1Sa 5:3-4, Psa 20:8, Isa 10:4 | JFB | STEP | 3-4. they of Ashdod arose early-- They were filled with consternation when they found the object of their stupid veneration prostrate before the symbol of the divine presence. Though set up, it fell again, and lay in a state of complete mutilation; its head and arms, severed from the trunk, were lying in distant and separate places, as if violently cast off, and only the fishy part remained. The degradation of their idol, though concealed by the priests on the former occasion, was now more manifest and infamous. It lay in the attitude of a vanquished enemy and a suppliant, and this picture of humiliation significantly declared the superiority of the God of Israel.

‏ 1 Samuel 5:3-4

3-4. they of Ashdod arose early--They were filled with consternation when they found the object of their stupid veneration prostrate before the symbol of the divine presence. Though set up, it fell again, and lay in a state of complete mutilation; its head and arms, severed from the trunk, were lying in distant and separate places, as if violently cast off, and only the fishy part remained. The degradation of their idol, though concealed by the priests on the former occasion, was now more manifest and infamous. It lay in the attitude of a vanquished enemy and a suppliant, and this picture of humiliation significantly declared the superiority of the God of Israel.

‏ Psalms 20:8

8. They--that is, who trust in horses, &c.

stand upright--literally, "we have straightened ourselves up from our distress and fears."

‏ Isaiah 10:4

4. Without me--not having Me to "flee to" (Is 10:3).

bow down--Bereft of strength they shall fall; or else, they shall lie down fettered.

under ... under--rather, "among" (literally, "in the place of") [Horsley]. The "under" may be, however, explained, "trodden under the (feet of the) prisoners going into captivity," and "overwhelmed under the heaps of slain on the battlefield" [Maurer].

Is 10:5-34 and Is 11:12. Destruction of the Assyrians; Coming of Messiah; Hymn of Praise.

Is 10:9, 11 show that Samaria was destroyed before this prophecy. It was written when Assyria proposed (a design which it soon after tried to carry out under Sennacherib) to destroy Judah and Jerusalem, as it had destroyed Samaria. This is the first part of Isaiah's prophecies under Hezekiah. Probably between 722 and 715 B.C. (see Is 10:27).