;</span>, Rom. iii. 9.</p>
+<p class="normal">The explanation, which makes the <i>Jewish people</i> the subject,
+has already been overthrown by the parallel passages, before arriving: at the section
+under consideration. &quot;Even so far back as chap. xlii. 1, difficulties are met with,&quot;
+remarks <i>Beck</i>. &quot;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?&quot; &quot;Chap.
+xlix. is a true <span class="pagenum">[Pg 337]</span> cross for the interpreters.&quot;
+&quot;Finally, the section, chap. l., <i>Hitzig</i> 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.&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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: &quot;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.&quot; Comp. chap. xlii. 24: &quot;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.&quot; Farther,
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 338]</span> chap. xliii. 26, 27, where the detailed proof
+that Israel&#39;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: &quot;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.&quot;
+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.
+<i>Rosenm�ller</i> 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. <i>Hitzig</i> 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, <i>e.g.</i>, chap. xlviii. 9: &quot;For
+my name&#39;s sake will I be long-suffering, and for my praise will I moderate mine
+anger unto thee, that I cut thee not off;&quot; chap. i. 9: &quot;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.&quot; 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 <i>Hitzig</i> does not venture to claim for them. But how can an ungodly
+man, even supposing that his punishment is too severe, justify others
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 339]</span> by a righteousness of his which does not exist?
+<i>Finally</i>--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. <i>e.g.</i>, chap. xlv. 9 ff.</p>
+<p class="normal">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&#8211;10, the heathens are introduced as speaking.
+Decisive against this supposition are specially the designation
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1502;&#1497;</span> in ver. 8, and the most forced explanation
+to which it compels us, in some verses, especially ver. 2.</p>
+<p class="normal">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 &quot;righteous ones&quot; 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. <i>Farther</i>--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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 340]</span> 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 <i>Knobel</i>, sufficiently
+proves it to be untenable.</p>
+<p class="normal">In opposition to the interpretation which refers the prophecy
+to the collective body of the Prophets, <i>Hitzig</i> very justly remarks: &quot;The
+supposition that, by the Servant of God, the prophetic order is to be understood,
+is destitute of all foundation and probability.&quot; 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. &quot;There is no more any prophet,&quot; 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 <i>Knibbe&#39;s</i> history of the Prophets,
+S. 347 ff., and in <i>Joh. Smithi Dissert. de Prophetis</i>, in the Appendix to
+<i>Clericus&#39;</i> 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,
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 341]</span> 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 <i>vicarious satisfaction</i>.
+Chap. vi., where the Prophet when, after having administered the prophetic office
+for several years, he beheld the Lord, exclaims: &quot;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,&quot; 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 <i>Gichtel</i>, <i>Bourignon</i>, <i>Guyon</i>, 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. <i>Schenkel</i>, no doubt,
+is right in remarking against the interpretation which makes the Jewish people the
+subject of the prophecy,--an interpretation of which <i>Hitzig</i> is the representative:
+&quot;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?&quot;
+But <i>Hitzig</i> is equally in the right when, in opposition to <i>Schenkel</i>
+and others who refer this prediction to the prophetic order, he remarks: &quot;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
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#954;&#945;&#964;&#945;&#954;&#965;&#961;&#953;&#949;&#8059;&#959;&#957;&#964;&#949;&#962; &#964;&#8182;&#957; &#954;&#955;&#951;&#961;&#969;&#957;</span>, constituted the
+people.&quot; 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
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 342]</span> and his family. By usurping it, the prophets
+would have rebelled against God, whose lights they were called to uphold.--<i>Farther</i>,
+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.</p>
+<hr class="W20">
+<h3><a name="div2_342" href="#div2Ref_342">CHAPTER LV. 1-5.</a></h3>
+<p class="normal">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.</p>
+<p class="continue"><span class="pagenum">[Pg 343]</span></p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 1. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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: &quot;And with joy ye shall draw water out of the wells of salvation,&quot;
+xliv. 3; Ps. lxxxvii. 7, lxxxiv. 7, cvii. 35. The thirsty one is he who stands in
+need of salvation. To the words: &quot;Ho, all ye that thirst, come ye to the water,&quot;
+the Lord refers in John vii. 37: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7952;&#940;&#957; &#964;&#953;&#962; &#948;&#953;&#968;&#8119; &#7952;&#961;&#967;&#941;&#963;&#952;&#969;
+&#960;&#961;&#972;&#962; &#956;&#949; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#960;&#953;&#957;&#941;&#964;&#969;</span>, where the <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#960;&#961;&#972;&#962; &#956;&#949;</span>
+had been added from ver. 3. It is to be observed that Christ there appropriates
+to himself what Jehovah is here speaking. <i>Michaelis</i> says: &quot;Christ, in consequence
+of the highest identity, makes the words of the Father His own.&quot; There is an evident
+reference to the same words in Rev. xxi. 6 also: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7952;&#947;&#8060;
+&#964;&#8183; &#948;&#953;&#968;&#8182;&#957;&#964;&#953; &#948;&#974;&#963;&#969; &#7952;&#954; &#964;&#8134;&#962; &#960;&#951;&#947;&#8134;&#962; &#964;&#959;&#8166; &#8021;&#948;&#945;&#964;&#959;&#962; &#964;&#8134;&#962; &#950;&#969;&#8134;&#962; &#948;&#969;&#961;&#949;&#940;&#957;</span>. Similarly in Rev.
+xxii. 17: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#954;&#945;&#8054; &#8001; &#948;&#953;&#968;&#8182;&#957; &#7952;&#961;&#967;&#941;&#963;&#952;&#969;, &#8001; &#952;&#941;&#955;&#969;&#957; &#955;&#945;&#946;&#941;&#964;&#969; &#8021;&#948;&#969;&#961;
+&#950;&#969;&#8134;&#962; &#948;&#969;&#961;&#949;&#940;&#957;</span>. In a somewhat more distant relation to the words before us,
+but yet undeniably depending upon them, is John iv. 10:
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#963;&#8058; &#7938;&#957; &#8084;&#964;&#951;&#963;&#945;&#962; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#8056;&#957; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#7956;&#948;&#969;&#954;&#949;&#957; &#7940;&#957; &#963;&#959;&#953; &#8021;&#948;&#969;&#961; &#950;&#8182;&#957;</span>.
+Vers. 13, 14: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#960;&#8118;&#962; &#8001; &#960;&#943;&#957;&#969;&#957; &#7952;&#954; &#964;&#959;&#8166; &#8021;&#948;&#945;&#964;&#959;&#962; &#964;&#959;&#973;&#964;&#959;&#965; &#948;&#953;&#968;&#942;&#963;&#949;&#953;
+&#960;&#940;&#955;&#953;&#957;� &#8003;&#962; &#948;&#700; &#7938;&#957; &#960;&#943;&#8131; &#7952;&#954; &#964;&#959;&#8166; &#8021;&#948;&#945;&#964;&#959;&#962;, &#959;&#8023; &#7952;&#947;&#8060; &#948;&#974;&#963;&#969; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#8183; &#959;&#8016; &#956;&#8052; &#948;&#953;&#968;&#942;&#963;&#8131; &#949;&#7984;&#962; &#964;&#8056;&#957; &#945;&#7984;&#8182;&#957;&#945;</span>.
+And so does, in another aspect. Matt. xi. 28: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#948;&#949;&#8166;&#964;&#949;
+&#960;&#961;&#972;&#962; &#956;&#949; &#959;&#7985; &#954;&#959;&#960;&#953;&#8182;&#957;&#964;&#949;&#962; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#960;&#949;&#966;&#959;&#961;&#964;&#953;&#963;&#956;&#941;&#957;&#959;&#953; &#954;&#8064;&#947;&#8060; &#7936;&#957;&#945;&#960;&#945;&#973;&#963;&#969; &#8017;&#956;&#8118;&#962;</span>, which, however,
+has still nearer points of resemblance to ver. 3; for
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#948;&#949;&#8166;&#964;&#949; &#960;&#961;&#972;&#962; &#956;&#949;</span> corresponds to
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1499;&#1493; &#1488;&#1500;&#1497;</span> in that verse; the words
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#954;&#8064;&#947;&#8060; &#7936;&#957;&#945;&#960;&#945;&#973;&#963;&#969; &#8017;&#956;&#8118;&#962;</span>, to: &quot;Your soul shall live&quot;
+there, but yet in such a way that there is, at the same time, a reference to Jer.
+vi. 16; the <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#954;&#959;&#960;&#953;&#8182;&#957;&#964;&#949;&#962; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#960;&#949;&#966;&#959;&#961;&#964;&#953;&#963;&#956;&#941;&#957;&#959;&#953;</span> 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: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#956;&#945;&#954;&#940;&#961;&#953;&#959;&#953; &#959;&#7985; &#960;&#949;&#953;&#957;&#8182;&#957;&#964;&#949;&#962; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#948;&#953;&#968;&#8182;&#957;&#964;&#949;&#962; &#964;&#8052;&#957; &#948;&#953;&#954;&#945;&#953;&#959;&#963;&#973;&#957;&#951;&#957;</span>
+comes into a close relation to our passage, as soon as it is recognized that
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#948;&#953;&#954;&#945;&#953;&#959;&#963;&#973;&#957;&#951;&#957;</span> is not the subjective righteousness
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 344]</span> 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 <i>water</i> here. The subsequent &quot;eat&quot; furnishes the foundation for the fact,
+that the need of and desire for salvation, is designated by <i>hunger</i> also,--&quot;<i>Come
+ye, buy and eat.</i>&quot; <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1513;&#1489;&#1512;</span> &quot;to break,&quot; is used
+of the appeasing of thirst (comp. Ps. civ. 11), and hunger (comp. Gen. xlii. 19);
+and corn is called <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1513;&#1462;&#1473;&#1489;&#1462;&#1512;</span> for this reason
+that it breaks the hunger. The verb never means &quot;to buy&quot; 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 <i>Kal</i>; the selling by
+the <i>Hiphil</i>. In Gen. xli. 26, the selling too is designated by the <i>Kal</i>.
+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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1513;&#1462;&#1473;&#1489;&#1462;&#1512;</span>, 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1513;&#1489;&#1512;&#1493;</span> alludes; and from this
+circumstance also the fact is to be explained, that it is first used in reference
+to food; comp. <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1513;&#1489;&#1512;&#1493; &#1493;&#1488;&#1499;&#1500;&#1493;</span> in our verse, with
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1513;&#1489;&#1512; &#1488;&#1499;&#1500;</span> 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 &quot;eat&quot; suggests substantial food, bread in contrast
+to the drink by which it is surrounded on both sides; compare John vi. 35:
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7952;&#947;&#974; &#949;&#7984;&#956;&#953; &#8001; &#7940;&#961;&#964;&#959;&#962; &#964;&#8134;&#962; &#950;&#969;&#8134;&#962;� &#8001; &#7952;&#961;&#967;&#972;&#956;&#949;&#957;&#959;&#962; &#960;&#961;&#8056;&#962; &#956;&#949; &#959;&#8016;
+&#956;&#8052; &#960;&#949;&#953;&#957;&#940;&#963;&#8131;</span> (<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1513;&#1489;&#1512;&#1493;</span>)
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#954;&#945;&#8054; &#8001; &#960;&#953;&#963;&#964;&#949;&#973;&#969;&#957; &#949;&#7984;&#962; &#7952;&#956;&#8050; &#959;&#8016; &#956;&#8052; &#948;&#953;&#968;&#942;&#963;&#8131; &#960;&#974;&#960;&#959;&#964;&#949;</span>.
+Ver. 55: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7969; &#947;&#8048;&#961; &#963;&#940;&#961;&#958; &#956;&#959;&#965; &#7936;&#955;&#951;&#952;&#8182;&#962; &#7952;&#963;&#964;&#953; &#946;&#961;&#8182;&#963;&#953;&#962;, &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#964;&#8056;
+&#945;&#7991;&#956;&#940; &#956;&#959;&#965; &#7936;&#955;&#951;&#952;&#8182;&#962; &#7952;&#963;&#964;&#953; &#960;&#972;&#963;&#953;&#962;</span>. From the sequel (comp. vers. 6, 7), it appears
+that the thrice repeated <i>coming</i> and the <i>buying</i> are accomplished by
+true repentance, the <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#956;&#949;&#964;&#8049;&#957;&#959;&#953;&#945;</span>, which is the
+indispensable condition of the participation in the salvation. In John vi. 35, the
+words: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#8001; &#7952;&#961;&#967;&#972;&#956;&#949;&#957;&#959;&#962; &#960;&#961;&#8056;&#962; &#956;&#949;</span> are explained by:
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#8001; &#960;&#953;&#963;&#964;&#949;&#973;&#969;&#957; &#949;&#7984;&#962; &#7952;&#956;&#8050;</span>. Faith is the soul of repentance.--The
+circumstance that the <span class="pagenum">[Pg 345]</span> 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 <i>wine</i>
+and <i>milk</i>,--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 &quot;evangelical righteousness.&quot; 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 2. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">From ver. 3, we see that it is not the Prophet, but the Lord who
+speaks. &quot;That which is not bread,&quot; and &quot;that which satisfieth not,&quot; 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. &quot;That which is not bread,&quot; 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, &quot;lavish gold out of the bag,
+and <i>weigh silver</i> in the balance, and hire a goldsmith,
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 346]</span> that he make it a god, work also and fall
+down.&quot; With perfect justice <i>Stier</i> remarks: &quot;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&#39;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.&quot;<!--inserted quote--> &quot;Fatness&quot; occurs as a figurative designation
+of the glorious gifts of God, in Ps. xxxvi. 9 also.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 3. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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 &quot;incline your ear, and come unto me, hear,&quot; comp. Ps.
+xlv. 11: &quot;Hear, O daughter, and see, and <i>incline thine ear</i> (from the fundamental
+passage, the Singular is here retained), and forget thy people and thy father&#39;s
+house.&quot; On &quot;your soul shall live,&quot; comp. Ps. xxii. 27: &quot;The meek shall eat and be
+satisfied, they shall praise the Lord that seek Him, <i>your heart shall live for
+ever</i>.&quot; Analogous are the references to Ps. lxxii. in chap. xi. The soul <i>dies</i>
+in care and grief In the words: &quot;I will grant to you,&quot; &amp;c., there follow the glad
+tidings which are to heal the dying hearts. <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1499;&#1512;&#1514; &#1489;&#1512;&#1497;&#1514;</span>
+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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;</span>,
+comp. chap. lxi. 8: &quot;And I give them their reward in truth, and I make (grant) to
+them an everlasting covenant,&quot; Jer. xxxii. 40; Ezek. xxxiv. 25; Ps. lxxxix. 4. Since
+<i>to make a covenant</i> is here identical with <i>granting mercy</i>,
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1499;&#1512;&#1514;&#1492;</span> may also be connected with the subsequent
+&quot;the constant mercies of David,&quot; 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 &quot;I <i>will</i> make&quot; show that, here too, a new covenant is spoken of. The
+substance of the covenant to be made is expressed in the words:
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 347]</span> &quot;The constant mercies of David,&quot; &amp;c. By &quot;David,&quot;
+many interpreters here understand the descendant of David, the Messiah, who, in
+other passages also, <i>e.g.</i>, Jer. xxx. 9, bears the name of His type. Even
+<i>Abenezra</i> refers to the fact that, in ver. 4, the Messiah is necessarily required
+as the subject. The <i>constant</i> mercies of David are, according to this view--in
+parallelism with the &quot;everlasting covenant&quot;--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: &quot;And my mercy shall not depart from him (thy race) ... and constant
+(<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1488;&#1502;&#1503;</span>) is thine house, and thy kingdom for
+ever before thee, thy throne shall be firm for ever;&quot;<!--inserted quote--> compare
+Ps. lxxxix. 29: &quot;My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and my covenant is constant
+in him.&quot; Ps. lxxxix. 2, 50: &quot;Lord, where are thy former mercies which thou swarest
+unto David in thy truth?&quot; 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 <i>constant</i>, 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 (<i>Ewald</i>, <i>Umbreit</i>,
+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, <span class="pagenum">[Pg 348]</span> 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: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#8005;&#964;&#953; &#948;&#8050; &#7936;&#957;&#941;&#963;&#964;&#951;&#963;&#949;&#957; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#8056;&#957; &#7952;&#954;
+&#957;&#949;&#954;&#961;&#8182;&#957;, &#956;&#951;&#954;&#941;&#964;&#953; &#956;&#941;&#955;&#955;&#959;&#957;&#964;&#945; &#8017;&#960;&#959;&#963;&#964;&#961;&#941;&#966;&#949;&#953;&#957; &#949;&#7984;&#962; &#948;&#953;&#945;&#966;&#952;&#959;&#961;&#940;&#957; &#959;&#8021;&#964;&#969;&#962;, &#949;&#7988;&#961;&#951;&#954;&#949;&#957; &#903; &#8005;&#964;&#953; &#948;&#974;&#963;&#969; &#8017;&#956;&#8150;&#957;
+&#964;&#8048; &#8005;&#963;&#953;&#945; &#916;&#945;&#965;&#8054;&#948; &#964;&#8048; &#960;&#953;&#963;&#964;&#940;</span>. <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#8013;&#963;&#953;&#945; &#916;&#945;&#965;&#8054;&#948;</span>,
+<i>sancta Davidis</i>, 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 4. &quot;<i>Behold, I give him for a witness to the people, for
+a prince and lawgiver of the people.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1514;&#1514;&#1497;&#1493;</span> 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.
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1491;</span> has no other signification than &quot;witness.&quot;
+Every true doctrine bears the character of a witness. The teacher sent by God does
+not teach on his own authority, <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#945; &#956;&#8052; &#7953;&#8061;&#961;&#945;&#954;&#949;&#957; &#7952;&#956;&#946;&#945;&#964;&#949;&#8059;&#969;&#957;</span>,
+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: &quot;For this end
+was I born, and for this cause I came into the world, that I should bear <i>witness</i>
+unto the truth.&quot; And the passages, Rev. i. 5: &quot;And from Jesus Christ who is the
+faithful witness,&quot; and Rev. iii. 14: &quot;These things says the Amen, the faithful and
+true witness,&quot; 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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1491;</span> 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
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 349]</span> 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1491;</span> is never applied to him, it is just
+the subsequent <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1490;&#1497;&#1491;</span> 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 <i>ruler</i> over the people of the Lord, over Israel; in 2
+Sam. vii. 8, Nathan says: &quot;I took thee from the sheep-cot to be <i>ruler</i> over
+my people, over Israel;&quot; 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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1490;&#1497;&#1491;</span>, the second David, the prince of the
+<i>people</i>, 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,
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1490;&#1497;&#1491;</span> was the less appropriate designation,
+inasmuch as it designates the ruler as the chief of his people.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 5. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <i>He
+adorneth thee</i>. This glorification consists, according to chap. iv. 2, in the
+appearance of <span class="pagenum">[Pg 350]</span> Christ, the immediate consequence
+of which is the conversion of the heathen world.</p>
+<p class="normal">We must now review that exposition by which Rationalism has endeavoured
+to deprive our passage of its Messianic import,--an attempt in which <i>Grotius</i>
+led the way. <i>Gesenius</i>, whom <i>Hitzig</i>, <i>Maurer</i>, <i>Ewald</i>, and
+<i>Knobel</i> follow, translates in vers. 3 and 4: &quot;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,&quot; 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.<sup class="ftnRef"><a name="ftnRef_350a" href="#ftn_350a">[1]</a></sup></p>
+<p class="normal">We are the less entitled to put &quot;mercies <i>like</i> David&#39;s&quot;
+instead of &quot;the mercies of David,&quot; 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, &quot;constant,&quot; 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, <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1488;&#1502;&#1504;&#1497;&#1501;</span>
+distinctly points back to 2 Sam. vii. Ver. 4 forms, according to this explanation,
+&quot;a historical reminiscence, most unsuitable in the flow of a prophetic discourse&quot;
+(<i>Umbreit</i>). But what in itself is quite conclusive is the circumstance, that
+the first David could not by any possibility be designated as the <i>witness</i>
+of the Gentile nations. It indeed sounds rather <i>na�ve</i> that <i>Knobel</i>,
+after having endeavoured to explain <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1489;</span> of
+the &quot;opening up of the law,&quot; feels himself obliged to add: &quot;The word does not, however,
+occur anywhere else in this signification.&quot; Nor could David, without farther limitation,
+be designated as &quot;the prince and lawgiver of the <i>peoples</i>;&quot; and that so much
+the more <span class="pagenum">[Pg 351]</span> 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">After the promise, there follows, in vers. 6&#8211;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.</p>
+<hr class="ftn">
+<div class="ftn">
+	<p class="ftnText"><a name="ftn_350a" href="#ftnRef_350a">
+	<sup class="ftnRef">[1]</sup></a> <i>Vitringa</i> already remarked in opposition
+	to it: &quot;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?&quot;</p>
+</div>
+<hr class="W20">
+<h3><a name="div2_351" href="#div2Ref_351">THE PROPHECY--CHAP. LXI. 1&#8211;3.</a></h3>
+<p class="normal">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&#8211;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.</p>
+<p class="normal">According to the Jewish and Rationalistic interpreters, the Prophet
+himself is supposed to be speaking in vers. 1&#8211;3. That opinion was last expressed
+by <i>Knobel</i>: &quot;The author places before his promises a remembrance of his vocation
+as a preacher of consolation.&quot; In favour of the Messianic interpretation, in which
+our Lord himself preceded His Church (Luke iv. 17&#8211;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, <span class="pagenum">[Pg 352]</span> but actually to grant them. He does
+not represent himself as a mere Evangelist, but rather as a Saviour.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 1. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">On the words: &quot;The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is upon me,&quot; compare
+chap. xi. 2, xlii. 1. <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1506;&#1503;</span> always means &quot;because
+of&quot; The whole succeeding clause stands instead of a noun, so that, in substance,
+&quot;because of&quot; is equivalent to &quot;because;&quot; but it never can mean &quot;therefore.&quot; Nor
+would the latter signification afford a good sense. The verb
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1513;&#1495;</span> 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: &quot;because the Lord hath
+anointed me&quot; 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, &amp;c. The
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1504;&#1493;&#1497;&#1501;</span> are the
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#960;&#961;&#8115;&#949;&#8150;&#962;</span> in Matt. v. 5;
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1504;&#1497;</span> and <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1504;&#1493;</span>
+are never confounded with one another. The LXX., whom Luke follows, have
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#960;&#964;&#969;&#967;&#959;&#8150;&#962;</span>. 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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1504;&#1493;&#1497;&#1501;</span>, in contrast to the wicked, appear,
+in chap. xi. also, as the people of the Messiah.--&quot;The binding up&quot;--<i>Stier</i>
+remarks--&quot;already passes over into the actual bestowal of that which is announced.&quot;
+The term <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1511;&#1512;&#1488; &#1491;&#1512;&#1493;&#1512;</span> 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: &quot;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 <span class="pagenum">[pg 353]</span> shall return
+every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.&quot; 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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1508;&#1511;&#1495;&#1511;&#1493;&#1495;</span>, although this writing is found in
+most of the manuscripts. The word is, &quot;by its form of reduplication, the most emphatic
+term for the most complete opening,&quot; and designates, &quot;opening, unclosing of every
+kind, of the eyes, ears, and heart, of every barrier and tie from within, or from
+without.&quot; The LXX., proceeding upon the fact that <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">
+&#1508;&#1511;&#1495;</span> occurs, with especial frequency, of the opening of the eyes, translate:
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#954;&#945;&#8054; &#964;&#965;&#966;&#955;&#959;&#953;&#770;&#962; &#7936;&#957;&#940;&#946;&#955;&#949;&#968;&#953;&#957;</span>. 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: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7936;&#960;&#959;&#963;&#964;&#949;&#8150;&#955;&#945;&#953; &#964;&#949;&#952;&#961;&#945;&#965;&#963;&#956;&#8051;&#957;&#959;&#965;&#962; &#7952;&#957; &#7936;&#966;&#8051;&#963;&#949;&#953;</span>, borrowing
+the expression from the Alexand. Vers. itself in chap. lviii. 6.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 2. &quot;<i>To proclaim a year of acceptance to the Lord, and
+a day of vengeance to our God, to comfort all that mourn.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">&quot;A year ... to the Lord&quot; 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 <i>year</i> instead of a <i>time</i>, indefinitely. In that
+year, a complete <i>restitutio in integrum</i> 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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 354]</span> 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, &quot;His
+first coming into the world was in the form of meekness,&quot; and, therefore, in the
+meantime, the bright side only is brought out.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 3. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <i>announcing</i> 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1513;&#1493;&#1501;</span> and
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1514;&#1503;</span> 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1513;&#1493;&#1501;</span> is understood in the sense, &quot;to put
+upon,&quot; or, &quot;to put on,&quot; that there is a sufficient reason for adding
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1514;&#1503;</span>; but that is not the case when it is taken
+in the signification &quot;to grant,&quot; &quot;to appoint.&quot; <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1508;&#1488;&#1512;</span>
+&quot;crown,&quot; and <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1508;&#1512;</span> &quot;ashes,&quot; are connected with
+one another, because mourners were accustomed to strew ashes on their heads. The
+expression &quot;oil of joy,&quot; 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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 355]</span> likewise an allusion
+to Ps. xlv., and along with it, to Ps. xxii. The &quot;spirit of heaviness&quot; refers to
+chap. xlii. 3. The fact that, instead of it, they receive &quot;garments of praise,&quot;
+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 &quot;righteousness&quot; 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.</p>
+<p class="continue"><span class="pagenum">[Pg 356]</span></p>
+<h2><a name="div1_356" href="#div1Ref_356">THE PROPHET ZEPHANIAH.</a></h2>
+<hr class="W20">
+
+<p class="normal">By the inscription, the Prophet&#39;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, <i>in the first instance</i>
+only, the instruments of Divine punishment.</p>
+<p class="normal">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&#8211;7; then, in detail, vers. 8&#8211;18. In
+close connection, this is followed by a call to repent, in chap. ii. 1&#8211;3. This call
+is founded on the fearful character of the impending judgment which, according to
+vers. 4&#8211;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
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 357]</span> 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&#39;s power.</p>
+<p class="normal">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, &quot;the afflicted and poor people
+of the land&quot; 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: &quot;For when thy judgments are in the
+earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness&quot;) 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">The principal passage is chap. iii. 8&#8211;13.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 8. &quot;<i>Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the Lord, until the
+day that I rise up to the prey; for my right is</i> (<i>i.e.</i>, the exercise of
+my right consists in this) <i>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.</i> Ver. 9. <i>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.</i> Ver. 10. <i>From beyond the rivers of
+Ethiopia shall they bring my suppliants, the daughter of my dispersed for a meat-offering
+to me.</i> Ver. 11. <i>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.</i> Ver. 12. <i>And I leave in the midst of thee an afflicted
+and poor people, and they trust in the name of the Lord.</i> Ver. 13. <i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="continue"><span class="pagenum">[Pg 358]</span></p>
+<p class="normal">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.</p>
+<p class="normal">&quot;<i>Therefore</i>&quot; 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: &quot;Wait ye upon me,&quot; compare Hab.
+ii. 3. &quot;The day that the Lord rises up to the prey&quot; is the time when He will begin
+His great triumphal march against the Gentile world. With the words: &quot;For my right,&quot;
+&amp;c., a new argument for the call &quot;Wait ye upon me,&quot; 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, <i>e.g.</i> 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. &quot;The clean lip&quot; 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: &quot;To serve Him with one shoulder,&quot;
+comp. Is. xix. 23: &quot;And Egypt serves with Asshur.&quot; The words: &quot;From beyond the rivers
+of Ethiopia,&quot; 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.
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1514;&#1512;</span> always means &quot;to supplicate,&quot;
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 359]</span> never &quot;to burn incense.&quot; Ezek. viii. 11 must
+thus be translated: &quot;Every man, his censer in his hand, and the <i>supplication</i>
+of the cloud of incense went up;&quot;<!--inserted quote--> compare remarks on Rev. v.
+8. The dispersed members of the Church <i>supplicate</i> 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. &quot;The daughter of my dispersed&quot;
+is the daughter or communion, consisting of the dispersed of the Lord, just as in
+the phrase &quot;the daughter of the Chaldeans,&quot; 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: &quot;And the
+Lord <i>disperses</i> you among the nations;&quot; xxviii. 64: &quot;And the Lord <i>disperses</i>
+thee among all the nations from the one end of the earth even unto the other,&quot;--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, &quot;Wait ye upon me&quot; 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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&#8211;21, which we must here subject to
+a somewhat closer examination: Ver. 18. &quot;And I ... their works and their thoughts;
+<i>the time cometh to gather</i> all Gentiles and tongues, and they come and <i>
+see</i> my glory.&quot; 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: &quot;Ye
+shall be holy, for I am holy,&quot; and their sinful thoughts and words are simply placed
+beside one another, <span class="pagenum">[Pg 360]</span> other, and it is left
+to every one to draw from it the inference as to the fate awaiting them. &quot;I and
+their works&quot;--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. &quot;And I set a sign among them, and send from among them escaped ones unto
+the nations, to Tarshish, &amp;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,&quot;--The
+suffix in <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1492;&#1501;</span> 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 <i>mark</i>, 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&#39;s own fault,
+and at one&#39;s own risk, that the sign is not understood. The fact that &quot;unto the
+nations&quot; forms the beginning, and the &quot;isles afar off&quot;--isles in the sea of the
+world, kingdoms--the close, shows that the single names, Tarshish, &amp;c., are only
+individualizations. In the following verse, too, all the heathens are spoken of
+Ver. 20: &quot;And they bring, out of all nations, your brethren for a meat-offering
+unto the Lord, upon horses, &amp;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.&quot;
+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 &quot;they bring&quot; 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
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 361]</span> part of Isaiah, are throughout designated
+as the <i>brethren</i>. 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 <i>clean vessel</i> 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: &quot;And of them also will I take for Levitical
+priests, saith the Lord.&quot; Of them, <i>i.e.</i>, 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 <i>also</i>; 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Vers. 11&#8211;13 describe the internal condition of the redeemed Church
+of the future,--a condition so different from the present one. The expression, &quot;they
+that proudly rejoice in them,&quot; is from Is. xiii. 3.
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1499;&#1497;</span> 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">In ver. 14 ff., the Jerusalem of the future is addressed; compare
+the expression, &quot;at that time,&quot; ver. 20.</p>
+<p class="continue"><span class="pagenum">[Pg 362]</span></p>
+<h3><a name="div1_362" href="#div1Ref_362">THE PROPHET JEREMIAH.</a></h3>
+<h4><a name="div2_362" href="#div2Ref_362">GENERAL PRELIMINARY REMARKS.</a></h4>
+<p class="normal">In Malachi iii. 1, the Lord promises that He would send His messenger
+who should prepare the way before <i>Him</i>, 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 <i>actually</i> 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">The name of the Prophet is to be explained from Exod. xv. 1, from
+which it is probably taken. It signifies &quot;The Lord throws.&quot; 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: &quot;See, I set thee to-day over the nations <span class="pagenum">[Pg
+363]</span> and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and
+to throw down, to build and to plant,&quot; 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
+<i>throwing</i>, we have to conceive, not of the unfaithful covenant-people only.
+This appears from the mention of the <i>nations and kingdoms</i> here, and farther,
+from ver. 14, where the Lord says to the Prophet: &quot;Out of the North the evil breaks
+forth upon all the inhabitants of the earth.&quot; 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
+&quot;carrying away of Jerusalem&quot; 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&#39;s deliverance, although, according to chap. x. 1, his prophetic ministry
+extended beyond that period.</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg
+364]</span> 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 <i>e.g.</i> 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: &quot;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&quot;--an <i>accomplishment</i> 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, &amp;c., being considered
+as the sole condition of its validity. &quot;Trust ye not in lying words&quot;--so
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 365]</span> the Prophet is obliged to admonish them in
+chap. vii. 4--&quot;saying, The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple
+of the Lord are they&quot; (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). &quot;Thou sayest, I am innocent; His
+anger hath entirely turned from me; behold I plead with thee, because thou sayest:
+I have not sinned,&quot; chap. ii. 35. &quot;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,&quot; chap. vi. 20. Towards
+the end of Josiah&#39;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
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 366]</span> is a blood-thirsty tyrant, an exasperated
+enemy to truth. At the beginning of his reign, some influence of Josiah&#39;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&#39;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): &quot;They shall fight
+against thee, and they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith
+<i>the Lord</i>, to deliver thee.&quot; 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 &quot;<i>Dissertations
+on the Genuineness of Daniel</i>,&quot; 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
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 367]</span> 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 &quot;<i>Dissertations on the Genuineness of Daniel</i>,&quot; 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 <i>unprejudiced</i>
+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. <i>Melancthon</i> (opp. ii., p. 407 ff.) points it out as a remarkable circumstance
+that, while other prophets, <i>e.g.</i>, 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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 368]</span>
+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&#8211;12; 2 Kings xxiv. 2; &quot;<i>Dissertations on
+the Genuineness of Daniel</i>,&quot; 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&#39;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
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 369]</span> 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
+<i>C. B. Michaelis</i> assigned to him in the words: &quot;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.&quot; 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 (<i>Dahler</i> remarks: &quot;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&quot;) cannot
+be put down to his credit; <i>he was, against his will, forced to do so</i>; and
+indeed he could not resist a powerful impression of any kind. In a man of Jehoiakim&#39;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 <i>altogether</i> 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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 370]</span> 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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. &quot;O that they would give me in the wilderness a lodging-place
+for wayfaring men&quot;--so he speaks as early as under Josiah, chap. ix. 1 (2)--&quot;and
+I would leave my people and go from them; for they are all adulterer, an assembly
+of treacherous men.&quot; 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. &quot;The more tender the heart, the deeper
+the smart.&quot; 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&#39;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
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 371]</span> xx., because, by the victory, the Lord, who
+alone could give it, was glorified.</p>
+<p class="normal">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,
+<i>Calvin</i> strikingly expresses in these words: &quot;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&#39; exile.&quot; 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, <i>e.g.</i>, in the prophecy
+against Egypt, chap. xlvi. 26; against Moab, chap. xlviii. 47; against Ammon, xlix.
+6.</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 372]</span>
+thing attached to it, shall become antiquated, chap. iii. 14&#8211;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: &quot;I give my law in their inward parts,
+and I will write it in their hearts,&quot; chap. xxxi. 31&#8211;34; the intimation of the impending
+realization of the promise of Moses: &quot;Ye shall be to me a kingdom of priests,&quot; with
+which the abolition of the poor form of the priesthood hitherto is connected, chap.
+xxxiii. 14&#8211;26.</p>
+<p class="normal">As regards the style of Jeremiah, <i>Cunaeus</i> (<i>de repub.
+Hebr.</i> i. 3, c. 7) pertinently remarks: &quot;The whole majesty of Jeremiah lies in
+his negligent language; that rough diction becomes him exceedingly well.&quot; It is
+certainly very superficial in <i>Jerome</i> to seek the cause of that <i>humilitas
+dictionis</i> of the Prophet, whom he, at the same time, calls <i>in majestate sensuum
+profundissimum</i>, in his origin from the <i>viculus Anathoth</i>. 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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: &quot;Thou shalt not prophecy in the name of the Lord, else thou
+shalt die by our hand,&quot; 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 &quot;all the inhabitants of Jerusalem,&quot; that
+he had spoken to <i>them</i> 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: &quot;Go, and cry into the ears of Jerusalem.&quot; 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.</p>
+<p class="continue"><span class="pagenum">[Pg 373]</span></p>
+<h3><a name="div2_373" href="#div2Ref_373">THE SECTION, CHAP. III, 14-l7.</a></h3>
+<p class="normal">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: &quot;And the Lord said unto me in the
+days of Josiah the king?&quot; Every thing on which these interpreters endeavour to found
+more accurate determinations in regard to the single Sections, disappears upon a
+closer consideration. Thus, <i>e.g.</i>, the twofold reference to the seeking of
+help from Egypt, in chap. ii. 16 ff., xxxvi., xxxvii., on which <i>Eichhorn</i>
+and <i>Dahler</i> 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>i.e.</i>, 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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 374]</span>
+period in the reign of Josiah, as rather a <i>resum�</i> 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. <i>e.g.</i>, the introduction to Micah.</p>
+<p class="normal">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&#8211;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&#8211;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&#39;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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 375]</span> the Kingdom of God, and imagined
+the Gentiles to be excluded from it. The Saviour&#39;s announcement of the calling of
+the Gentiles stands in the same relation as the Prophet&#39;s announcement of the restoration
+of Israel.</p>
+<hr class="W20">
+<p class="normal">Ver. 14. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">The question here is:--To whom is the discourse here addressed,--to
+the members of Israel, <i>i.e.</i>, the kingdom of the ten tribes, as most of the
+interpreters suppose (<i>Abarbanel</i>, <i>Calvin</i>, <i>Schmid</i>, 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, &quot;turn, O apostate children,&quot; 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&#8211;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. <i>Farther</i>--A
+detailed announcement of salvation for Judah would here not be suitable, inasmuch
+as no threatening preceded; and ver. 18 (&quot;In those days, the house of Judah shall
+come by the side of [literally, &#39;over&#39;] the house of Israel,&quot; 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&#8211;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.
+<i>Finally</i>--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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1499;&#1497; &#1488;&#1504;&#1499;&#1497; &#1489;&#1506;&#1500;&#1514;&#1497; &#1488;&#1514;&#1499;&#1501;</span>,
+we follow the precedent of the Vulgate (<i>quia ego vir vester</i>), of <i>Luther</i>
+(&quot;I will <span class="pagenum">[Pg 376]</span> marry you to me&quot;), of <i>Calvin</i>,
+<i>Schimd</i>, and others. On the other hand, others, especially <i>Pococke</i>,
+<i>ad P.M.</i> p. 2, <i>Schultens</i> on Prov. xxx. 22, <i>Venema</i>, <i>Schnurrer</i>,
+<i>Gesenius</i>, <i>Winer</i>, <i>Bleek</i>, have made every endeavour to prove
+that <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1506;&#1500;</span> is used <i>sensu malo</i> 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 <i>usus loquendi</i>, and refer solely to the Arabic,
+where <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1506;&#1500;</span> means <i>fastidire</i>. Others derive
+from the Hebrew signification, &quot;to rule,&quot; that of a tyrannical dominion, and support
+their right in so doing, by referring, with <i>Gesenius</i>, to other verbs in which
+the signification, <i>to subdue</i>, <i>to be distinguished</i>, <i>to rule</i>,
+has been changed into that of <i>looking down</i>, <i>despising</i>, and <i>contemning</i>.
+As regards the <i>first</i> derivation, even if the Arabic <i>usus loquendi</i>
+were proved, we could not from it make any certain inference as regards the Hebrew
+<i>usus loquendi</i>. But with respect to this Arabic <i>usus loquendi</i>, 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
+<img border="0" src="images/376a.png" alt="Arabic"> <i>fastidivit vir mulierem eamque
+expulit, s. repudiavit</i>; but it is only by a strange <i>quid pro quo</i> that
+interpreters, even <i>Schultens</i> among them, following the example of <i>Kimchi</i>,
+have saddled this expression upon the Arabic. The error lies in a hasty view of
+<i>Adul Walid</i>, who, instead of it, has
+<img border="0" src="images/376b.png" alt="Arabic"> <i>any one is embarrassed in
+his affair</i>. The signification <i>fastidire</i>, <i>rejicere</i>, is, in general,
+quite foreign to the Arabic. The verb
+<img border="0" src="images/376c.png" width="36" height="24" alt="Arabic"> denotes
+only: <i>mente turbatus</i>, <i>attonitus fuit</i>, <i>i.e.</i>, <i>to be possessed</i>,
+<i>deprived of the use of one&#39;s strength</i>, <i>to be embarrassed</i>, <i>not to
+know how to help one&#39;s self</i>: compare the <i>Camus</i> in <i>Schultens</i> and
+<i>Freytag</i>. 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 <i>ruling</i>, from which that of <i>ruling tyrannically</i> is
+said to have arisen, is entirely foreign to the Hebrew. More clearly than by modern
+Lexicographers it was seen by <i>Cocceius</i>, that the fundamental, yea the only
+signification of <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1506;&#1500;</span>, is that of <i>possessing</i>,
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 377]</span> <i>occupying</i>. It may, indeed, be used
+also of rulers, as, <i>e.g.</i> 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: &quot;Jehovah
+our God, <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1506;&#1500;&#1493;&#1504;&#1493; &#1488;&#1491;&#1493;&#1504;&#1497;&#1501; &#1494;&#1493;&#1500;&#1514;&#1497;&#1498;</span>, Lords beside
+thee have dominion over us,&quot; <i>Schultens</i>, it is true, remarks: &quot;Every one here
+easily recognizes a severe and tyrannical dominion;&quot; 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,<sup class="ftnRef"><a name="ftnRef_377a" href="#ftn_377a">[1]</a></sup>
+lxii. 4, compare Job i. 8, where a relation is spoken of, founded on most cordial
+love, show that the signification &quot;<i>to marry</i>,&quot; 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 &quot;to possess.&quot; And this
+is farther proved by passages such as Deut. xxi. 10&#8211;13, xxvi. 1, where the <i>copula
+carnalis</i> is pointed out as that by which the <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">
+&#1489;&#1506;&#1500;</span> is completed. And, finally, it is seen from the Arabic, where the wife
+is also called, <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1506;&#1500;&#1492;</span>,
+<img border="0" src="images/377a.png" width="39" height="25" alt="Arabic">, just
+as the husband is called <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1506;&#1500;</span>,
+<img border="0" src="images/377b.png" width="33" height="23" alt="Arabic">.---It
+is farther obvious that, in the frequent compositions of
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1468;&#1463;&#1506;&#1463;&#1500;</span> with other nouns, in order, by way
+of paraphrasis, to form adjectives, the signification &quot;lord&quot; is far less suitable
+than that of &quot;possessor,&quot; <i>e.g.</i>, <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1506;&#1500; &#1495;&#1500;&#1502;&#1493;&#1514;</span>,
+<i>the dreamer</i>, <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1506;&#1500; &#1488;&#1507;</span>, <i>the angry one</i>,
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1506;&#1500; &#1504;&#1508;&#1513;</span>, <i>the covetous one</i>,
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1506;&#1500; &#1502;&#1494;&#1502;&#1494;&#1514;</span>, <i>the deceitful one</i>,
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1506;&#1500;&#1497; &#1506;&#1497;&#1512;</span> <i>oppidani</i>,
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1506;&#1500;&#1497; &#1489;&#1512;&#1497;&#1514;</span>, <i>the members of the covenant</i>,
+etc. We arrive at the same conclusion, if we look to the dialects. Here, too, the
+signification &quot;to possess&quot; appears as the proper and original signification. In
+the Ethiopic, the verb signifies <i>multum possedit, dives fuit.</i> In Arabic,
+the significations are more varied; but they may all be traced back to one root.
+Thus, <i>e.g.</i> <img border="0" src="images/377c.png" alt="Arabic">,
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1506;&#1500;</span>, according to the <i>Camus</i>, &quot;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;&quot;
+<i>i.e.</i>, a land, a tree, a plant which themselves <i>possess</i>, which do not
+require to <i>borrow</i> from others. This reason of the appellation clearly appears
+in <i>Dsheuhari</i> (compare <span class="pagenum">[Pg 378]</span> <i>Schultens</i>
+l. c.): &quot;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.&quot;<!--inserted quote--> In favour
+of the signification &quot;to rule&quot; in this verb, the following gloss from the <i>Camus</i>
+only can be quoted: &quot;Both (the 1st and 10th conjugations) when construed with
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1500;&#1497;&#1492;</span> <i>super illum</i>, denote: he has taken
+possession of a thing, and behaved himself proudly towards it.&quot; But the latter clause
+must be struck out; for it has flowed only from the false reading
+<img border="0" src="images/378a.png" width="32" height="27.5" alt="Arabic"> in
+<i>Schultens</i>, for which (compare <i>Freytag</i>)
+<img border="0" src="images/378b.png" width="34" height="28" alt="Arabic"> <i>noluit</i>
+must be read, <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1506;&#1500;</span> with
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1500;</span> accordingly signifies &quot;to be the possessor
+of a thing, and, as such, not to be willing to give it up to another.&quot; And thus
+every ground has been taken from those who, from the Hebrew <i>usus loquendi</i>,
+would interpret <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1506;&#1500;</span> 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
+<i>Schultens</i>, 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&#39;s wrath, but allured by the call: &quot;Come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy
+laden, <i>for</i> I will give you rest.&quot; But they also labour under great difficulties
+who, after the example of <i>Kimchi</i> (&quot;<i>ego fastidivi vos, eo scil. quod praeteriit
+tempore, ac jam colligam vos</i>&quot;), refer the <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1499;&#1497;</span>
+not so much to <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1506;&#1500;&#1514;&#1497;</span>, as rather to
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1511;&#1492;&#1514;&#1497;</span>: &quot;For I have, it is true, rejected you
+formerly, but now I take,&quot; &amp;c. This is the only shape in which this interpretation
+can still appear; for it is altogether arbitrary to explain
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1499;&#1497;</span> by &quot;although,&quot; an interpretation still
+found in <i>De Wette</i>. 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 <i>formerly</i> and <i>now</i>.
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1511;&#1495;&#1514;&#1497;</span> and <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1506;&#1500;&#1514;&#1497;</span>
+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: &quot;Return thou,
+apostate Israel, saith the Lord; I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you;
+<i>for</i> I am merciful; I do not keep anger for ever,&quot;--a circumstance which has
+already been <span class="pagenum">[Pg 379]</span> pointed out by <i>Calvin</i>.
+Israel&#39;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: &quot;Because apostate Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away, and
+given her the bill of divorce.&quot; 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? (&quot;<i>Thou
+hast scattered thy ways</i>,<!--deleted quote--> <i>i.e.</i>, thou hast been running
+about to various places after the manner of an impudent whore seeking lovers&quot;--<i>Schmid</i>;
+compare ver. 6.) Farther to be compared is ver. 22: &quot;Return ye apostate children,
+(for) I will heal your apostacy. Behold we come unto thee, <i>for</i> thou art the
+Lord our God.&quot; The objection that <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1506;&#1500;</span>, in
+the signification &quot;to take in marriage&quot; is construed with the Accusative only, is
+of no weight. In a manner altogether similar, <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1494;&#1499;&#1512;</span>,
+which else is connected with the simple Accusative, is, in ver. 16, followed by
+the Preposition <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;</span>.
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1506;&#1500;</span> with <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;</span>
+altogether corresponds to our &quot;to join onesself in marriage;&quot; 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 <i>Suffix
+Plur.</i> 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 <i>Calvin</i>: &quot;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.&quot; 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, <i>vice versa</i>, the sense which will result from
+an independent consideration of that passage, <span class="pagenum">[Pg 380]</span>
+will serve to confirm that which was here established.<sup class="ftnRef"><a name="ftnRef_380a" href="#ftn_380a">[2]</a></sup>
+In the right determination of the sense of the subsequent words, too, <i>Calvin</i>
+distinguishes himself advantageously from the earlier, and most of the later interpreters:
+&quot;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 <i>whole</i> 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: &#39;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.&#39;&quot; After him <i>Loscanus</i> too (in his Dissertation on
+this passage, Frankf. 1720) has thus correctly stated the sense: &quot;The small number
+shall not prevent God from carrying out His counsel.&quot; 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&#39;s love and mercy be to Israel,
+in how wide an extent must the declaration be true:
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7936;&#956;&#949;&#964;&#945;&#956;&#941;&#955;&#951;&#964;&#945; &#964;&#8048; &#967;&#945;&#961;&#943;&#963;&#956;&#945;&#964;&#945; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#7969; &#954;&#955;&#8134;&#963;&#953;&#962; &#964;&#959;&#8166; &#952;&#949;&#959;&#8166;</span>,
+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 punishment 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
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7952;&#960;&#953;&#964;&#965;&#947;&#967;&#8049;&#957;&#949;&#953;&#957;</span> of the
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7952;&#954;&#955;&#959;&#947;&#8053;</span> (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, <i>e.g.</i> <i>Theodoret</i>,
+<i>Grotius</i>, think exclusively of the return from the Babylonish captivity. Others
+(after the example of <i>Jerome</i> and the Jewish interpreters) think of the Messianic
+time. It need <span class="pagenum">[Pg 381]</span> 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 <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#948;&#969;&#948;&#949;&#954;&#940;&#966;&#965;&#955;&#959;&#957;</span>,
+Acts xxvi. 7. The words: &quot;I bring you to Zion,&quot; in the verse under consideration,
+and: &quot;They shall come out of the land of the North to the land that I have given
+for an inheritance unto their fathers,&quot; 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
+<i>only</i>; 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 15.
+<!--inserted quote-->&quot;<i>And I give you shepherds according to mine heart, and they
+feed you with knowledge and understanding.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">The question is:--Who are here to be understood by the shepherds?
+<i>Calvin</i> thinks that it is especially the prophets and priests, inasmuch as
+it was just the bad condition of these <span class="pagenum">[Pg 382]</span> 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 <i>Vitringa</i> (<i>obs.</i> 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, <i>Jerome</i> remarked: &quot;These are the apostolical
+men who did not feed the multitude of the believers with Jewish ceremonies, but
+with knowledge and doctrine.&quot; Others refer it to leaders of every kind; thus <i>
+Venema</i>: <i>Pastores sunt rectores, ductores.</i> Others, finally, limit themselves
+to rulers; thus <i>Kimchi</i> (<i>gubernatores Israelis cum rege Messia</i>), <i>
+Grotius</i>, and <i>Clericus</i>. 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: &quot;The <i>priests</i> 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;&quot; comp. ver. 26: &quot;They, their
+kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets.&quot; 2. The word
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1499;&#1500;&#1489;&#1497;</span> contains an evident allusion to 1 Sam.
+xiii. 14, where it is said of David: &quot;The Lord hath sought him, a man after His
+own heart, and the Lord hath appointed him to be a prince over His people.&quot; 3. All
+doubt is removed by the parallel passage, chap. xxiii. 4: &quot;And I raise shepherds
+over them, and they feed them, and they fear no more, nor are dismayed.&quot; 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: &quot;Behold, days come,
+saith the Lord, and I raise unto David a righteous <i>Branch</i>, and He reigneth
+as a king and acteth wisely, and setteth up judgment and justice in the land.&quot; 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
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 383]</span> 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: &quot;And they seek Jehovah their God, and David their king;&quot; and that
+which we remarked on that passage is here more particularly applicable; compare
+also Ezek. xxxiv. 23: &quot;And I raise over them one Shepherd, and He feedeth them,
+my servant David, he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.&quot; The antithesis
+to the words: &quot;According to mine heart,&quot; is formed by the words in Hos. viii. 4:
+&quot;They have set up kings not by me, princes whom I knew not,&quot;--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.--<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1491;&#1461;&#1468;&#1506;&#1464;&#1492;</span> and
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1463;&#1513;&#1456;&#1474;&#1499;&#1461;&#1468;&#1497;&#1500;</span> stand adverbially.
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1460;&#1513;&#1456;&#1499;&#1468;&#1460;&#1497;&#1500;</span> &quot;to act wisely&quot; is, in appearance
+only, intransitive in <i>Hiphil</i>. 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: &quot;And ye shall keep and do (the law); for this is your
+wisdom and understanding;&quot;<!--inserted quote--> xxix. 8 (9): &quot;Ye shall keep the
+words of this covenant and do them, that ye may act wisely.&quot; 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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 384]</span>
+of interpreters and lexicographers who, severing several of these passages from
+the others, have forced upon the verb <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1513;&#1499;&#1497;&#1500;</span>
+the signification &quot;to prosper,&quot;--a signification altogether fanciful <i>God&#39;s</i>
+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 <i>servants</i> for kings.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 16. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">First, we shall explain some particulars. The words: &quot;When ye
+be,&quot; &amp;c. refer to Gen. i. 28, As it is God&#39;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&#39;s future activity in this respect, has an analogy
+in His former activity in Egypt, Exod. i. 12. The words: &quot;The Ark of the Covenant&quot;
+must be viewed as an exclamation, in which an ellipsis, in consequence of the emotion,
+must be supposed, <i>q.d.</i> 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. <i>Venema&#39;s</i> exposition; <i>Arca f&#339;deris
+Jehovae</i> sc. <i>est</i>, and that of <i>De Wette</i>: &quot;They shall no more speak
+of the Ark of the Covenant of Jehovah,&quot; are both feeble and un philological. How
+were it possible that <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1502;&#1512;</span> with the Accusative
+should mean &quot;to speak of something?&quot;--<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1500;&#1492; &#1506;&#1500;&#1470;&#1500;&#1489;</span>
+is, in a similar context, just as it is here, connected with
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1494;&#1499;&#1512;</span> in Is. lxv. 17: &quot;For behold I create a
+new heaven and a new earth, and the former shall not be remembered nor come into
+the heart,&quot; comp. also Jer. li. 50, vii. 31; 1 Cor. ii. 9.
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1494;&#1499;&#1512;</span> with <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;</span>
+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.
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1508;&#1511;&#1491;</span> is, by many interpreters, understood in
+the sense of &quot;to visit,&quot; but the signification &quot;to miss&quot; (Is. xxxiv. 16; 1 Sam.
+xx. 6-18, xxv. 15; 1 Kings <span class="pagenum">[Pg 385]</span> xx. 39) is recommended
+by the connection with the following clause: &quot;Nor shall it be made again.&quot; 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.<sup class="ftnRef"><a name="ftnRef_385a" href="#ftn_385a">[3]</a></sup>
+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 <i>constantly</i> 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 <i>Vitringa</i> who, in the <i>Obs. sac.</i> t. i. p.
+169, advances, among other arguments, the following: &quot;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.&quot;
+But this view of <i>Vitringa</i>, that it was <span class="pagenum">[Pg 386]</span>
+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 <i>Thalemann</i>, a pupil of <i>Ernesti</i>,
+it was afterwards advanced far more decidedly, and evidently with the intention
+of carrying it through, whether it was true or not, in the <i>Dissertatio de nube
+super arcam foederis</i> (Leipzig, 1756). He, too, declared, however, that he did
+not deny the matter, but only disputed the sign. He found a learned opponent in
+<i>John Eberhard Rau</i>, Professor at Herborn (<i>Ravius</i>, <i>de nube super
+arcam foederis</i>, Utrecht, 1760; it is a whole book, in which <i>Thalemann&#39;s</i>
+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, &quot;for in the cloud I shall appear over the lid of expiation,&quot;
+(this is the right explanation of <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1499;&#1463;&#1468;&#1508;&#1468;&#1512;&#1462;&#1514;</span>
+compare <i>Genuineness of the Pentateuch</i>, 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 <i>Vitringa</i> (S. 171), and still
+more <i>Thalemann</i> (S. 39 in <i>Rau</i>), 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 <i>Rau</i>, S. 40 ff.), although <i>J. D. Michaelis</i>, <i>Vater</i>,
+<i>Rosenm�ller</i>, and <i>B�hr</i>, (<i>Symbol. des Mos. Cultus</i>, i. S. 395),
+have approved of it.<sup class="ftnRef"><a name="ftnRef_386a" href="#ftn_386a">[4]</a></sup>
+On the other hand, <span class="pagenum">[Pg 387]</span> 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 <i>Rau</i> 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&#39;s presence in the hearts of believers, and in the Lord&#39;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 <i>manner</i> only, and not
+to the <i>fact</i> of God&#39;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 &quot;the
+glory of the Lord dwelling over them.&quot; 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&#39;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: &quot;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;&quot; 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
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 388]</span> the Ark of the Covenant. After the defeat
+before Ai (Josh. vii. 5 ff.), Joshua &quot;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?&quot; 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, <i>where people were accustomed
+to worship God</i>, 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 <i>e.g.</i>, the promise
+in Exodus xxix. 45: &quot;I dwell in the midst of the children of Israel,&quot;<!--inserted quote-->
+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 <i>the glory of Israel</i>,
+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: &quot;And the Ark of God is taken,&quot; 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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 389]</span> 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:
+&quot;The glory is departed from Israel, for the Ark of God is taken.&quot; 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 <i>in</i> it only, not
+<i>out</i> of it. Nor in such a manner as the carnally minded suppose, who, to the
+warnings of the prophets, opposed their word: &quot;Is not the Lord among us? none evil
+can come upon us&quot; (Micah iii. 11), or: &quot;Here is the temple of the Lord, here is
+the temple of the Lord, here is the temple of the Lord&quot; (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 <i>praesens numen</i>
+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
+<i>praesens numen</i>, 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&#39;s dwelling among Israel rested on <span class="pagenum">
+[Pg 390]</span> 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 <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#960;&#964;&#969;&#967;&#8048; &#963;&#964;&#959;&#953;&#967;&#949;&#8150;&#945;</span>, 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. <i>Witsius Misc. t.</i> i. p. 439,
+very pertinently remarks: &quot;The Ark of the Covenant being, as it were, the heart
+of the whole Israelitish religion, was made first of all.&quot; 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. <i>Dahler</i> remarks:
+&quot;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.&quot;--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
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 391]</span> 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 <i>Abarbanel</i>: &quot;This promise is, then, bad, and uproots the whole Law.
+How is it then that Scripture mentions it as good?&quot; Rabbi <i>Arama</i>, in his commentary
+on the Pentateuch, fol. 101, says, in reference to this prophecy,
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1489;&#1493;&#1499;&#1493; &#1499;&#1500; &#1492;&#1502;&#1508;&#1512;&#1513;&#1497;&#1501;</span> &quot;all interpreters have been
+perplexed by it.&quot; The interpretations by means of which they endeavour to rid themselves
+of this embarrassment (see the collection of them in <i>Frischmuth&#39;s</i> dissertation
+on this passage, Jena; reprinted in the <i>Thes. Ant.</i>) are only calculated plainly
+to manifest it. <i>Kimchi</i> gives this explanation: &quot;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.&quot; 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. <i>Abarbanel</i> rejects
+this explanation. He says: &quot;For there is, in the text, no mention at all of war;
+and therefore I cannot approve of this exposition, although <i>Jonathan</i>, too,
+inclines towards it.&quot; 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. &quot;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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 392]</span>
+the throne of the Lord.&quot; 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:
+&quot;They will not miss it, neither shall it be made again.&quot; 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 <i>the</i>
+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. <i>Josephus</i>, in enumerating the catalogue of the <i>spolia Judaica</i>,
+borne before in the triumph, does not mention it. He says expressly (de Bell. Jud.
+v. 5, � 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 <i>Calmet</i>, Th. 6, S. 224-258, <i>Mosh.</i> In asking
+<i>why</i> such was the case, other analogous phenomena, the absence of the <i>Urim
+and Thummim</i>, 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 <i>why</i> it was that the Ark of the Covenant was wanting, at the
+second temple, it is easy to <span class="pagenum">[Pg 393]</span> 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
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#948;&#8057;&#958;&#945;</span> (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&#39;s great
+plan of salvation was being prepared. Inasmuch as the most complete <i>fuga vacui</i>
+is peculiar to the Covenant-God, the emptiness in that place where formerly the
+glory of God dwelt, proclaimed aloud the future fulness.--<i>Finally</i>, we have
+still to determine the special reference of our verse to Israel, <i>i.e.</i>, 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 <i>Calvin</i>, 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&#39;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. <i>Here</i>, a compensation is promised for the
+second, infinitely greater loss, which <span class="pagenum">[Pg 394]</span> 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 &quot;throne of the glory exalted from the beginning,&quot;
+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 &quot;the glory of Israel&quot;
+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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 17. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <i>all</i> Jerusalem. Thus, <i>e.g.</i>, after the example of <i>Jarchi</i>
+and <i>Abarbanel</i>, <i>Manasseh ben Israel</i>, <i>Conciliator</i>, p. 196: &quot;If
+we keep in mind that, in the tabernacle or temple, the Ark was the place where the
+Lord dwelt (hence Ex. xxv. 22: &#39;I will speak with thee from above the mercy-seat,
+from between the two cherubim&#39;), 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.&quot; If it had been the intention of the Prophet
+to convey this meaning, the word <i>all</i> could not have been omitted. The throne
+of the <span class="pagenum">[Pg 395]</span> 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: &quot;Because the name of the Lord is at Jerusalem,&quot; 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: &quot;The throne of the Lord;&quot; 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: &quot;The heaven is my (true) throne,
+and the earth my (true) footstool;&quot; 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. &quot;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.&quot; Ver. 7. &quot;And He said unto me, son of man, behold the
+place of <i>my throne</i>, 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.&quot; Zech. ii. 14 (10): &quot;Sing and rejoice, O daughter of
+Zion; for, lo, I come and dwell in the midst of thee,&quot; with an allusion to Exod.
+xxix. 45: &quot;And I dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God.&quot; 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&#39;s <span class="pagenum">[Pg 396]</span> dwelling over the Ark of
+the Covenant; compare Zech. viii. 3: &quot;Thus saith the Lord, I return unto Zion, and
+dwell in the midst of Jerusalem.&quot;--If we enquire after the fulfilment, we are at
+once met by the words in John i. 14: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#954;&#945;&#8054; &#8001; &#955;&#972;&#947;&#959;&#962; &#963;&#8048;&#961;&#958;
+&#7952;&#947;&#941;&#957;&#949;&#964;&#959; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#7952;&#963;&#954;&#942;&#957;&#969;&#963;&#949;&#957; &#7952;&#957; &#7969;&#956;&#8150;&#957;, &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#7952;&#952;&#949;&#945;&#963;&#940;&#956;&#949;&#952;&#945; &#964;&#8052;&#957; &#948;&#972;&#958;&#945;&#957; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#959;&#8166;, &#948;&#972;&#958;&#945;&#957; &#8033;&#962; &#956;&#959;&#957;&#959;&#947;&#949;&#957;&#959;&#8166;&#962;
+&#960;&#945;&#961;&#8048; &#960;&#945;&#964;&#961;&#972;&#962;</span>; 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 <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#960;&#957;&#949;&#8166;&#956;&#945; &#935;&#961;&#953;&#963;&#964;&#959;&#8166;</span>
+must not be separated from the personal manifestation of God in Christ, in whom
+dwelt the fulness of the Godhead bodily, <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#963;&#969;&#956;&#945;&#964;&#953;&#954;&#8182;&#962;</span>.
+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 <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#963;&#954;&#953;&#8048; &#964;&#8182;&#957; &#956;&#949;&#955;&#955;&#972;&#957;&#964;&#969;&#957;, &#964;&#8056; &#948;&#8050; &#963;&#8182;&#956;&#945;
+&#935;&#961;&#953;&#963;&#964;&#959;&#8166;</span>, Col. ii. 17; comp. Rev. xxi. 22: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#954;&#945;&#8054;
+&#957;&#945;&#8056;&#957; &#959;&#8016;&#954; &#949;&#7990;&#948;&#959;&#957; &#7952;&#957; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#8135;&#903; &#8001; &#947;&#8048;&#961; &#922;&#973;&#961;&#953;&#959;&#962;, &#8001; &#920;&#949;&#8056;&#962; &#8001; &#960;&#945;&#957;&#964;&#959;&#954;&#961;&#940;&#964;&#969;&#961; &#957;&#945;&#8056;&#962; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#8134;&#962; &#7952;&#963;&#964;&#953;, &#954;&#945;&#8054;
+&#964;&#8056; &#7936;&#961;&#957;&#943;&#959;&#957;</span>. 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: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#960;&#961;&#959;&#963;&#949;&#961;&#967;&#974;&#956;&#949;&#952;&#945; &#948;&#8050; &#956;&#949;&#964;&#8048; &#960;&#945;&#8164;&#8165;&#951;&#963;&#943;&#945;&#962; &#964;&#8183; &#952;&#961;&#972;&#957;&#8179; &#964;&#8134;&#962; &#967;&#940;&#961;&#953;&#964;&#959;&#962;</span>,
+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, <i>e.g.</i>,
+Josh. ix. 9: &quot;And they (the Gibeonites) said unto him: From a very far country thy
+servants are come, because of the name (<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1513;&#1501;</span>)
+of Jehovah thy God, for we have heard the fame of Him, and all that He did in Egypt,
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 397]</span> and all that He did to the two kings of the
+Amorites,&quot; &amp;c. In a manner quite similar it is, in Zech. ii. 15 (11) also, connected
+with the Lord&#39;s dwelling in Jerusalem: &quot;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.&quot;--<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1513;&#1501;
+&#1497;&#1492;&#1493;&#1492; &#1500;&#1497;&#1512;&#1493;&#1513;&#1500;&#1497;&#1501;</span> must be literally translated: &quot;On account of the name of the
+Lord (belonging) to Jerusalem,&quot; 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 <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#952;&#949;&#8056;&#962; &#7940;&#947;&#957;&#969;&#963;&#964;&#959;&#962;</span>, Acts xviii. 23. There is an
+allusion to Deut. xii. 5: &quot;But unto the place which the Lord your God shall choose
+out of all your tribes <i>to put His name there</i>, to dwell in it, unto it ye
+shall seek, and thither ye shall come.&quot; Formerly, when God put His name in an imperfect
+manner only, Israel only assembled themselves; but now, all the Gentiles.--The last
+words: &quot;Neither shall they walk any more,&quot; &amp;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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1513;&#1512;&#1497;&#1512;&#1493;&#1514;</span> occurs, the covenant-people are spoken
+of; everywhere the walking after <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1513;&#1512;&#1497;&#1512;&#1493;&#1514;</span> of
+the heart is opposed to the walking after the revealed law of Jehovah, which Israel
+alone possessed. <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1513;&#1512;&#1497;&#1512;&#1493;&#1514;</span>, which properly means
+&quot;firmness,&quot; is then used of hardness in sin, of wickedness.<sup class="ftnRef"><a name="ftnRef_397a" href="#ftn_397a">[5]</a></sup></p>
+<hr class="ftn">
+<div class="ftn">
+	<p class="ftnText"><a name="ftn_377a" href="#ftnRef_377a">
+	<sup class="ftnRef">[1]</sup></a> <i>Vitringa</i> very correctly remarks on
+	this passage: &quot;<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1506;&#1500;</span>, properly
+	<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#8001; &#7956;&#967;&#969;&#957;</span>, he who has any thing in his possession
+	is, by an ellipsis, applied to the husband who, in Exod. xxi. 3, is rightly
+	called <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1506;&#1500; &#1488;&#1513;&#1492;</span> <i>one who has a wife</i>.&quot;</p>
+</div>
+<div class="ftn">
+	<p class="ftnText"><a name="ftn_380a" href="#ftnRef_380a">
+	<sup class="ftnRef">[2]</sup></a> Against the explanation of <i>Maurer</i>:
+	&quot;For I am your Lord;&quot; and that of <i>Ewald</i>: &quot;I take you under my protection,&quot;
+	it is decisive that <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1506;&#1500;</span> never means &quot;to
+	be Lord,&quot; far less &quot;to take under protection.&quot;
+	<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1506;&#1500;</span>, which properly means &quot;to possess,&quot;
+	is very commonly used of marriage;--as early as in the Decalogue, the wife appears
+	as the noblest <i>possession</i> of the husband--so that <i>a priori</i> this
+	signification is suggested and demanded.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="ftn">
+	<p class="ftnText"><a name="ftn_385a" href="#ftnRef_385a">
+	<sup class="ftnRef">[3]</sup></a> It is from the circumstance that modern Exegesis
+	is unable to comprehend the prophetic anticipation of the Future, that the assertion
+	has proceeded (<i>Movers</i>, <i>Hitzig</i>) that, even before the Chaldean
+	destruction, the Ark &quot;must have disappeared in a mysterious manner.&quot; 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, &quot;in a mysterious manner,&quot; have
+	come into the land of the North.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="ftn">
+	<p class="ftnText"><a name="ftn_386a" href="#ftnRef_386a">
+	<sup class="ftnRef">[4]</sup></a> <i>B�hr</i> advances the assertion, &quot;In a
+	(the) cloud&quot; is equivalent to: &quot;in darkness.&quot; But the parallel passages, Exod.
+	xl. 34 ff., Numb. ix. 15, 16, quoted by <i>J. H. Michaelis</i>, 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 <i>Hofmann</i>, <i>Schriftbeweis</i> 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 <i>Kyrie eleison</i>,
+	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 <i>B�hr</i> has been given by <i>W. Neumann</i>: <i>Beitr�ge zur Symbolik
+	des Mos. Cultus</i>, <i>Zeitschr. f. Luth. Theol.</i>, 1851, i.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="ftn">
+	<p class="ftnText"><a name="ftn_397a" href="#ftnRef_397a">
+	<sup class="ftnRef">[5]</sup></a> In a certain sense, one may say that
+	<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1513;&#1512;&#1497;&#1512;&#1493;&#1514; &#1500;&#1489;</span> is a
+	<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7941;&#960;&#945;&#958; &#955;&#949;&#947;&#8057;&#956;&#949;&#957;&#959;&#957;</span>. 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 <i>usus loquendi</i> from which it had disappeared, but from
+	the fundamental passage in the written code of law. This fact will, <i>a priori</i>,
+	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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1513;&#1512;&#1497;&#1512;&#1493;&#1514;</span> of his heart, it
+	is said in Deut. xxix. 19 (20): &quot;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.&quot;</p>
+</div>
+<p class="continue"><span class="pagenum">[Pg 398]</span></p>
+<h3><a name="div2_398" href="#div2Ref_398">CHAPTER XXIII. 1-8.</a></h3>
+<p class="normal">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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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&#8211;9. In order to make a stronger impression, he then
+particularizes the general threatening, showing how God&#39;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>i.e.</i>, 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>i.e.</i>, 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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 399]</span> land;
+he lives and dies in a foreign land. The next whom he brings forward is Jehoiakim,
+vers. 13&#8211;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&#8211;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&#39;s anger which they have called forth by their
+wickedness, is thrown down into the depth, from the height on which the Lord&#39;s mercy
+had raised them.--Next follows Jehoiachin, vers. 24-30. In his name &quot;The <i>Lord</i>
+will establish,&quot; the word <i>will</i> has no foundation; the Lord <i>will</i> 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&#39;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.</p>
+<p class="normal">At the commencement of the section under consideration (vers.
+1 and 2), the contents of chap. xxii. are comprehended into one sentence. &quot;Woe to
+the shepherds that destroy and scatter the flock of the Lord.&quot; Woe, then, to those
+shepherds who have done so. With this is then, in vers. 3&#8211;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 <i>righteous</i> King, shall diffuse justice and righteousness
+in the land, and thus <span class="pagenum">[Pg 400]</span> 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&#39;s past history--their deliverance out of Egypt--shall
+be altogether cast into the shade.</p>
+<p class="normal">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.</p>
+<p class="normal"><i>Eichhorn</i> 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. &quot;When Jeremiah&quot;--so
+he says--&quot;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.&quot; It is matter of astonishment that <i>Dahler</i>, 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 <i>Berthold</i>
+also supports his view, who, cutting the knot, advances the position that vers.
+1&#8211;19 belong to the reign of Jehoiakim, but vers. 20--xxxii. 8 to the time when Jehoiachin
+was carried away to Babylon. (<i>Maurer</i> and <i>Hitzig</i> 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. <i>K�per</i> (<i>Jeremias</i>, <i>libror. Sacror. interpres</i>,
+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.
+<i>Ewald</i> asserts that Jeremiah <span class="pagenum">[Pg 401]</span> here only
+puts together what &quot;perhaps&quot; he had formerly spoken regarding the three kings; but
+the words in chap. xxii. 1: &quot;Go down into the house of the king of Judah and speak
+there this word,&quot; 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <i>nomina realia</i>,
+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 <i>nomen reale</i>
+of the good Shepherd in chap. xxiii. 6, which, with quite the same right, could
+have been changed into a <i>nomen proprium</i> 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, <i>e.g.</i>, 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 <i>nomen proprium</i>; 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 <i>alone</i>, as <i>e.g.</i>, Shallum,
+or <i>first</i>, as Jeconiah, (which occurs again in chap. xxiv. 1, xxvii. 20; the
+abbreviated <span class="pagenum">[Pg 402]</span> 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 <i>hold</i>, was violently
+and irresistibly carried away to Egypt. The Prophet, therefore, calls him Shallum,
+<i>i.e.</i>, the <i>recompensed</i>,--not <i>retribution</i>, as <i>Hiller</i>,
+<i>Simonis</i>, and <i>Roediger</i> think, nor <i>retributor</i> according to <i>
+F�rst</i> (comp. <i>Ewald</i> � 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: &quot;And I cause to rise up (<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1493;&#1492;&#1511;&#1497;&#1502;&#1514;&#1497;</span>)
+thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish
+(<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1493;&#1492;&#1499;&#1497;&#1504;&#1514;&#1497;</span>) his kingdom.&quot; This passage contains
+the ground of <i>both</i> 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 <span class="pagenum">
+[Pg 403]</span> 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 <i>actual</i> 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;</span>,
+the sign of the Future, he might cut off hope; a Jeconiah without the
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;</span> says only God establishes, but not that
+He <i>will</i> establish. In reference to these names, <i>Grotius</i> 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:
+&quot;The Jod,&quot; he says, &quot;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,
+<i>q.d.</i> that Coniah!&quot; <i>Lightfoot</i> comes nearer to the truth; yet even he
+was not able to gain assent to it (compare against him <i>Hiller</i> and <i>Simonis</i>
+who thought his views scarcely worth refuting), because he took an one-sided view.
+He remarks (<i>Harmon.</i> p. 275): &quot;By taking away the first syllable, God intimated
+that He would not establish to the progeny of Solomon the <span class="pagenum">
+[Pg 404]</span> uninterrupted government and royal dignity, as Jehoiakim, by giving
+that name to his son, seems to have expected.&quot; Besides these two, compare farther,
+<i>Alting</i>, <i>de Cabbala sacra</i> � 73.</p>
+<p class="normal">In conclusion, we must still direct attention to chap. xx. 3.
+Who, indeed, could infer from that passage, that, by way of change, <i>Pashur</i>
+was called also <i>Magor-Missabib</i>?</p>
+<p class="normal">Chap. xxiii. 1. &quot;<i>Woe to shepherds that destroy and scatter
+the sheep of my pasture, saith the Lord.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">It must be well observed that <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1512;&#1465;&#1506;&#1460;&#1497;&#1501;</span>
+is here without the article, but, in ver. 2, with it. <i>Venema</i> remarks on this:
+&quot;A general woe upon bad shepherds is premised, which is soon applied to the shepherds
+of Judah, <i>q.d.</i>, since Jehovah has denounced a woe upon all bad shepherds,
+therefore ye bad shepherds,&quot; &amp;c. By the &quot;shepherds,&quot; 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: &quot;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,&quot;
+shows that a typical interpretation of the former circumstances of David lies at
+the foundation of this <i>usus loquendi</i>; compare Ezek. xxxiv. 23, 24: &quot;And I
+raise over them one Shepherd, and he feedeth them, my servant David; he shall feed
+them, and he shall be <span class="pagenum">[Pg 405]</span> their shepherd.&quot;--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: &quot;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, &amp;c., and with force and with cruelty ye rule them&quot;), 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&#39;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 (<i>Venema</i>:
+&quot;It was their duty to take care that the true religion, the spiritual food of the
+people, was rightly and properly exercised&quot;), 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 (<i>Calvin</i>: &quot;It is a
+contradiction that the shepherd should be a destroyer&quot;), that the woe has its foundation,
+and that the more, that it is pointed out that the flock, which they destroy and
+scatter, is <i>God&#39;s</i> flock. (<i>Calvin</i>: &quot;God intimates that, by the unworthy
+scattering of the flock, an atrocious injury had been committed against himself&quot;)
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1510;&#1488;&#1503; &#1502;&#1512;&#1506;&#1497;&#1514;&#1497;</span> must not be explained by: &quot;the
+flock of my feeding,&quot; <i>i.e.</i>, which I feed. For, wherever
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1512;&#1506;&#1497;&#1514;</span> occurs by itself, it always has the
+signification &quot;pasture,&quot; but never the signification <i>pastio</i>, <i>pastus</i>
+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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1510;&#1488;&#1503;</span>, when it always denotes
+the relation of Israel to God. Israel is called the flock of God&#39;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
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 406]</span> 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
+<i>natural</i> 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:
+&quot;I have driven away,&quot; for &quot;you have driven away,&quot; in ver. 2. All which they had
+to do, was to attend to their vocation and duty; the carrying out of God&#39;s counsels
+belonged to Him alone. From what we have remarked, it plainly follows that we would
+altogether misunderstand the expression &quot;flock of my pasture,&quot; if we were to infer
+from it a contrast of the <i>innocent</i> people with the guilty kings. <i>Calvin</i>
+remarks: &quot;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.&quot; The kings have nothing to
+do with the moral condition of the people; they have to look only to God&#39;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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 2. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <i>sacrilegium</i>;
+they have desecrated God. It was just here that it was necessary prominently to
+point out the fact, that the people still continued to <span class="pagenum">[Pg
+407]</span> be God&#39;s people. In another very important aspect, they were indeed
+called <i>Lo-Ammi</i> (Hos. i. 9); but that aspect did not here come into consideration.
+<i>Calvin</i>: &quot;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.&quot;--The words &quot;that feed my people,&quot; render the idea still
+more prominent and emphatic than the simple &quot;the shepherds&quot; would have done, and
+hence serve to make more glaring the contrast presented by the reality. The words
+&quot;you have not visited them,&quot; 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: &quot;Ye eat the fat, and ye
+clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed, and ye feed not the flock.&quot;
+The visiting forms the general foundation of every single activity of the shepherd,
+so that the <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1488; &#1508;&#1511;&#1491;&#1514;&#1501;</span> comprehends within itself
+all that which Ezekiel particularly mentions in chap. xxxiv. 4: &quot;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.&quot;--The words: &quot;the wickedness of
+your doings,&quot; look back to Deut. xxviii. 20: &quot;The Lord shall send upon thee curse,
+terror, and ruin in all thy undertakings, until thou be destroyed, and until thou
+perish quickly, <i>because of the wickedness of thy doings</i>, that thou hast forsaken
+me.&quot; 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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1512;&#1506; &#1502;&#1506;&#1500;&#1500;&#1497;&#1501;</span> occurs, which, in later times, had
+become obsolete; compare chap. iv. 4 and xxi. 12 (in both of these passages
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1508;&#1504;&#1497;</span>, too, is introduced); Is. i. 16; Ps.
+xxviii. 4; Hos. ix. 15.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 3. &quot;<i>And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all
+the countries whither I have driven them away, and I</i> <span class="pagenum">[Pg
+408]</span> <i>bring them back again to their folds, and they are fruitful and increase.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">Compare chap. xxix. 14, xxxi. 8, 10; Ezek. xxxiv. 12, 13: &quot;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.&quot;--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&#39;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&#39;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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1499;&#1503;</span> 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 <i>Calvin</i>, who says: &quot;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
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 409]</span> show the fulfilment of this prophecy.&quot; 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. <i>As a rule</i>, 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
+<i>Grotius</i> on the second hemistich of the following verse: &quot;They shall live
+in security under the powerful protection of the Persian kings.&quot;<!--inserted quote-->
+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 <i>remnant</i> 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.
+<i>Calvin</i> remarks on this point: &quot;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.&quot; One must beware of
+exchanging the Scriptural hope of a conversion of Israel on a large scale, in contrast
+to the small <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7952;&#954;&#955;&#959;&#947;&#8053;</span> at the time of Christ and
+the Apostles, for the hope of a <i>general</i> conversion in the strict sense.
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 410]</span> 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 <i>wills</i> 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
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#960;&#8118;&#962;</span> in Paul, which must just be interpreted
+and qualified by the contrast to the <i>small</i> <span lang="el" class="Greek">
+&#7952;&#954;&#955;&#959;&#947;&#8053;</span>, 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 <i>remnant</i>
+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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 4. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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&#39;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 <i>Venema</i>, 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&#39;s apostacy and God&#39;s covenant-faithfulness, the Prophet evidently has still
+another in view, viz., that between the apostacy of the Davidic house, and God&#39;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
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 411]</span> themselves. But from the family itself, God&#39;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 <i>Grotius</i> 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: <i>first</i> will I raise up to you shepherds; <i>then</i>, the Messiah.
+We must, in that case, following <i>C. B. Michaelis</i>, rather supplement: specially
+one, the Messiah. In <i>none</i> of Jeremiah&#39;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 <i>Venema</i>. 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 <i>first</i> contrasts the good one; <i>then</i> 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 <i>verbatim</i>, 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: &quot;And they feed them&quot; stand in contrast
+to &quot;Who feed my people,&quot; in ver. 2. The shepherds mentioned in ver. 2 ought to feed
+the flock; but, instead of doing <span class="pagenum">[Pg 412]</span> 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.
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1508;&#1511;&#1491;</span> must be taken in the signification &quot;to
+be missing,&quot; &quot;lacking.&quot; (Compare the Remarks on chap. iii. 16.) There is an allusion
+to <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1488; &#1508;&#1511;&#1491;&#1514;&#1501;</span> in ver. 2. Because the bad shepherd
+does not visit, the sheep are not sought, <i>q.d.</i>, they are lost; but those
+who did not visit, are now, in a very disagreeable manner, visited by God (<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1508;&#1511;&#1491;
+&#1506;&#1500;&#1497;&#1499;&#1501;</span>); the good shepherd visits, and, therefore, the sheep need not be sought.
+The clause: &quot;They shall fear no more, nor be terrified,&quot; receives its explanation
+from Ezek. xxxiv. 8: &quot;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.&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 5. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">The expression: &quot;Behold the days come,&quot; according to the constant
+<i>usus loquendi</i> 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 <i>still</i> coming; although
+the heart may loudly say. <i>No</i>, the word of <i>God</i> must be more certain.
+Concerning <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1510;&#1502;&#1495;</span>, compare Isa. iv. 2, and the
+passages of Zechariah there quoted, <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1510;&#1491;&#1497;&#1511;</span> 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
+<i>Abarbanel</i>: &quot;He shall not be an unrighteous seed, such as Jehoiakim and his
+son, but a righteous <span class="pagenum">[Pg 413]</span> one.&quot; <i>Calvin</i> also
+points out &quot;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.&quot; The words: &quot;I raise unto David a righteous
+Branch&quot; 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1462;&#1500;&#1462;&#1498;&#1456;</span>
+must not be overlooked. It shows that <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1464;&#1500;&#1463;&#1498;&#1456;</span>,
+which, standing by itself, may designate also another government than by a king,
+such as, <i>e.g.</i>, 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 <i>complete</i>
+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. <i>Calvin</i> remarks: &quot;He
+shall rule as a King, <i>i.e.</i>, 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.&quot;--As regards <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1513;&#1499;&#1497;&#1500;</span>,
+we have already, in our remarks on chap. iii. 15, proved that it never and nowhere
+means &quot;to prosper,&quot; &quot;to be prosperous,&quot; but always &quot;to act wisely.&quot; It has been
+shown by <i>Calvin</i> that even the context here requires the latter signification.
+He says: &quot;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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 414]</span> 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.&quot; Yet <i>Calvin</i>
+has not exhausted the arguments which may be derived from the context. The <i>whole</i>
+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&#39;s destruction; compare
+chap. x. 21: &quot;For the shepherds are become brutish, and do not seek the Lord; therefore
+they do not act wisely, and their whole flock is scattered.&quot; But if here the signification
+&quot;to act wisely&quot; be established, then it is also in all those passages where
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1513;&#1499;&#1497;&#1500;</span> 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&#39;s reign, in the books of Samuel. Thus
+the words: &quot;And he ruleth as a king, and worketh justice and righteousness in the
+land,&quot; refer back to 2 Sam. viii. 15: &quot;And David reigned over all Israel, and David
+wrought justice and righteousness unto all his people.&quot; The foundation of the announcement
+of ver. 6 is formed by 2 Sam. viii. 14 (compare ver. 6): &quot;And the Lord gave prosperity
+(<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1493;&#1497;&#1493;&#1513;&#1506;</span>) to David in all his ways.&quot; But if
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1513;&#1499;&#1497;&#1500;</span>, wherever it occurs of David, must be
+taken in this sense, then the LXX. are right also in translating Is. lii. 13 by
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#963;&#965;&#957;&#8053;&#963;&#949;&#953;</span>: for, in that passage, just as in the
+verse under consideration, David is referred to as the type of the Messiah. The
+phrase <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1513;&#1492; &#1502;&#1513;&#1508;&#1496; &#1493;&#1510;&#1491;&#1511;&#1492;</span> is by <i>De Wette</i>
+commonly translated: &quot;to <i>exercise</i> justice and righteousness.&quot; But the circumstance
+that, in Ps. cxlvi. 7, he is obliged to give up this translation, proves that it
+is wrong. <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1513;&#1492;</span> must rather be explained by
+&quot;to work,&quot; &quot;to establish.&quot; <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1513;&#1508;&#1496;</span> is here, as
+everywhere else, the objective right and justice; <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">
+&#1510;&#1491;&#1511;&#1492;</span>, the subjective righteousness. The <i>working</i> of justice is the
+means by which <i>righteousness</i> is wrought. The forced dominion of justice is
+necessarily followed by the voluntary, <span class="pagenum">[Pg 415]</span> just
+as the judgments of God, by means of which He is sanctified <i>upon</i> mankind,
+are, at the same time, the means by which He is sanctified <i>in</i> them. The high
+vocation of the King to work justice and righteousness rests upon His dignity, as
+the bearer of God&#39;s image; comp. Ps. cxlvi. 7; chap. ix. 23: &quot;For I the Lord work
+love, justice, and righteousness in the land.&quot; Chap. xxii. 15 is, moreover, to be
+compared, where it is said of Josiah, the true descendant of David, &quot;he wrought
+justice and righteousness,&quot; and chap. xxii. 3, where his spurious descendants are
+admonished: &quot;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.&quot; 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 <i>Grotius</i>, 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 <i>Theodoret&#39;s</i> statement (&quot;The blinded Jews endeavour,
+with great impudence, to refer this to Zerubbabel&quot;--then follows the refutation),
+the older Jews must have led the way to this perverted interpretation. But we cannot
+implicitly rely on <i>Theodoret&#39;s</i> 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:
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1514;&#1503; &#1488;&#1502;&#1512; &#1497;&#1497; &#1493;&#1488;&#1511;&#1497;&#1501; &#1492;&#1488; &#1497;&#1493;&#1502;&#1497;&#1488; &#1500;&#1491;&#1493;&#1491; &#1502;&#1513;&#1497;&#1495; &#1491;&#1510;&#1491;&#1511;&#1492;</span>
+&quot;Behold the days shall come, and I will raise up to David the righteous Messiah,
+(not <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1491;&#1510;&#1491;&#1511;&#1497;&#1488;</span> &#39;the Messiah of the righteous,&#39;
+as many absurdly read), saith the Lord.&quot; <i>Eusebius</i> (compare <i>Le Moyne</i>,
+<i>de Jehova justitia nostra</i>, 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
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7992;&#969;&#963;&#949;&#948;&#8051;&#954;</span> of the following verse in the Alexandrian
+version (<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#954;&#945;&#8054; &#964;&#959;&#8166;&#964;&#959; &#964;&#8056; &#8004;&#957;&#959;&#956;&#945; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#959;&#8166;, &#8003; &#954;&#945;&#955;&#941;&#963;&#949;&#953; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#8056;&#957;
+&#954;&#973;&#961;&#953;&#959;&#962;, &#7992;&#969;&#963;&#949;&#948;&#8051;&#954;</span>). It can scarcely be imagined that the translators themselves
+proceeded from this erroneous view. For <span class="pagenum">[Pg 416]</span> 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 <i>nomen proprium</i> 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 6. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1510;&#1491;&#1497;&#1511;
+&#1493;&#1504;&#1493;&#1513;&#1506;</span> &quot;righteous, and protected by God.&quot; 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 <i>alone</i>,
+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: (&quot;And
+He thrusteth out thine enemy from before thee, and saith: Destroy&quot;) &quot;And Israel
+dwelleth in safety (<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1493;&#1497;&#1513;&#1499;&#1503; &#1497;&#1513;&#1512;&#1488;&#1500; &#1489;&#1496;&#1495;</span>), alone,
+Jacob looketh upon a land of corn and wine, and his heavens drop dew.&quot; 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1514;&#1493;&#1513;&#1506;</span> has there its analogy
+in ver. 29: <span class="pagenum">[Pg 417]</span> &quot;Happy art thou, O Israel, who
+is like unto thee, a people saved (<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1465;&#1493;&#1513;&#1463;&#1473;&#1506;</span>)
+by the Lord, the shield of thy help, thy proud sword; and thine enemies flatter
+thee, and thou treadest upon their high places.&quot; 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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1460;&#1511;&#1456;&#1512;&#1456;&#1488;&#1493;&#1465;</span> which is found in the text, and
+which is the third pers. Sing. with the Suffix, several MSS. (compare <i>De Rossi</i>),
+have the third pers. Plur. <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1460;&#1511;&#1456;&#1512;&#1456;&#1488;&#1493;&#1468;</span>. Several
+controversial writers, such as <i>Raim. Martini</i>, <i>Pug. Fid.</i> p. 517, and
+<i>Galatinus</i>, iii. 9, p. 126, (The Jews of our time assert that here Jeremiah
+did not say &quot;they shall call,&quot; <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1460;&#1511;&#1456;&#1512;&#1456;&#1488;&#1493;&#1468;</span>,
+as we read it, but &quot;he shall call him,&quot; <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1460;&#1511;&#1456;&#1512;&#1456;&#1488;&#1493;&#1465;</span>;
+and they declare this to be the sense: &quot;This is the name of Him who shall call him,
+viz., the Messiah: Our righteous God,&quot;) 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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1460;&#1511;&#1456;&#1512;&#1456;&#1488;&#1493;&#1465;</span> for the purpose stated. Thus <i>
+Rabbi Saadias Haggaon</i>, according to <i>Abenezra</i> and <i>Manasseh Ben Israel</i>,
+who explain: &quot;And this is the name by which the Lord will call him: Our righteousness.&quot;
+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 <i>Abenezra</i> and <i>Norzi</i> on the passage),
+and acknowledged <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1492;&#1493;&#1492; &#1510;&#1491;&#1511;&#1504;&#1493;</span> to be the name
+of the Messiah. The reading <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1460;&#1511;&#1456;&#1512;&#1456;&#1488;&#1493;&#1468;</span> must
+be unconditionally rejected, because it has by far the smallest external authority
+in its favour. It is true, that its supporters (comp. especially <i>Schulze</i>,
+<i>vollst. Critik der gew�hnlichen</i> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 418]</span> <i>
+Bibelausgaben</i>, 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 <i>vocabunt eum</i> of <i>
+Jonathan</i> and the Vulgate is the correct translation of
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1460;&#1511;&#1456;&#1512;&#1456;&#1488;&#1493;&#1465;</span>. And when <i>Jerome</i>, in opposition
+to the Alex., remarks that, according to the Hebrew, the translation ought to be:
+<i>Nomen ejus vocabunt</i>, he does not contend against their use of the Singular
+<i>per se</i>, but only against their arbitrarily supplying &quot;Jehovah&quot; as the subject;
+against their explaining &quot;The Lord shall call,&quot; instead of &quot;one&quot; shall call. The
+manner in which the false reading <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1460;&#1511;&#1456;&#1512;&#1456;&#1488;&#1493;&#1468;</span>
+first arose, is clearly seen from the reasons by which its later defenders endeavour
+to support it; compare especially <i>Schulze</i> 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1493;&#1465;</span>
+instead of the common <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1470;&#1461;&#1492;&#1493;&#1468;</span>--But from internal
+reasons, too, the reading <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1460;&#1511;&#1456;&#1512;&#1456;&#1488;&#1493;&#1468;</span> 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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1460;&#1511;&#1456;&#1512;&#1456;&#1488;&#1493;&#1465;</span> to Israel, (<i>Ewald</i>: &quot;And this
+is their name by which they call them,&quot;) 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 <i>then</i>
+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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1492;&#1493;&#1492; &#1510;&#1491;&#1511;&#1504;&#1493;</span>. 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 &quot;Jehovah,&quot; and then, in apposition to it, &quot;Our righteousness,&quot;
+but rather in such a manner that <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1492;&#1493;&#1492; &#1510;&#1491;&#1511;&#1504;&#1493;</span>
+is an abbreviation of the whole sentence. Thus the Chaldean, who thus paraphrases:
+&quot;And this is the name by which they shall call him: Righteousness
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 419]</span> will be bestowed upon us from the face of
+the Lord;&quot; <i>Kimchi</i>, &quot;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;&quot; the <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1505;&#1508;&#1512; &#1506;&#1511;&#1512;&#1497;&#1501;</span>
+(in <i>Le Moyne</i>, p. 20): &quot;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.&quot; Besides to chap. xxxiii. 16, they refer to passages such
+as Exod. xvii. 15, where Moses calls the altar &quot;Jehovah my banner;&quot; to Gen. xxxiii.
+20, where Jacob calls it <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1500; &#1488;&#1500;&#1492;&#1497; &#1497;&#1513;&#1512;&#1488;&#1500;</span>. <i>
+Grotius</i> 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: <i>Dominus justus noster</i>) 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 <i>Dassov</i> i. h. 1. remarks: &quot;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,&quot; is the argument
+common to all of them. <i>Le Moyne</i> wrote in defence of this explanation a whole
+book, which we have already quoted, but from which little is to be learned. Even
+<i>Calvin</i>, who elsewhere sometimes erred from an exaggerated dread of doctrinal
+prejudice, decidedly adopts it. He remarks: &quot;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.&quot; By righteousness
+he, too, understands justification through the merits of Christ, &quot;for Christ is
+not righteous for himself, but received righteousness in order to communicate it
+to us&quot; (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 <i>nomen proprium</i>. If the words were thus: &quot;And this is Jehovah our
+righteousness,&quot; we should be fully <span class="pagenum">[Pg 420]</span> 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 <i>naming</i>, 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 <i>Kimchi</i> will serve as instances. &quot;Jehovah my Banner&quot; is a concise expression
+for: &quot;This altar is consecrated to Jehovah my Banner;&quot;
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1500; &#1488;&#1500;&#1492;&#1497; &#1497;&#1513;&#1512;&#1488;&#1500;</span> for: &quot;This altar belongs to
+the Almighty, the God of Israel.&quot; A number of other instances might easily be quoted;
+one need only compare, in <i>Hiller&#39;s</i> and <i>Simonis&#39;</i> Onomastica, the names
+which are compounded with Jehovah. Thus, <i>e.g.</i>, Jehoshua, <i>i.e.</i>, Jehovah
+salvation, is a concise expression for: Jehovah will grant me salvation; Jehoram,
+<i>i.e.</i>, <i>Jehovah altus</i>, for: I am consecrated to the exalted God of Israel.
+Most perfectly analogous, however, is the name Zedekiah, <i>i.e.</i>, 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: &quot;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 <i>her</i>: Jehovah our righteousness.&quot; Here Jehovah Zidkenu
+by no means <span class="pagenum">[Pg 421]</span> 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. <i>Le Moyne</i>, &quot;in order that no way of escape
+may be left to the enemies,&quot; 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 <i>enallage generis</i>
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1492;</span> = <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1493;</span>,
+&quot;and thus shall they call <i>him</i>.&quot; <i>Le Moyne</i> thinks that we need have
+no difficulty in assuming such an <i>enallage</i>. Others explain: &quot;And he who shall
+call, <i>i.e.</i>, invite her, is Jehovah our righteousness.&quot; A simple reference
+to the passage before us is decisive against it; the parallelism of the two passages
+is too close to admit of <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1511;&#1512;&#1488;</span> in the second
+passage being understood in a sense altogether different. By the same argument,
+the explanations by <i>Hottinger</i> (Thesaur. Philolog. p. 17l), and <i>Dassov</i>:
+&quot;This shall come to pass when the Lord, the Lord our righteousness, shall call her,&quot;
+are also refuted, quite apart from the consideration, that
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1513;&#1512;</span> cannot by any means signify <i>when</i>.
+The most recent defender of the old orthodox view, <i>Schmieder</i>, cuts the knot
+by simply severing our passage from chap. xxxiii. 16&#8211;3. The ancient explanation,
+which refers <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1510;&#1491;&#1511;&#1504;&#1493;</span>, &quot;our righteousness,&quot; 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>i.e.</i>, 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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg
+422]</span> which Jeremiah comprehends in the name <i>Jehovah Zidkenu</i>, 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.--<i>Schmieder</i> 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 <i>Jehovah Zidkenu</i>, 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 <i>righteous</i>, 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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1510;&#1491;&#1497;&#1511;</span> 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, <i>e.g.</i>, seen in the numbering
+of the people. And it was not only the <i>will</i> 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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1493;&#1468;&#1502;&#1464;&#1500;&#1463;&#1498;&#1456; &#1502;&#1462;&#1500;&#1462;&#1498;&#1456; &#1493;&#1456;&#1492;&#1460;&#1513;&#1456;&#1474;&#1499;&#1460;&#1468;&#1497;&#1500;</span>) 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, &quot;all flesh is grass,&quot; 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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 423]</span> 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 7. &quot;<i>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</i>; ver. 8, but: <i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">The sense is this: The future prosperity and salvation shall by
+far outshine the greatest deliverance and salvation of the Past. <i>Calvin</i> remarks:
+&quot;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;&quot;
+compare, besides chap. xvi. 14, 15, where the verses now under consideration already
+occurred almost <i>verbatim</i> (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.--<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1495;&#1497;&#1470;&#1497;&#1492;&#1493;&#1492;</span>
+&quot;living (is) Jehovah,&quot; for: &quot;As Jehovah liveth.&quot; It is quite natural that, when
+God is invoked as a witness and judge, He should be designated as the <i>living
+one</i>; 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 <i>Calvin</i> when he remarked: &quot;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.&quot;</p>
+<p class="continue"><span class="pagenum">[Pg 424]</span></p>
+<h3><a name="div2_424" href="#div2Ref_424">CHAP. XXXI. 31-40.</a></h3>
+<p class="normal">The 30th and 31st chapters may rightly be called the grand hymn
+of Israel&#39;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 <i>Venema</i> and <i>Rosenm�ller</i>, who assume that the section is composed
+of fragments loosely connected, and written at different times; but still more at
+the views of <i>Movers</i> and <i>Hitzig</i>, who assert that a whole number of
+strange interpolations had been introduced into the text; compare <i>K�per</i>,
+Jerem. S. 170 ff.</p>
+<p class="normal">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.</p>
+<p class="normal">The Prophet begins, in chap. xxx., with the promise of salvation
+for <i>all</i> Israel; and after a detailed description, he comprehends and sums
+it up, in ver. 22, in the words, brief but infinitely rich and comprehensive: &quot;And
+ye shall be my people <span class="pagenum">[Pg 425]</span> and I will be your God.&quot;<sup class="ftnRef"><a name="ftnRef_425a" href="#ftn_425a">[1]</a></sup>
+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: &quot;There is no peace to the wicked.&quot; 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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1495;&#1512;&#1497;&#1514; &#1492;&#1497;&#1502;&#1497;&#1501;</span>. 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. &quot;Behold
+the storm of the Lord, glowing fire, goeth forth, a <i>continuing</i> 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.&quot; 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.</p>
+<p class="continue"><span class="pagenum">[Pg 426]</span></p>
+<p class="normal">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 <i>all</i> 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&#8211;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 <i>Odi profanum
+vulgus et arceo</i>, addressed to those to whom the promise did not belong. Upon
+the words: &quot;You shall be my people, and I will be your God,&quot; follow in an inverted
+order, the words: &quot;At that time, saith the Lord, I will (specially) be the God of
+all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people.&quot; Rachel, the mother of
+Joseph and Benjamin, weeping over her sons, vers. 15&#8211;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&#8211;26, Judah. The announcement closes in ver. 26
+with the words so often misunderstood: &quot;Upon this I awaked, and I beheld, and my
+sleep was sweet unto me.&quot; 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.
+&quot;Ah,&quot; he exclaims, &quot;I have sweetly dreamed,&quot;--and immediately the hand of the Lord
+again seizes him, and carries him away from the scenes of the Present.</p>
+<p class="normal">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,
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 427]</span> the description returns, in vers. 27&#8211;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:
+&quot;And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <i>Venema</i>, 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&#8211;40.</p>
+<p class="normal">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. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot; The last words of the verse are, by the ancient interpreters, commonly
+explained as referring to Christ&#39;s birth by a virgin. Thus, <i>e.g.</i>, <i>Cocceius</i>:
+&quot;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.&quot; 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 <i>not</i> peculiar. For <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1490;&#1489;&#1512;</span> and
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1511;&#1489;&#1492;</span> are a designation of the sex; the fact
+that the woman brings forth the man (since <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1490;&#1489;&#1512;</span>
+is asserted to designate <i>proles mascula</i>), 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 (<i>Schnurrer</i>, <i>Gesenius</i>, <i>Rosenm�ller</i>,
+<i>Maurer</i>), have advanced in its stead: &quot;The woman shall protect the man, shall
+perform for him the <i>munus excubitoris circumeuntis</i>.&quot; This, surely, is a &quot;<i>ridiculus</i>
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 428]</span> <i>mus</i>&quot;--an argument quite unique. We
+must fully agree with <i>Schnurrer</i>, who remarks: &quot;This, surely, is something
+new, uncommon, unheard of;&quot; but not every thing <i>new</i> is, for that reason,
+suitable for furnishing an effectual motive for conversion. The sense at which
+<i>Ewald</i> arrives: &quot;A woman transforming herself into a man,&quot; 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&#39;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 &quot;new thing&quot; is which the Lord is to
+create, the Prophet shows by the terms which he has selected. It is just the <i>
+nomina sexus</i> 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. &quot;Woman shall compass
+about (Ps. xxxii. 7, 10) man;&quot; 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 surrefender, which alone, being the only
+natural relation, can be productive of happiness! In favour of this explanation
+is also the clear reference of <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1514;&#1505;&#1493;&#1489;&#1489;</span> to
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1514;&#1514;&#1495;&#1502;&#1511;&#1497;&#1503;</span>, and to
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1513;&#1493;&#1489;&#1489;&#1492;</span>, which, in the case of the latter word,
+is even outwardly expressed by the alliteration. How foolish would it be still farther
+to <i>depart</i>, 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.</p>
+<p class="continue"><span class="pagenum">[Pg 429]</span></p>
+<p class="normal">The contents of the section, vers. 31&#8211;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&#8211;34. To
+the people conscious of their guilt, and still groaning under the judgments of God,
+such a manifestation of God&#39;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&#8211;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 <i>now</i> shall extend her boundaries beyond
+the territory of the unholy; and the Lord, who is sanctified <i>within</i> her,
+will sanctify himself <i>upon</i> her also. There shall be no more destruction.</p>
+<hr class="W20">
+<p class="normal">Ver. 31. &quot;<i>Behold, days come, saith the Lord, and I make a new
+covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 32. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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: &quot;In the day,&quot; &amp;c., the abode at Sinai is <span class="pagenum">[Pg 430]</span>
+designated. But since the <i>day</i> of the deliverance from Egypt is commonly thus
+spoken of (comp. Exod. xii. 51 ff.); since this <i>day</i> was, as such, marked
+out by the annually returning feast of the Passover, we must, here also, take
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1493;&#1501;</span>, &quot;day,&quot; 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. <i>
+Farther</i>--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 <i>Frischmuth</i> (<i>de foedere nov.</i> in the <i>Thes. Ant.</i> i. p. 857),
+and of many other interpreters and lexicographers, and say that
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1512;&#1497;&#1514;</span> &quot;does not only signify a covenant entered
+upon by two or several parties, but also <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#960;&#961;&#8057;&#952;&#949;&#963;&#953;&#957;</span>,
+<i>propositum Dei</i>, <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7952;&#960;&#945;&#947;&#947;&#949;&#955;&#8055;&#945;&#962;</span>, His gratuitous
+and unconditional promises, as well as His constant ordinances?&quot; That might after
+all be objectionable. <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1499;&#1512;&#1514; &#1489;&#1512;&#1497;&#1514;</span> cannot <i>signify</i>
+any thing but to make a covenant.<sup class="ftnRef"><a name="ftnRef_430a" href="#ftn_430a">[2]</a></sup>
+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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 431]</span> 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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1499;&#1512;&#1514; &#1489;&#1512;&#1497;&#1514;</span> may also be used of mere blessings
+and promises. Thus, <i>e.g.</i>, Gen. ix. 9: &quot;Behold, I establish my covenant with
+you, and with your seed after you.&quot; That which is here designated as a covenant
+is not the promise <i>per se</i>, 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, &amp;c. Gen. xv. 18: &quot;In the same day God made a covenant with
+Abraham, saying: Unto thy seed I give this land.&quot; 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: &quot;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.&quot; The covenant on Sinai is here already made; the making of the new covenant
+here spoken of consists <span class="pagenum">[Pg 432]</span> 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&#39;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, <i>David Kimchi&#39;s</i> remark is quite pertinent: &quot;It will
+not be the newness of the covenant, but its stability.&quot; The covenant with Israel
+is an everlasting covenant. Jehovah would not be Jehovah, if an entirely new commencement
+could take place; <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#955;&#941;&#947;&#969; &#948;&#949;</span>--so the Apostle writes
+in Rom. xv. 8--<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7992;&#951;&#963;&#959;&#8166;&#957; &#935;&#961;&#953;&#963;&#964;&#8056;&#957; &#948;&#953;&#940;&#954;&#959;&#957;&#959;&#957; &#947;&#949;&#947;&#949;&#957;&#8134;&#963;&#952;&#945;&#953;
+&#960;&#949;&#961;&#953;&#964;&#959;&#956;&#8134;&#962; &#8017;&#960;&#8050;&#961; &#7936;&#955;&#951;&#952;&#949;&#943;&#945;&#962; &#952;&#949;&#959;&#8166; &#949;&#7984;&#962; &#964;&#8056; &#946;&#949;&#946;&#945;&#953;&#8182;&#963;&#945;&#953; &#964;&#8048;&#962; &#7952;&#960;&#945;&#947;&#947;&#949;&#955;&#943;&#945;&#962; &#964;&#8182;&#957; &#960;&#945;&#964;&#941;&#961;&#969;&#957;&#903; &#964;&#8048; &#948;&#949;
+&#7956;&#952;&#957;&#951; &#8017;&#960;&#8050;&#961; &#7952;&#955;&#941;&#959;&#965;&#962; &#948;&#959;&#958;&#940;&#963;&#945;&#953; &#964;&#8056;&#957; &#952;&#949;&#972;&#957;</span>. 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 <i>per se</i>, 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:
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7952;&#957; &#964;&#8183; &#955;&#941;&#947;&#949;&#953;&#957;&#903; &#922;&#945;&#953;&#957;&#8052;&#957;, &#960;&#949;&#960;&#945;&#955;&#945;&#943;&#969;&#954;&#949; &#964;&#8052;&#957; &#960;&#961;&#974;&#964;&#951;&#957;� &#964;&#8056; &#948;&#8050;
+&#960;&#945;&#955;&#945;&#953;&#959;&#973;&#956;&#949;&#957;&#959;&#957; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#947;&#951;&#961;&#940;&#963;&#954;&#959;&#957;, &#7952;&#947;&#947;&#8058;&#962; &#7936;&#966;&#945;&#957;&#953;&#963;&#956;&#959;&#8166;</span>), is, in substance, the realization
+of the Old. These remarks are in perfect harmony with that which was formerly said
+concerning the meaning of <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1499;&#1512;&#1514; &#1489;&#1512;&#1497;&#1514;</span>. We saw
+that this expression does not designate an act only once done,
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 433]</span> 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 <i>not</i> 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 <i>pre-eminently</i> (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&#39;s longings; to it
+he here points as the highest blessing of the Future; compare also chap. xxxii.
+40: &quot;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.&quot;--The closing words of ver. 32 are frequently misunderstood.
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 434]</span> The erroneous interpretation of
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1513;&#1512;</span> by &quot;<i>quia</i>,&quot; which is found with
+most expositors, is of less consequence. <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1513;&#1512;</span>
+indicates, in general, the connection with what precedes. We may explain it either
+by: &quot;which my covenant they brake,&quot; as is done by <i>Ewald</i>; or, &quot;since (Deut.
+iii. 24) they brake my covenant,&quot; in which latter case,
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1513;&#1512;</span> refers at the same time to &quot;I marry them
+unto me.&quot; 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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1506;&#1500;&#1514;&#1497;</span>. By far the greater number of interpreters
+understand this <i>sensu malo</i>; the ancient interpreters in doing so refer to
+the words <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#954;&#8115;&#947;&#8060; &#7968;&#956;&#941;&#955;&#951;&#963;&#945; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#8182;&#957;</span>, (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&#39;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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1506;&#1500;</span>
+by &quot;<i>fastidire</i>;&quot; others, as they allege, from the Hebrew <i>usus loquendi</i>,
+by &quot;to tyrannize.&quot; Thus, <i>e.g.</i> <i>Buddeus</i> (<i>de praerogat. fidelium N.
+T.</i> in the Miscell. p. 106): &quot;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,
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7968;&#956;&#941;&#955;&#951;&#963;&#945; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#8182;&#957;</span>, <i>neglexi eos</i>.&quot; 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 <i>e.g.</i> <i>Cappellus</i>, who would read
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1490;&#1506;&#1500;&#1514;&#1497;</span>, and <i>Grotius</i>, who would read
+<span dir="ltr"><sup class="ftnRef"><a name="ftnRef_434a" href="#ftn_434a">[3]</a></sup></span>
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew" dir="rtl">&#1489;&#1492;&#1500;&#1514;&#1497;</span>.
+The signification &quot;to betroth onesself,&quot; &quot;to <span class="pagenum">[Pg 435]</span>
+take in marriage,&quot; which in that passage we vindicated for
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1506;&#1500;</span> with <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;</span>,
+is, here too, quite applicable; comp. Jer. ii. 1. This signification the Chaldee
+Paraphrast too seems to have had in view; for he translates
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1514;&#1512;&#1506;&#1497;&#1514;&#1497;</span> &quot;<i>cupio vos</i>,&quot; &quot;<i>delector vobis</i>.&quot;
+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. <i>e.g.</i> <i>Maurer</i> and <i>Hitzig</i>); and it is, moreover, sufficiently
+expressed, as the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews has shown. Even in the announcement
+of a <i>new</i> covenant, the declaration is implied that the old covenant was insufficient:
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#949;&#7984; &#947;&#8048;&#961; &#7969; &#960;&#961;&#974;&#964;&#951; &#7952;&#954;&#949;&#943;&#957;&#951; &#7974;&#957; &#7940;&#956;&#949;&#956;&#960;&#964;&#959;&#962;, &#959;&#8016;&#954; &#7938;&#957; &#948;&#949;&#965;&#964;&#941;&#961;&#945;&#962;
+&#7952;&#950;&#951;&#964;&#949;&#8150;&#964;&#959; &#964;&#972;&#960;&#959;&#962;</span> (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: &quot;When I took them by the hand,&quot;--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:
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#956;&#949;&#956;&#966;&#972;&#956;&#949;&#957;&#959;&#962; &#947;&#8048;&#961; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#959;&#8150;&#962; &#955;&#941;&#947;&#949;&#953;</span>, in Heb. viii.
+8, which by <i>De Wette</i> and <i>Bleek</i> are erroneously translated: &quot;For reprovingly
+He says to them.&quot; The Dative <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#945;&#8016;&#964;&#959;&#8150;&#962;</span> belongs
+to <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#956;&#949;&#956;&#966;&#972;&#956;&#949;&#957;&#959;&#962;</span> (comp. <i>Mathiae</i>, 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 <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7973;&#964;&#953;&#962; &#7952;&#960;&#8054;
+&#954;&#961;&#949;&#943;&#964;&#964;&#959;&#963;&#953;&#957; &#7952;&#960;&#945;&#947;&#947;&#949;&#955;&#943;&#945;&#953;&#962; &#957;&#949;&#957;&#959;&#956;&#959;&#952;&#941;&#964;&#951;&#964;&#945;&#953;</span>, 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. <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1502;&#1492;</span> and
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1504;&#1499;&#1497;</span> form an emphatic contrast. <i>They</i>,
+in wicked ingratitude, have broken the former covenant, have shaken off the obligations
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 436]</span> which God&#39;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. <i>Bleek</i>
+objects to our interpretation: &quot;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.&quot; 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: &quot;And they go a whoring
+after their gods,&quot;--instead of the congregation, to which the <i>whoring</i> properly
+belongs, (comp. Is. lvii. 7), the individual members are mentioned; comp. Hos. ii.
+1, 2 (i. 10, ii. 19).</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 33. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal"><span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1499;&#1497;</span> is, by some interpreters,
+here supposed to mean &quot;but;&quot; so much, only, however, is correct that &quot;but&quot; might
+<i>also</i> have been put; <i>for</i> is here quite in its place. The words: &quot;Not
+as the covenant,&quot; &amp;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.
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1492;&#1501;</span> does not, by any means, as is erroneously
+supposed by <i>Venema</i> and <i>Hitzig</i>, refer to the days mentioned in ver.
+31, in which the New Covenant was to be made. &quot;These days,&quot; on the contrary, are
+a designation of the Present; &quot;after these days,&quot; equivalent to
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1488;&#1495;&#1512;&#1497;&#1514; &#1492;&#1497;&#1502;&#1497;&#1501;</span> &quot;at the end of days.&quot; 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. <i>Calvin</i> pertinently remarks: &quot;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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 437]</span> time of the promised salvation
+had come.&quot; As regards the following enumeration of the blessings, in and by the
+bestowal of which the new covenant-relation is to be established, <i>Venema</i>
+very correctly remarks: &quot;The blessings are distinguished into radical or causal
+ones, and subsequent or derived ones.&quot; The second <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">
+&#1499;&#1497;</span>, in ver. 34: &quot;<i>For</i> I will forgive their sin,&quot; proves the correctness
+of this division, which is also pointed out by the <i>Athnach</i>.--<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1514;&#1493;&#1512;&#1492;</span>
+is, by many interpreters, here understood to signify &quot;doctrine.&quot; Thus <i>Buddeus</i>:
+&quot;By the word <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1514;&#1493;&#1512;&#1492;</span>, the whole New Testament
+doctrine is to be understood.&quot; This interpretation, however, is objectionable, and
+destructive of the sense, <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1514;&#1493;&#1512;&#1492;</span> never means
+&quot;doctrine,&quot; but always &quot;law;&quot; and the fact that it is only <i>the</i> 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, (&quot;<i>lex cum homine conciliatur
+quasi</i>,&quot; <i>Michaelis</i>.) One might easily infer from the passage before us
+a confirmation of the error, that the law under the Old Covenant was <i>only</i>
+an outward dead letter. Against this error <i>Buddeus</i> already contended, who,
+S. 117, acknowledges that it is a relative difference and contrast only, which are
+here spoken of He says: &quot;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.&quot;
+<i>Calvin</i> declares the opinion that, under the Old Testament dispensation, there
+did not exist any regeneration, to be absurd, and says: &quot;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 <i>poured</i> out, and that God dealt much more liberally with His
+Church.&quot; 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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 438]</span>
+of <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7936;&#957;&#945;&#954;&#945;&#953;&#957;&#8055;&#950;&#949;&#953;&#957; &#949;&#7984;&#962; &#956;&#949;&#964;&#8049;&#957;&#959;&#953;&#945;&#957;</span>. Every outward
+manifestation of God <i>must</i>, 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&#39;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 <i>required</i>
+and promised by God (comp. Deut. l. c. with x. 16), is not substantially different
+from the writing of the Law on the heart. <i>Farther</i>--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, <i>e.g.</i>, 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 <i>new</i> 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, <i>in the same form</i>, as being already granted to him as his present
+spiritual condition: &quot;I delight to do thy will, O my God, and thy Law is in the
+midst of my bowels,&quot;<!--inserted quote-->--words which imply the same contrast to
+the Law as outward letter, as being written on tables of stone, comp. Prov. iii.
+1&#8211;3: &quot;My son, <span class="pagenum">[Pg 439]</span> forget not my law, and let thine
+heart keep my commandments ... bind them about thy neck, write them upon the table
+of thine heart;&quot; 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, <i>e.g.</i> 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 <i>regnum gloriae</i> to the <i>regnum gratiae</i>). 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: &quot;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;&quot; xxxii. 39: &quot;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;&quot; 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, <span class="pagenum">[Pg
+440]</span> 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 <i>Massechet
+Sanhedrim</i>, fol. 119: &quot;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),&quot;--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 <i>Bechai</i>
+(see <i>Frischmuth</i>) remarks: &quot;This means that every evil concupiscence shall
+be taken away, and every desire to covet any thing;&quot; <i>Moses Nachmanides</i> (<i>ibid.</i>
+S. 861): &quot;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.&quot; But if once bent upon it, pre-conceived
+opinions will overcome every, even the strongest,<!--inserted presumed missing comma-->
+contradiction offered by the matter itself This may be seen from the example of
+<i>Grotius</i>, who here explains: &quot;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.&quot; 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: &quot;And I will be their God,&quot; &amp;c., follow
+upon: &quot;And I give my Law in their inward parts,&quot; &amp;c. The Law is the expression of
+God&#39;s nature; it is only by the Law being written in the heart that man can become
+a partaker of God&#39;s nature; that His name can be sanctified in him. And it is this
+participation in the nature of God, this sanctification of God&#39;s name, which forms
+the foundation of: &quot;I will be their God, and they shall be my people.&quot; 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 <i>Buddeus</i>, S. 94, rightly remarks: &quot;That
+He will impart himself altogether to them.&quot; But how were it possible that God, with
+His blessings and gifts, should <span class="pagenum">[Pg 441]</span> 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 <i>him</i>, and to his seed after him; and this promise he
+had afterwards repeated to the whole people, Lev. xxvi. 12, comp. Exod. xxix. 45:
+&quot;And I dwell in the midst of the children of Israel and will be their God.&quot; In the
+consciousness that this promise was fulfilled in the time then present, David exclaims
+in Ps. xxxiii. 12: &quot;Blessed is the nation whose God is Jehovah, the generation whom
+He hath chosen for His inheritance.&quot; 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&#39;s
+promise to Abraham and Israel, to which the prophet here alludes, could, therefore,
+be expected from the future only.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 34. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <i>Calvin</i>, 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.<sup class="ftnRef"><a name="ftnRef_441a" href="#ftn_441a">[4]</a></sup>
+Many interpreters attempt an evasion, <span class="pagenum">[Pg 442]</span> by referring
+the words to the future life; thus <i>Theodoret</i>, <i>Augustine</i>, (<i>de Spirit.
+et lit.</i> c. 24) and <i>Este</i>, who, in a manner almost <i>na�ve</i>, remarks:
+&quot;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.&quot; 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
+<i>mere</i> 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: &quot;And all thy
+children shall be taught of the Lord.&quot; 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&#39;s word, but as God&#39;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, <span class="pagenum">[Pg 443]</span>
+shown by 2 Cor. iii. 3: &quot;You are an epistle of Christ ministered by us, written
+not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God.&quot; They are
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#952;&#949;&#959;&#948;&#8055;&#948;&#945;&#954;&#964;&#959;&#953;</span>, 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: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#922;&#945;&#8054; &#8017;&#956;&#949;&#8150;&#962; &#967;&#961;&#8150;&#963;&#956;&#945; &#7956;&#967;&#949;&#964;&#949; &#7936;&#960;&#8056; &#964;&#959;&#8166; &#7937;&#947;&#943;&#959;&#965;,
+&#954;&#945;&#8054; &#959;&#7988;&#948;&#945;&#964;&#949; &#960;&#940;&#957;&#964;&#945;. &#927;&#8016;&#954; &#7956;&#947;&#961;&#945;&#968;&#945; &#8017;&#956;&#8150;&#957;, &#8005;&#964;&#953; &#959;&#8016;&#954; &#959;&#7988;&#948;&#945;&#964;&#949; &#964;&#8052;&#957; &#7936;&#955;&#951;&#952;&#949;&#8055;&#945;&#957;, &#7936;&#955;&#955;&#8217; &#8005;&#964;&#953; &#959;&#7988;&#948;&#945;&#964;&#949;
+&#945;&#8016;&#964;&#942;&#957;.</span> Ver. 27: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#922;&#945;&#8054; &#8017;&#956;&#949;&#8150;&#962; &#964;&#8056; &#967;&#961;&#8150;&#963;&#956;&#945;, &#8003; &#7952;&#955;&#940;&#946;&#945;&#964;&#949;
+&#7936;&#960;&#8217; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#959;&#8166;, &#7952;&#957; &#8017;&#956;&#8150;&#957;, &#956;&#941;&#957;&#949;&#953; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#959;&#8016; &#967;&#961;&#949;&#943;&#945;&#957; &#7956;&#967;&#949;&#964;&#949;, &#7989;&#957;&#945; &#964;&#953;&#962; &#948;&#953;&#948;&#940;&#963;&#954;&#8131; &#8017;&#956;&#8118;&#962;, &#7936;&#955;&#955;&#8217; &#8033;&#962; &#964;&#8056;
+&#945;&#8016;&#964;&#8056; &#967;&#961;&#8150;&#963;&#956;&#945; &#948;&#953;&#948;&#940;&#963;&#954;&#949;&#953; &#8017;&#956;&#8118;&#962; &#960;&#949;&#961;&#8054; &#960;&#940;&#957;&#964;&#969;&#957; &#954;. &#964;. &#955;.</span> The
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#948;&#953;&#948;&#940;&#963;&#954;&#949;&#953;&#957;</span> 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 <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#960;&#945;&#961;&#8048;&#954;&#955;&#951;&#964;&#959;&#962;</span>, 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 <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#967;&#945;&#961;&#8055;&#963;&#956;&#945;&#964;&#945;</span>, is quite in its place. The apostle
+writes just <i>because</i> 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
+<i>Jelammedenu</i>, which is quoted by <i>Abarbanel</i> (in <i>Frischmuth</i>, S.
+863); he says: &quot;Under the present dispensation, Israel learns the Law from mortal
+men, and therefore forgets it; for as flesh and blood pass away (comp.
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 444]</span> 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: &#39;All thy
+children shall be taught by God.&#39; 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.&quot; It is, however, quite obvious that this promise, too, must
+be understood relatively only. All the pious men of the Old Covenant were
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#952;&#949;&#959;&#948;&#8055;&#948;&#945;&#954;&#964;&#959;&#953;</span>; 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 &quot;small,&quot;
+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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1499;&#1497;</span> be referred only to that which immediately
+precedes, or to every thing which goes before (<i>Venema</i>: <i>vocala</i>
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1499;&#1497;</span> <i>non ad proxime praecedentia referenda,
+sed ad totam pericopam, qua bona foederis recensita sunt, extenda</i>), 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&#39;s people, and God&#39;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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 445]</span>
+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 <i>Capporeth</i> (see <i>Genuineness
+of the Pentateuch</i>, 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 <i>has</i> forgiven sins; comp.
+<i>e.g.</i> Ps. lxxxv. 3: &quot;Thou hast taken away the iniquities of thy people, thou
+hast covered all their sins.&quot; 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. &quot;What a <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#960;&#955;&#951;&#961;&#959;&#966;&#959;&#961;&#8055;&#945;</span>&quot;--so
+<i>Buddeus</i> remarks, p. 109--&quot;what a confidence, what a joy of a tranquil and
+quiet conscience shines forth in the psalms and prayers of David!&quot; 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 <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#954;&#945;&#953;&#961;&#959;&#8054;
+&#7936;&#957;&#945;&#968;&#8059;&#958;&#949;&#969;&#962;</span> 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&#39;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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 35. &quot;<i>Thus saith the Lord, giving the sun for a light by
+day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for</i>
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 446]</span> <i>a light by night, agitating the sea, and
+the waves thereof roar, the Lord of hosts is His name.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 36. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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: &quot;Agitating the sea, and the waves thereof roar,&quot; 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: &quot;And I am the Lord thy God,
+who agitates the sea, and its waves roar, the Lord of hosts is His name;&quot; comp.
+also Amos. ix. 5, 6. It thus appears that, in ver. 35, God&#39;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 &quot;ordinances&quot;
+(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&#39;s omnipotence,
+as it is testified by a look to nature (<i>Calvin</i>: &quot;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&quot;), 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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 447]</span> 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&#39;s counsel of grace is
+put on a level with the immutability of God&#39;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&#39;s grace are <i>much firmer</i> 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: &quot;They despise my people (<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1502;&#1497;</span>)
+that they should be still a nation (<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1490;&#1493;&#1497;</span>) before
+them&quot; it appears why it is that <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1490;&#1493;&#1497;</span> is here
+used, and not <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1501;</span>. 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 37. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">It is not without meaning that the Prophet so frequently repeats:
+Thus saith the Lord. This formed the <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#913;</span> and
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#937;</span>; His word was the <i>sole</i> 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: &quot;All the seed of Israel,&quot;
+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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 448]</span> perish (the
+discourse is here, of course, of definite rejection); but it gives no security to
+the individual sinner. The words: &quot;For all that they have done,&quot; are added intentionally,
+because the greatness of the sins of the people was the <i>punctum saliens</i> in
+the believers&#39; despair of the mercy of God. <i>Calvin</i> says: &quot;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&#39;s granting pardon.&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 38. &quot;<i>Behold, days, saith the Lord, and the city is built
+to the Lord from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner.</i> Ver. 39.
+<i>And the measuring line goeth yet farther over against it, over the hill Gareb</i>
+(the leper), <i>and turneth towards Goah</i> (place of execution). Ver. 40. <i>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,</i> (all
+this is) <i>holiness unto the Lord. No more shall it be destroyed, nor shall it
+be laid waste for ever.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">This prophecy embraces two features: <i>first</i>, 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,
+<i>secondly</i>, 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: &quot;Is then this house,
+which is called by the name of the Lord, a den of robbers, saith the Lord?&quot; Other
+passages will be mentioned when we come to comment upon Dan. ix. 27. This inward
+victory must, according to divine necessity, <span class="pagenum">[Pg 449]</span>
+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&#8211;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 <i>Vitringa</i> in his Commentary on
+Isaiah xxx. 33: &quot;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.&quot; 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
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 450]</span> 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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1502;&#1497;&#1501;</span>, the <i>Keri</i> inserts
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1488;&#1497;&#1501;</span>. 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 <i>Keri</i> 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: &quot;The city is built to the Lord,&quot; so that &quot;to the
+Lord&quot; must be connected with &quot;is built;&quot; not &quot;the city of the Lord.&quot; The latter
+expression had become so much a <i>nomen proprium</i> 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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1504;&#1490;&#1491;&#1493;</span> refers to the Corner-gate; the measuring
+line, <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1511;&#1462;&#1493;&#1462;&#1492;</span> according to the <i>Kethibh</i>,
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1511;&#1493; &#1492;&#1468;&#1463;&#1502;&#1460;&#1468;&#1491;&#1464;&#1468;&#1492;</span>, which is the common form, according
+to the <i>Keri</i>, goes yet farther over against it, &amp;c. By the words &quot;over against,&quot;
+it is intimated that it now goes beyond the former dimensions of the town.
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1500;</span> &quot;over&quot; (<i>Hitzig</i> erroneously translates
+it &quot;towards,&quot; or &quot;by the side of it&quot;), 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
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 451]</span> side<sup class="ftnRef"><a name="ftnRef_451a" href="#ftn_451a">[5]</a></sup>
+and Goah on the South-west side, <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1490;&#1512;&#1489;</span> has no
+other signification than &quot;the leper;&quot; and &quot;the hill of the leper&quot; 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: &quot;Without the camp shall ye send them, and not shall they defile their
+camp in the midst whereof I dwell&quot;); and this law was so strictly enforced, that
+even Moses&#39; 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: &quot;All the days that he has the leprosy, he shall be defiled;
+he shall dwell alone, without the camp shall his habitation be;&quot; 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 &quot;house of the sick,&quot; instead of &quot;house
+of emancipation,&quot; 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. <i>J. D. Michaelis</i> (Mos. Recht. iv. � 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 <i>to him</i> 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, <span class="pagenum">[Pg 452]</span> if contagious
+at all, is so, at all events, very slightly only, and is never propagated by a single
+touch. (<i>Michaelis</i> himself remarks: &quot;Except in the case of cohabitation, one
+may be quite safe.&quot;) 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 <i>Michaelis</i> grants
+that those regulations could not be designed to guard against infection. He remarks:
+&quot;But the leper should not cause disgust to any one by his really shocking appearance,
+or terror by an accidental, unexpected touch.&quot; 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. <i>Farther</i>--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 <i>Michaelis</i> 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 <i>Michaelis&#39;</i> 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: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#922;&#945;&#8054; &#959;&#8016; &#956;&#8052; &#949;&#7984;&#963;&#941;&#955;&#952;&#8131; &#949;&#7984;&#962;
+&#945;&#8016;&#964;&#8052;&#957;</span> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 453]</span> <span lang="el" class="Greek">
+&#960;&#8118;&#957; &#954;&#959;&#953;&#957;&#8056;&#957; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#960;&#959;&#953;&#959;&#8166;&#957; &#946;&#948;&#941;&#955;&#965;&#947;&#956;&#945; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#968;&#949;&#8166;&#948;&#959;&#962;</span>, and by Paul, in Ephes. v. 5:
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#964;&#959;&#8166;&#964;&#959; &#947;&#8048;&#961; &#7988;&#963;&#964;&#949; &#947;&#953;&#957;&#974;&#963;&#954;&#959;&#957;&#964;&#949;&#962;, &#8005;&#964;&#953; &#960;&#8118;&#962; &#960;&#972;&#961;&#957;&#959;&#962;, &#7970; &#7936;&#954;&#940;&#952;&#945;&#961;&#964;&#959;&#962;,
+&#7970; &#960;&#955;&#949;&#959;&#957;&#941;&#954;&#964;&#951;&#962; ... &#959;&#8016;&#954; &#7956;&#967;&#949;&#953; &#954;&#955;&#951;&#961;&#959;&#957;&#959;&#956;&#943;&#945;&#957; &#7952;&#957; &#964;&#8135; &#946;&#945;&#963;&#953;&#955;&#949;&#943;&#8115; &#964;&#959;&#8166; &#935;&#961;&#953;&#963;&#964;&#959;&#8166; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#920;&#949;&#959;&#8166;</span>;
+comp. Gal. v. 19, 21. Now it is clearly seen what is the Prophet&#39;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 <i>our</i> disease), had to bear the image of sin, <i>e.g.</i>,
+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, <i>e.g.</i>, in the case of Miriam, Uzziah, Gehazi, 2 Kings
+v. 27. In the Law, there are many warnings against it, <i>e.g.</i>, 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: &quot;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.&quot;
+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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 454]</span>
+name. This signification interpreters usually endeavour to obtain by deriving the
+word from <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1490;&#1506;&#1492;</span> &quot;to roar,&quot; of which it is properly
+the Partic. Fem., hence &quot;the roaring one;&quot; but it is more easily obtained by adopting
+the derivation from <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1490;&#1464;&#1493;&#1463;&#1506;</span>, just as
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1513;&#1473;&#1493;&#1465;&#1506;&#1463;</span> is derived from
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1513;&#1473;&#1464;&#1493;&#1463;&#1506;</span>, a derivation which was first proposed
+by <i>Hiller</i>, S. 127. <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1490;&#1493;&#1506;</span> 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 &quot;expiring,&quot; &quot;hill<sup class="ftnRef"><a name="ftnRef_454a" href="#ftn_454a">[6]</a></sup>
+of expiring,&quot; which would be a very suitable name of the place for the execution
+of criminals. <i>Vitringa</i>, in commenting upon Is. xxx. 33, already expressed
+the conjecture that Goah, <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1490;&#1500; &#1490;&#1493;&#1506;&#1514;&#1492;</span> might perhaps
+be identical with Golgotha, but retracted it, because the Evangelists explain Golgotha
+by <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#954;&#961;&#945;&#957;&#8055;&#959;&#965; &#964;&#8057;&#960;&#959;&#962;</span>. 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 <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#960;&#8049;&#963;&#967;&#945;</span>, from
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#960;&#8049;&#963;&#967;&#949;&#953;&#957;</span>, and many similar instances. It has
+already been observed that the appellation, &quot;place of skulls,&quot; is rather strange,
+inasmuch as the skulls did not remain in the place of execution.<sup class="ftnRef"><a name="ftnRef_454b" href="#ftn_454b">[7]</a></sup>
+The use of &quot;skull&quot; for &quot;the place of skulls,&quot; as well as the omission of the <i>
+L</i>, 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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 455]</span> true, testified by tradition only; comp.
+<i>Krafft</i>, S. 168 ff.; <i>Ritter</i>, <i>Erdk.</i> 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. <i>Krafft</i>, S 2;
+v. <i>Raumer</i>, S. 269. The valley of the carcasses is here brought into immediate
+connection with <i>all</i> the fields (<i>q.d.</i>, 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, <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1508;&#1490;&#1512;&#1497;&#1501; ,&#1508;&#1490;&#1512;</span>
+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 <i>Venema</i> 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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1508;&#1490;&#1512;&#1497;&#1501;</span> 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<sup class="ftnRef"><a name="ftnRef_455a" href="#ftn_455a">[8]</a></sup>
+that, after the defilement by Josiah (2 Kings xxiii. 10), it received this designation.
+But there are not wanting evident traces that, <span class="pagenum">[Pg 456]</span>
+even in former times, the valley served this purpose. In Is. xxx. 33, it is said
+in reference to the Assyrians: &quot;For Tophet (<i>Gesenius</i> arbitrarily changes
+the <i>nomen proprium</i> into an <i>appellativum</i>, 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.&quot; 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>i.e.</i>,
+<i>horror</i>, <i>abomination</i>, 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 <i>Vitringa&#39;s</i> 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1508;&#1490;&#1512;&#1497;&#1501;</span> 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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1506;&#1502;&#1511;</span> forbids us to view it as being in the
+<i>Stat. construct.</i> and connected with the following words. We must translate:
+&quot;And the whole valley, (viz. the valley of) the carcasses and ashes.&quot; The place
+is, hence, first designated as &quot;the valley,&quot; without any further qualification,
+and receives this qualification only afterwards. But it is just the valley of Hinnom
+which, in Jer. ii. 23, is <span class="pagenum">[Pg 457]</span> designated as the
+valley <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#954;&#945;&#964;&#700; &#7952;&#958;&#959;&#967;&#8053;&#957;</span>, 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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1491;&#1468;&#1513;&#1473;&#1503;</span>, <i>Gousset</i> Lex. p.
+368, remarks: &quot;The words <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1491;&#1462;&#1468;&#1513;&#1462;&#1473;&#1503;</span>, and
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1491;&#1460;&#1468;&#1513;&#1461;&#1473;&#1503;</span> are used only of the ashes of the
+sacrificial animals, and their removal.&quot; This observation is confirmed by every
+careful examination of the passages in question. Never are
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1491;&#1462;&#1468;&#1513;&#1462;&#1473;&#1503;</span> and <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">
+&#1491;&#1460;&#1468;&#1513;&#1461;&#1473;&#1503;</span> 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 &quot;ashes,&quot; from the fundamental signification &quot;fat,&quot; as advanced
+by <i>Winer</i> and others (<i>cinis</i> = <i>pinguefactio agrorum</i>), is therefore
+wrong. On the contrary, even the burnt fat was still considered as fat; the ashes
+of the fat are the <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1513;&#1488;&#1512;&#1497;&#1514;</span>, 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: &quot;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.&quot; 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
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 458]</span> the valley of Hinnom, because, according to
+the Law, the ashes of the sacrifices were to be carried to a <i>clean</i> 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 &quot;the <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1513;&#1456;&#1473;&#1512;&#1502;&#1493;&#1465;&#1514;</span> unto
+the brook Kidron&quot; are identical with the fields of Kidron,
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1513;&#1473;&#1463;&#1491;&#1456;&#1502;&#1493;&#1465;&#1514; &#1511;&#1460;&#1491;&#1460;&#1512;&#1493;&#1465;&#1503;</span>, mentioned in 2 Kings xxiii.;
+but much to be doubted is the correctness of the common supposition (after the example
+of <i>Kuypers</i>, <i>ad varia V. T. loca</i>, in the <i>Syll. Dissert. sub praes.
+Schultens, et Schroederi</i>, t. 1. p. 537), that <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">
+&#1513;&#1456;&#1473;&#1512;&#1502;&#1493;&#1465;&#1514;</span> is identical with <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1513;&#1473;&#1456;&#1491;&#1461;&#1502;&#1493;&#1465;&#1514;</span>.
+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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1491;</span> and
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1512;</span>; but these exchanges are always significant.
+(Compare <i>K�per</i>. Jerem. p. xiv. and 43, and <i>History of Balaam</i>, p. 447
+f.) Although we cannot, with certainty, fix the meaning of
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1513;&#1512;&#1502;&#1493;&#1514;</span>, yet so much seems to be sure, that
+this word was one which more accurately designated the nature of those places than
+the current <i>nomen proprium</i>, inasmuch as it would be absurd to substitute
+for it another name, if there had not been deeper reasons. One need only compare
+the <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1512; &#1492;&#1502;&#1513;&#1495;&#1497;&#1514;</span> 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
+<img border="0" src="images/458.png" width="117" height="23" alt="Arabic"> in Arabic
+run together in that of <i>cutting off</i>. <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1513;&#1473;&#1463;&#1491;&#1456;&#1502;&#1493;&#1465;&#1514;</span>
+the Plural of the Feminine of the Adjective <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1513;&#1464;&#1473;&#1512;&#1461;&#1502;</span>
+are, accordingly, <i>loca abscissa</i>, places which are cut off and excluded [from
+the Holy City] outwardly (<i>Aq.</i>: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#960;&#961;&#959;&#8049;&#963;&#960;&#949;&#953;&#945;</span>),
+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, <span class="pagenum">[Pg 459]</span> then become holiness,
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1511;&#1491;&#1513;</span>. 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): &quot;And he burned them <i>without Jerusalem</i>
+in the fields of Kidron.&quot; Ver. 6: &quot;And he brought out the Ashera out of the house
+of the Lord, <i>without Jerusalem</i>, 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.&quot; These last words (the children of the people = the mob, high and
+low, who had polluted themselves by idolatry, comp. 2 Chron. xxxiv. 4: &quot;And he strewed
+the dust upon the graves of them that had sacrificed unto them&quot;)<!--see 1856 ed of placement of quotese-->
+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.--<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1511;&#1491;&#1513;
+&#1500;&#1497;&#1492;&#1493;&#1492;</span> refers to every thing mentioned in the verse before us. As regards
+the last words, comp. Remarks on Zech. xiv. 11.</p>
+<hr class="ftn">
+<div class="ftn">
+	<p class="ftnText"><a name="ftn_425a" href="#ftnRef_425a">
+	<sup class="ftnRef">[1]</sup></a> The person of the Messiah meets us as the
+	living centre of the salvation in ver. 9: &quot;And they serve the Lord their God,
+	and David their King, whom I will raise up unto them;&quot; on which words <i>Jonathan</i>
+	remarks: &quot;And the Messiah the Son of David;&quot; and <i>Abarbanel</i>: &quot;This is
+	King Messiah, who is of the house of David, and is therefore called by his name.&quot;
+	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: &quot;I raise unto David a righteous Sprout.&quot; 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: &quot;We have no portion in David, neither have we inheritance in
+	the Son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel.&quot; To the person of the Messiah the
+	Prophet reverts once more towards the close also: &quot;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?&quot;
+	God himself receives the King of the Future into the closest communion with
+	Him,--&quot;I and the Father are one&quot;--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.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="ftn">
+	<p class="ftnText"><a name="ftn_430a" href="#ftnRef_430a">
+	<sup class="ftnRef">[2]</sup></a> <i>Hofmann</i> (<i>Weiss. u. Erf.</i> 1 S.
+	138) assigns to the phrase the meaning: &quot;to make an arrangement.&quot; But decisive
+	against this is not only the derivation, (comp. <i>Gesenius Thesaurus</i>),
+	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.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="ftn">
+	<p class="ftnText"><a name="ftn_434a" href="#ftnRef_434a">
+	<sup class="ftnRef">[3]</sup></a> Even the most recent interpreters, who take
+	<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1506;&#1500;</span> <i>sensu malo</i>, still greatly differ,--a
+	proof that this interpretation has a very insufficient foundation on which to
+	rest. <i>Gesenius</i>, <i>De Wette</i>, <i>Bleek</i> (on Heb. viii. 9), retain
+	the explanation by <i>fastidire</i>, <i>rejicere</i>; <i>Maurer</i> translates:
+	<i>dominarer</i>, <i>domini partes sustinerem</i>, contrasting tyrannical dominion
+	with a relation of love; <i>Ewald</i>: &quot;Seeing that I am her master and protector;&quot;
+	<i>Hitzig</i>: &quot;And I got possession of her.&quot; All these interpretations are
+	opposed by the <i>usus loquendi</i>, according to which
+	<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1506;&#1500;</span> has only the two significations: &quot;to
+	possess,&quot; and &quot;to take for a wife,&quot; the latter being the ordinary and prevailing
+	one.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="ftn">
+	<p class="ftnText"><a name="ftn_441a" href="#ftnRef_441a">
+	<sup class="ftnRef">[4]</sup></a> Not less than these, <i>Hitzig</i> too has
+	allowed himself to be carried away by the appearance. He says: &quot;Then, indeed,
+	the office of religious instructors must cease.&quot;</p>
+</div>
+<div class="ftn">
+	<p class="ftnText"><a name="ftn_451a" href="#ftnRef_451a">
+	<sup class="ftnRef">[5]</sup></a> According to <i>Krafft</i> (<i>sur Topographie
+	Jerus.</i> 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.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="ftn">
+	<p class="ftnText"><a name="ftn_454a" href="#ftnRef_454a">
+	<sup class="ftnRef">[6]</sup></a> <i>Thenius</i>, in the appendix to the Commentary
+	on the Books of Kings, S. 24, remarks: &quot;<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1490;&#1500;</span>
+	does not, in any of the dialects, denote the natural hill of rocks, but merely
+	stones heaped up.&quot; Hence, the hill would be an artificial hill for the execution
+	of criminals. (Compare the German word <i>Rabenstein</i>, lit. &quot;raven-stone,&quot;
+	for: place of execution.)</p>
+</div>
+<div class="ftn">
+	<p class="ftnText"><a name="ftn_454b" href="#ftnRef_454b">
+	<sup class="ftnRef">[7]</sup></a> This objection would be removed if, following
+	<i>Thenius</i> and <i>Krafft</i>, S. 158, we were to explain the name from the
+	form of the hill, which is that of a skull. But <i>none</i> 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 <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#954;&#961;&#945;&#957;&#8055;&#959;&#965; &#964;&#8057;&#960;&#959;&#962;</span>,
+	&quot;place of a skull.&quot;</p>
+</div>
+<div class="ftn">
+	<p class="ftnText"><a name="ftn_455a" href="#ftnRef_455a">
+	<sup class="ftnRef">[8]</sup></a> Compare the Book <i>Kosri</i>, p. 72. <i>Buxtorff</i>
+	says: &quot;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.&quot;</p>
+</div>
+<h3><a name="div2_459" href="#div2Ref_459">CHAPTER XXXIII. 14-26.</a></h3>
+<p class="normal">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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 460]</span>
+knowledge is not regarded as knowledge; that the hope of<!--dup 'of' deleted-->
+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.</p>
+<p class="normal">The genuineness of this section has been assailed by <i>Jahn</i>
+(<i>Vaticinia Mess.</i> iii. p. 112, ff.<sup class="ftnRef"><a name="ftnRef_460a" href="#ftn_460a">[1]</a></sup>),
+after the example of <i>J. D. Michaelis</i>, 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: &quot;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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 461]</span> 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.&quot; 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. <i>e.g.</i>, the inferences in <i>
+Jahn</i>, 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, <i>a priori</i>,
+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 <i>verbatim</i>, in chap. xxiii. 3, 6; vers. 20&#8211;25, as regards
+the thought, altogether, and as regards the words, partly agree with chap. xxxi.
+35&#8211;37; and it is certain that the LXX. often omitted <span class="pagenum">[Pg 462]</span>
+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 <i>J. D. Michaelis</i> and <i>Jahn</i> 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
+<i>J. D. Michaelis</i>, <i>Jahn</i>, <i>Hitzig</i>, and <i>Movers</i>, there were
+men who were as little able to understand the text as these expositors.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 14. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">The &quot;good word&quot; 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: &quot;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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1511;&#1493;&#1501;</span>) one word
+of all His good word which He spoke through Moses His servant.&quot; In Deut. xxviii.
+the <i>good</i> word and the <i>evil</i> word are placed beside one another; and
+the former is blessed, from vers. 1&#8211;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 &quot;good word,&quot; 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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1500;</span> and <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1506;&#1500;</span>
+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
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 463]</span> 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 15, 16. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1511;&#1497;&#1502;&#1493;&#1514;&#1497;</span>, the
+more suitable <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1488;&#1510;&#1502;&#1497;&#1495;</span> 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 17. &quot;<i>For thus saith the Lord: There shall not be cut of
+from David a man sitting upon the throne of the house of Israel.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">The connection with what precedes is pertinently brought out by
+<i>Calvin</i>: &quot;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.&quot;
+The expression <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1500;&#1488; &#1497;&#1499;&#1512;&#1514;</span>, &quot;there shall not be
+cut off,&quot; &amp;c., is a simple repetition of the promise to David, in
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 464]</span> 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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 18, &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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&#39;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
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 465]</span> 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, <i>even a priori</i>, 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,
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 466]</span> 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&#39;s despair in God&#39;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: &quot;And ye shall be named
+priests of Jehovah, ministers of our God shall they call you.&quot; 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: &quot;And from them also will I take for <i>Levitical</i> priests saith the Lord.&quot;
+It makes no difference for our purpose whether &quot;from them&quot; be referred to the Gentiles
+(which is the correct view, compare p. 360), as is done by <i>Vitringa</i> and
+<i>Gesenius</i>, 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 <i>taking</i>,
+no special divine mercy would have taken place. Even the Law already knows an <i>
+ideal</i> 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 <span class="pagenum">[Pg 467]</span> 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&#39;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: &quot;To the priests and Levites,&quot; but, as also in Is. lxvi. 21: To
+the Levitical priests; compare the arguments in proof in <i>Genuineness of the Pentateuch</i>,
+p. 329 ff. The epithet, <span class="pagenum">[Pg 468]</span> &quot;Levitical,&quot; 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: &quot;He ruleth as a king,&quot; 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 <i>inquiry</i>, 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): &quot;Take with you words, and turn to
+the Lord and say unto Him: <i>Take</i> all iniquity, and <i>give</i> good, and we
+will recompense to thee bulls, our lips.&quot; Here the thanks are represented as the
+substance of the thank-offering, and, indeed, so perfectly, that the thank-offering,
+the bullocks, is <i>entirely</i> where only thanks, the lips, are. The outward sacrifice
+is the vessel only in which the gift is presented to God. <i>Farther</i>--Ps. iv.
+14, where, in contrast to the merely external sacrifices, it is said: &quot;Offer unto
+God thanksgivings;&quot; Mal. i. 11, and many other passages.</p>
+<p class="normal">Vers. 19, 20. &quot;<i>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</i>; Ver.
+21. <i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal" dir="ltr">The word <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1514;&#1508;&#1512;&#1493;</span>
+is very significant. <i>Calvin</i> says: &quot;The Prophet indirectly reproves the wickedness
+of the people, because, as much as lay with them, they destroyed the covenant
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 469]</span> 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, &amp;c.&quot;--<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1497;&#1493;&#1501;</span>
+and <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1492;&#1500;&#1497;&#1500;&#1492;</span> are appositions to: My covenant.
+The day and night in their regular succession are the covenant which is here spoken
+of The phrase <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1497;&#1493;&#1502;&#1501; &#1493;&#1500;&#1497;&#1500;&#1492;</span>, which signifies
+&quot;by day and night,&quot; &quot;daily and nightly,&quot; stands here for: <i>tempus diurnum et nocturnum</i>.
+&quot;The covenant,&quot; <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1489;&#1512;&#1497;&#1514;</span>, does not by any means
+stand here in the signification <i>stabilis ordinatio</i>; 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 <i>them</i>, 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: &quot;Behold, I establish my covenant <i>with you</i>, and with your seed
+after you;&quot; viii. 22: &quot;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.&quot; 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&#39;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.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 22. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">Even considered in itself, the literal fulfilment of this verse
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 470]</span> 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:
+&quot;Ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1502;&#1500;&#1499;&#1514;
+&#1499;&#1492;&#1504;&#1497;&#1501;</span>.&quot;<sup class="ftnRef"><a name="ftnRef_470a" href="#ftn_470a">[2]</a></sup>
+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 <i>unnatural</i> 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,
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 471]</span> 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
+<i>Philo</i>, <i>de vita Mos.</i> (p. 686, Francf.): &quot;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.&quot;--We have thus
+here before <span class="pagenum">[Pg 472]</span> 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, <i>tales
+quales</i>, 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: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#8017;&#956;&#949;&#8150;&#962; &#948;&#8050; &#947;&#941;&#957;&#959;&#962; &#7952;&#954;&#955;&#949;&#954;&#964;&#972;&#957;, &#946;&#945;&#963;&#943;&#955;&#949;&#953;&#959;&#957; &#7985;&#949;&#961;&#940;&#964;&#949;&#965;&#956;&#945;
+&#954;.&#964;.&#955;.</span> 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: <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#954;&#945;&#8054; &#7952;&#960;&#959;&#943;&#951;&#963;&#945;&#962; &#945;&#8016;&#964;&#959;&#8058;&#962; &#964;&#8183; &#952;&#949;&#8183;
+&#7969;&#956;&#8182;&#957; &#946;&#945;&#963;&#953;&#955;&#949;&#8150;&#962; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#7985;&#949;&#961;&#949;&#8150;&#962;, &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#946;&#945;&#963;&#953;&#955;&#949;&#973;&#963;&#959;&#965;&#963;&#953;&#957; &#7952;&#960;&#8054; &#964;&#8134;&#962; &#947;&#8134;&#962;</span> 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:
+<span lang="el" class="Greek">&#954;&#945;&#8054; &#7952;&#960;&#959;&#943;&#951;&#963;&#949;&#957; &#7969;&#956;&#8118;&#962; &#946;&#945;&#963;&#953;&#955;&#949;&#943;&#945;&#957;, &#7985;&#949;&#961;&#949;&#8150;&#962; &#964;&#8183; &#952;&#949;&#8183; &#954;&#945;&#8054; &#960;&#945;&#964;&#961;&#8054;
+&#945;&#8017;&#964;&#959;&#8166;</span>, stand in close connection to <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#8001; &#7940;&#961;&#967;&#969;&#957;
+&#964;&#8182;&#957; &#946;&#945;&#963;&#953;&#955;&#8051;&#969;&#957; &#964;&#8134;&#962; &#947;&#8134;&#962;</span>, and to <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#954;&#945;&#8055; &#955;&#8059;&#963;&#945;&#957;&#964;&#953; &#7969;&#956;&#8118;&#962;
+&#7936;&#960;&#8056; &#964;&#8182;&#957; &#7937;&#956;&#961;&#964;&#953;&#8182;&#957; &#7969;&#956;&#8182;&#957; &#7952;&#957; &#964;&#8183; &#945;&#7989;&#956;&#945;&#964;&#953; &#945;&#8017;&#964;&#959;&#8166;</span>.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 23. &quot;<i>And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying:</i>
+Ver. 24. <i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">It is scarcely conceivable how modern interpreters can assert
+that by &quot;this people,&quot; not the Israelites, but Gentiles, the Egyptians or Chaldeans,
+or the &quot;neighbours of the Jews on the Chaboras,&quot; (<i>Hitzig</i>), or the Samaritans
+(<i>Movers</i>), are to be understood. In advancing such assertions, it is overlooked
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 473]</span> that the Prophet has here quite the same persons
+in view as in the whole remaining section, and as in these chapter&#39;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 <span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1514;&#1508;&#1512;&#1493;</span> in ver. 20.--The expression &quot;this
+people,&quot; 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
+&quot;two families&quot; 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: &quot;He hath now rejected
+them,&quot; 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 <span lang="el" class="Greek">&#7936;&#956;&#949;&#964;&#945;&#956;&#941;&#955;&#951;&#964;&#945; &#964;&#8048; &#967;&#945;&#961;&#943;&#963;&#956;&#945;&#964;&#945;
+&#954;&#945;&#8054; &#7969; &#954;&#955;&#8134;&#963;&#953;&#962; &#964;&#959;&#8166; &#952;&#949;&#959;&#8166;</span>, Rom. xi. 29. The expression &quot;<i>my</i> people,&quot; directs
+attention to how God is now despised in Israel. On the contrast between &quot;<i>my</i>
+people&quot; and &quot;a people,&quot; compare remarks on chap. xxxi. 36.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 25. &quot;<i>Thus saith the Lord: If not my covenant daily</i>
+<span class="pagenum">[Pg 474]</span> <i>and nightly, if I have not appointed the
+ordinances of heaven and earth</i>;&quot;--</p>
+<p class="normal">Compare ver. 20. The covenant daily and nightly, <i>i.e.</i>,
+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&#39;s ordinance, and is, therefore, a lasting one.</p>
+<p class="normal">Ver. 26. &quot;<i>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.</i>&quot;</p>
+<p class="normal">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
+<span lang="he" class="Hebrew">&#1502;&#1513;&#1500;&#1497;&#1501;</span> is easily accounted for, from the circumstance
+that it was not the number, but only the <i>fact</i> 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: &quot;I will turn to their captivity&quot; (not: &quot;I will turn their captivity,&quot; compare
+remarks on Ps. xiv. 7; captivity is an image of misery), rest on Deut. xxx. 3.</p>
+<hr class="ftn">
+<div class="ftn">
+	<p class="ftnText"><a name="ftn_460a" href="#ftnRef_460a">
+	<sup class="ftnRef">[1]</sup></a> They have been joined by <i>Movers</i> (<i>de
+	utriusque recens. Jerem. indole</i>), who declares ver. 18 and 21&#8211;24 to be a
+	later interpolation (comp. against this view <i>K�per</i>, S. 173, and <i>Wichelhaus</i>,
+	de Jerem. Vers. Alex., p. 170), and <i>Hitzig</i>, according to whom the whole
+	portion, vers. 14&#8211;26, consists of &quot;a series of single additions from a later
+	period.&quot;</p>
+</div>
+<div class="ftn">
+	<p class="ftnText"><a name="ftn_470a" href="#ftnRef_470a">
+	<sup class="ftnRef">[2]</sup></a> Compare the discussions on this passage in
+	my Commentary on Rev. i. 6.</p>
+</div>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h4>END OF VOLUME SECOND.</h4>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Christology of the Old Testament: And
+a Commentary on the Messianic Predictions. Vol. 2, by Ernst Hengstenberg
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+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
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