Isa 7-8 | JFB | STEP | Is 7: . Prediction of the Ill Success of the Syro- Israelitish Invasion of Judah-- Ahaz's Alliance with Assyria, and Its Fatal Results to Judea--Yet the Certainty of Final Preservation and of the Coming of Messiah. In the Assyrian inscriptions the name of Rezin, king of Damascus, is found among the tributaries of Tiglath-pileser, of whose reign the annals of seventeen years have been deciphered. For the historical facts in this chapter, compare . Rezin of Syria and Pekah of Israel, as confederates, advanced against Jerusalem. In the first campaign they "smote Ahaz with a great slaughter" ( ). Their object was probably to unite the three kingdoms against Assyria. Egypt seems to have favored the plan, so as to interpose these confederate kingdoms between her own frontier and Assyria (compare , "Egypt"; and , Hoshea's league with Egypt). Rezin and Pekah may have perceived Ahaz' inclination towards Assyria rather than towards their own confederacy; this and the old feud between Israel and Judah ( ) occasioned their invasion of Judah. Ahaz, at the second inroad of his enemies (compare and , with ), smarting under his former defeat, applied to Tiglath-pileser, in spite of Isaiah's warning in this chapter, that he should rather rely on God; that king accordingly attacked Damascus, and slew Rezin ( ); and probably it was at the same time that he carried away part of Israel captive ( ), unless there were two assaults on Pekah-- that in , the earlier, and that in which Tiglath helped Ahaz subsequently [G. V. Smith]. Ahaz was saved at the sacrifice of Judah's independence and the payment of a large tribute, which continued till the overthrow of Sennacherib under Hezekiah ( ; , ; ). Ahaz' reign began about 741 B.C., and Pekah was slain in 738 [Winer]. 1. Ahaz-- In the first years of his reign the design of the two kings against Judah was carried out, which was formed in Jotham's reign ( ). Syria-- Hebrew, Aram ( , ), originally the whole region between the Euphrates and Mediterranean, including Assyria, of which Syria is an abbreviation; here the region round Damascus, and along Mount Libanus. Jerusalem-- An actual siege of it took place, but was foiled ( ).

‏ Isaiah 7

CHAPTER 7

Is 7:1-9:7. Prediction of the Ill Success of the Syro- Israelitish Invasion of Judah--Ahaz's Alliance with Assyria, and Its Fatal Results to Judea--Yet the Certainty of Final Preservation and of the Coming of Messiah.

In the Assyrian inscriptions the name of Rezin, king of Damascus, is found among the tributaries of Tiglath-pileser, of whose reign the annals of seventeen years have been deciphered. For the historical facts in this chapter, compare 2Ki 15:37-16:9. Rezin of Syria and Pekah of Israel, as confederates, advanced against Jerusalem. In the first campaign they "smote Ahaz with a great slaughter" (2Ch 28:5). Their object was probably to unite the three kingdoms against Assyria. Egypt seems to have favored the plan, so as to interpose these confederate kingdoms between her own frontier and Assyria (compare Is 7:18, "Egypt"; and 2Ki 17:4, Hoshea's league with Egypt). Rezin and Pekah may have perceived Ahaz' inclination towards Assyria rather than towards their own confederacy; this and the old feud between Israel and Judah (1Ki 12:16) occasioned their invasion of Judah. Ahaz, at the second inroad of his enemies (compare 2Ch 28:1-26 and 2Ki 15:37, with Is 16:5), smarting under his former defeat, applied to Tiglath-pileser, in spite of Isaiah's warning in this chapter, that he should rather rely on God; that king accordingly attacked Damascus, and slew Rezin (2Ki 16:9); and probably it was at the same time that he carried away part of Israel captive (2Ki 15:29), unless there were two assaults on Pekah--that in 2Ki 15:29, the earlier, and that in which Tiglath helped Ahaz subsequently [G. V. Smith]. Ahaz was saved at the sacrifice of Judah's independence and the payment of a large tribute, which continued till the overthrow of Sennacherib under Hezekiah (Is 37:37; 2Ki 16:8, 17, 18; 2Ch 28:20). Ahaz' reign began about 741 B.C., and Pekah was slain in 738 [Winer].

1. Ahaz--In the first years of his reign the design of the two kings against Judah was carried out, which was formed in Jotham's reign (2Ki 15:37).

Syria--Hebrew, Aram (Ge 10:22, 23), originally the whole region between the Euphrates and Mediterranean, including Assyria, of which Syria is an abbreviation; here the region round Damascus, and along Mount Libanus.

Jerusalem--An actual siege of it took place, but was foiled (2Ki 16:5).

2. is confederate with--rather, is encamped upon the territory of Ephraim [Maurer], or better, as Rezin was encamped against Jerusalem, "is supported by" [Lowth] Ephraim, whose land lay between Syria and Judah. The mention of "David" alludes, in sad contrast with the present, to the time when David made Syria subject to him (2Sa 8:6).

Ephraim--the ten tribes.

as ... trees of ... wood--a simultaneous agitation.

3. Go forth--out of the city, to the place where Ahaz was superintending the works for defense and the cutting off of the water supply from the enemy, and securing it to the city. So Is 22:9; 2Ch 32:4.

Shearjashub--that is, A remnant shall return (Is 6:13). His very name (compare Is 7:14; Is 8:3) was a standing memorial to Ahaz and the Jews that the nation should not, notwithstanding the general calamity (Is 7:17-25; Is 8:6-8), be utterly destroyed (Is 10:21, 22).

conduit--an aqueduct from the pool or reservoir for the supply of the city. At the foot of Zion was Fount Siloah (Is 8:6; Ne 3:15; Joh 9:7), called also Gihon, on the west of Jerusalem (2Ch 32:30). Two pools were supplied from it, the Upper, or Old (Is 22:11), or King's (Ne 2:14), and the Lower (Is 22:9), which received the superfluous waters of the upper. The upper pool is still to be seen, about seven hundred yards from the Jaffa gate. The highway leading to the fullers' field, which was in a position near water for the purposes of washing, previous to drying and bleaching, the cloth, was probably alongside the aqueduct.

4. Take heed, &c.--that is, See that thou be quiet (not seeking Assyrian aid in a fit of panic).

tails--mere ends of firebrands, almost consumed themselves (about soon to fall before the Assyrians, Is 7:8), therefore harmless.

smoking--as about to go out; not blazing.

son of Remaliah--Pekah, a usurper (2Ki 15:25). The Easterners express contempt by designating one, not by his own name, but by his father's, especially when the father is but little known (1Sa 20:27, 31).

6. vex--rather, "throw into consternation" [Gesenius].

make a breach--rather, "cleave it asunder." Their scheme was to divide a large portion of the territory between themselves, and set up a vassal king of their own over the rest.

son of Tabeal--unknown; a Syrian-sounding name, perhaps favored by a party in Jerusalem (Is 3:6, 9, 12).

7. (Is 8:10; Pr 21:30).

8. head--that is, in both Syria and Israel the capital shall remain as it is; they shall not conquer Judah, but each shall possess only his own dominions.

threescore and five ... not a people--As these words break the symmetry of the parallelism in this verse, either they ought to be placed after "Remaliah's son," in Is 7:9, or else they refer to some older prophecy of Isaiah, or of Amos (as the Jewish writers represent), parenthetically; to which, in Is 7:8, the words, "If ye will not believe ... not be established," correspond in parallelism. One deportation of Israel happened within one or two years from this time, under Tiglath-pileser (2Ki 15:29). Another in the reign of Hoshea, under Shalmaneser (2Ki 17:1-6), was about twenty years after. But the final one which utterly "broke" up Israel so as to be "not a people," accompanied by a colonization of Samaria with foreigners, was under Esar-haddon, who carried away Manasseh, king of Judah, also, in the twenty-second year of his reign, sixty-five years from the utterance of this prophecy (compare Ezr 4:2, 3, 10, with 2Ki 17:24; 2Ch 33:11) [Usher]. The event, though so far off, was enough to assure the people of Judah that as God, the Head of the theocracy, would ultimately interpose to destroy the enemies of His people, so they might rely on Him now.

9. believe, ... be established--There is a paronomasia, or play on the words, in the Hebrew: "if ye will not confide, ye shall not abide." Ahaz brought distress on himself by distrust in the Lord, and trust in Assyria.

11. Ask thee--since thou dost not credit the prophet's words.

sign--a miraculous token to assure thee that God will fulfil His promise of saving Jerusalem (Is 37:30; 38:7, 8). "Signs," facts then present or near at hand as pledges for the more distant future, are frequent in Isaiah.

ask ... in ... depth--literally, "Make deep ... ask it," that is, Go to the depth of the earth or of Hades [Vulgate and Lowth], or, Mount high for it (literally, "Make high"). So in Mt 16:1. Signs in heaven are contrasted with the signs on earth and below it (raising the dead) which Jesus Christ had wrought (compare Ro 10:6, 7). He offers Ahaz the widest limits within which to make his choice.

12. neither ... tempt--hypocritical pretext of keeping the law (De 6:16); "tempt," that is, put God to the proof, as in Mt 4:7, by seeking His miraculous interposition without warrant. But here there was the warrant of the prophet of God; to have asked a sign, when thus offered, would not have been a tempting of God. Ahaz' true reason for declining was his resolve not to do God's will, but to negotiate with Assyria, and persevere in his idolatry (2Ki 16:7, 8, 3, 4, 10). Men often excuse their distrust in God, and trust in their own devices, by professed reverence for God. Ahaz may have fancied that though Jehovah was the God of Judea and could work a sign there, that was no proof that the local god of Syria might not be more powerful. Such was the common heathen notion (Is 10:10, 11; 36:18-20).

13. Is it a small thing?--Is it not enough for you (Nu 16:9)? The allusion to "David" is in order to contrast his trust in God with his degenerate descendant Ahaz' distrust.

weary--try the patience of.

men--prophets. Isaiah as yet had given no outward proof that he was from God; but now God has offered a sign, which Ahaz publicly rejects. The sin is therefore now not merely against "men," but openly against "God." Isaiah's manner therefore changes from mildness to bold reproof.

14. himself--since thou wilt not ask a sign, nay, rejectest the offer of one.

you--for the sake of the house of believing "David" (God remembering His everlasting covenant with David), not for unbelieving Ahaz' sake.

Behold--arresting attention to the extraordinary prophecy.

virgin--from a root, "to lie hid," virgins being closely kept from men's gaze in their parents' custody in the East. The Hebrew, and the Septuagint here, and Greek (Mt 1:23), have the article, the virgin, some definite one known to the speaker and his hearers; primarily, the woman, then a virgin, about immediately to become the second wife, and bear a child, whose attainment of the age of discrimination (about three years) should be preceded by the deliverance of Judah from its two invaders; its fullest significancy is realized in "the woman" (Ge 3:15), whose seed should bruise the serpent's head and deliver captive man (Jr 31:22; Mi 5:3). Language is selected such as, while partially applicable to the immediate event, receives its fullest, most appropriate, and exhaustive accomplishment in Messianic events. The New Testament application of such prophecies is not a strained "accommodation"; rather the temporary fulfilment of an adaptation of the far-reaching prophecy to the present passing event, which foreshadows typically the great central end of prophecy, Jesus Christ (Re 19:10). Evidently the wording is such as to apply more fully to Jesus Christ than to the prophet's son; "virgin" applies, in its simplest sense, to the Virgin Mary, rather than to the prophetess who ceased to be a virgin when she "conceived"; "Immanuel," God with us (Joh 1:14; Re 21:3), cannot in a strict sense apply to Isaiah's son, but only to Him who is presently called expressly (Is 9:6), "the Child, the Son, Wonderful (compare Is 8:18), the mighty God." Local and temporary features (as in Is 7:15, 16) are added in every type; otherwise it would be no type, but the thing itself. There are resemblances to the great Antitype sufficient to be recognized by those who seek them; dissimilarities enough to confound those who do not desire to discover them.

call--that is, "she shall," or as Margin, "thou, O Virgin, shalt call;" mothers often named their children (Ge 4:1, 25; 19:37; 29:32). In Mt 1:23 the expression is strikingly changed into, "They shall call"; when the prophecy received its full accomplishment, no longer is the name Immanuel restricted to the prophetess' view of His character, as in its partial fulfilment in her son; all shall then call (that is, not literally), or regard Him as peculiarly and most fitly characterized by the descriptive name, "Immanuel" (1Ti 3:16; Col 2:9).

name--not mere appellation, which neither Isaiah's son nor Jesus Christ bore literally; but what describes His manifested attributes; His character (so Is 9:6). The name in its proper destination was not arbitrary, but characteristic of the individual; sin destroyed the faculty of perceiving the internal being; hence the severance now between the name and the character; in the case of Jesus Christ and many in Scripture, the Holy Ghost has supplied this want [Olshausen].

15. Butter--rather, curdled milk, the acid of which is grateful in the heat of the East (Job 20:17).

honey--abundant in Palestine (Jud 14:8; 1Sa 14:25; Mt 3:4). Physicians directed that the first food given to a child should be honey, the next milk [Barnabas, Epistle]. Horsley takes this as implying the real humanity of the Immanuel Jesus Christ, about to be fed as other infants (Lu 2:52). Is 7:22 shows that besides the fitness of milk and honey for children, a state of distress of the inhabitants is also implied, when, by reason of the invaders, milk and honey, things produced spontaneously, shall be the only abundant articles of food [Maurer].

that he may know--rather, until He shall know.

evil ... choose ... good--At about three years of age moral consciousness begins (compare Is 8:4; De 1:39; Jon 4:11).

16. For--The deliverance implied in the name "Immanuel," and the cessation of distress as to food (Is 7:14, 15), shall last only till the child grows to know good and evil;

for ... the land that ... abhorrest ... forsaken of ... kings--rather, desolate shall be the land, before whose two kings thou art alarmed [Hengstenberg and Gesenius].

the land--namely, Syria and Samaria regarded as one (2Ki 16:9; 15:30), just two years after this prophecy, as it foretells. Horsley takes it, "The land (Judah and Samaria) of (the former of) which thou art the plague (literally, 'thorn') shall be forsaken," &c.; a prediction thus, that Judah and Israel (appropriately regarded as one "land") should cease to be kingdoms (Lu 2:1; Ge 49:10) before Immanuel came.

Is 7:17-25. Fatal Consequences of Ahaz' Assyrian Policy.

Though temporary deliverance (Is 7:16; 8:4) was to be given then, and final deliverance through Messiah, sore punishment shall follow the former. After subduing Syria and Israel, the Assyrians shall encounter Egypt (2Ki 23:29), and Judah shall be the battlefield of both (Is 7:18), and be made tributary to that very Assyria (2Ch 28:20; 2Ki 16:7, 8) now about to be called in as an ally (Is 39:1-6). Egypt, too, should prove a fatal ally (Is 36:6; 31:1, &c.).

18. hiss--whistle, to bring bees to settle (see on Is 5:26).

fly--found in numbers about the arms of the Nile and the canals from it (Is 19:5-7; 23:3), here called "rivers." Hence arose the plague of flies (Ex 8:21). Figurative, for numerous and troublesome foes from the remotest parts of Egypt, for example, Pharaoh-nechoh.

bee--(De 1:44; Psa 118:12). As numerous in Assyria as the fly in marshy Egypt. Sennacherib, Esar-haddon, and Nebuchadnezzar fulfilled this prediction.

19. rest--image of flies and bees kept up. The enemy shall overspread the land everywhere, even in "desolate valleys."

thorns--wild, contrasted with "bushes," which were valued and objects of care (see Margin).

20. razor--The Assyrians are to be God's instrument of devastating Judea, just as a razor sweeps away all hair before it (Is 10:5; Eze 29:19, 20).

hired--alluding to Ahaz' hiring (2Ki 16:7, 8) Tiglath-pileser against Syria and Israel; namely,

by them beyond the river--namely, the Euphrates; the eastern boundary of Jewish geographical knowledge (Psa 72:8); the river which Abram crossed; the Nile also may be included (Is 7:18) [G. V. Smith]. Gesenius translates, "With a razor hired in the parts beyond the river."

head ... feet--the whole body, including the most honored parts. To cut the "beard" is the greatest indignity to an Easterner (Is 50:6; 2Sa 10:4, 5; Eze 5:1).

Is 7:21-25. The Coming Desolate State of the Land Owing to the Assyrians and Egyptians.

21. nourish--that is, own.

young cow--a heifer giving milk. Agriculture shall cease, and the land become one great pasturage.

22. abundance--by reason of the wide range of land lying desolate over which the cows and sheep (including goats) may range.

butter--thick milk, or cream.

honey--(See on Is 7:15). Food of spontaneous growth will be the resource of the few inhabitants left. Honey shall be abundant as the bees will find the wild flowers abounding everywhere.

23. where there were, &c.--where up to that time there was so valuable a vineyard as to have in it a 1000 vines, worth a silverling (shekel, about 2s. 3d.; a large price) each, there shall be only briers (So 8:11). Vineyards are estimated by the number of the vines, and the goodness of the kind of vine. Judea admits of a high state of cultivation, and requires it, in order to be productive; its present barrenness is due to neglect.

24. It shall become a vast hunting ground, abounding in wild beasts (compare Jr 49:19).

25. shall be--rather, "were once."

digged--in order to plant and rear vines (Is 5:6).

there shall not come--that is, none shall come who fear thorns, seeing that thorns shall abound on all sides [Maurer]. Otherwise, "Thou shalt not come for fear of thorns" [Gesenius]. Only cattle shall be able to penetrate the briery ground.

lesser cattle--sheep and goats.

‏ Isaiah 8

CHAPTER 8

Is 8:1-9:7.

The first seven verses of the ninth chapter belong to this section. The eighth chapter continues the subject of the seventh chapter, but at a later period (compare Is 8:4 with Is 7:16); implying that the interval till the accomplishment is shorter now than then. The tone of Is 8:17, 21, 22, expresses calamity more immediate and afflictive than Is 7:4, 15, 22.

1. great--suitable, for letters large enough to be read by all.

roll--rather, tablet of wood, metal, or stone (Is 30:8; Ha 2:2); sometimes coated with wax, upon which characters were traced with a pointed instrument, or iron stylus; skins and papyrus were also used (Is 19:7).

man's pen--that is, in ordinary characters which the humblest can read (so Ha 2:2). Hebrew, enosh means a "common man," is contrasted with the upper ranks (Re 21:17; Ro 3:5). Not in hieroglyphics. The object was that, after the event, all might see that it had been predicted by Isaiah.

concerning--the title and subject of the prophecy.

Maher-shalal-hash-baz--"They (that is, the Assyrians) hasten to the spoil (namely, to spoil Syria and Samaria), they speed to the prey" [Gesenius]. Otherwise, "The spoil (that is, spoiler) hastens, the rapine speeds forward" [Maurer].

2. I took--rather, "The Lord said to me, that I should take," &c. [Maurer].

Uriah--an accomplice of Ahaz in idolatry, and therefore a witness not likely to assist the prophet of God in getting up a prophecy after the event (2Ki 16:10). The witnesses were in order that when the event should come, they might testify that the tablet containing the prophecy had been inscribed with it at the time that it professed.

Zechariah--(2Ch 29:13).

3. prophetess--perhaps the same as the "virgin" (Is 7:14), in the interim married as Isaiah's second wife: this is in the primary and temporary sense. Immanuel is even in this sense distinct from Maher-shalal-hash-baz. Thus nineteen months at least intervene from the prophecy (Is 7:14), nine before the birth of Immanuel, and ten from that time to the birth of Maher-shalal-hash-baz: adding eleven or twelve months before the latter could cry, "Father" (Is 8:4), we have about three years in all, agreeing with Is 7:15, 16.

4. before, &c.--within a year.

6. waters of Shiloah ... softly--Their source is on the southeast of Zion and east of Jerusalem. It means "sent," the water being sent through an aqueduct (Joh 9:7). Figurative for the mild, though now weak, sway of the house of David; in the highest sense Shiloah expresses the benignant sway of Jehovah in the theocracy, administered through David. Contrast to the violent Euphrates, "the river" that typifies Assyria (Is 8:7; Re 17:15). "This people" refers both to Israel, which preferred an alliance with Rezin of Syria to one with the kings of Judah, and to Judah, a party in which seems to have favored the pretentions of the son of Tabeal against David's line (Is 7:6); also to Judah's desire to seek an Assyrian alliance is included in the censure (compare Is 7:17). Is 8:14 shows that both nations are meant; both alike rejected the divine Shiloah. Not "My people," as elsewhere, when God expresses favor, but "this people" (Is 6:9).

7. therefore--for the reason given in Is 8:6, the Assyrian flood, which is first to overflood Syria and Samaria, shall rise high enough to reach rebel Judah also (Is 8:8).

the river--Euphrates swollen in spring by the melting of the snow of the Armenian mountains (compare Is 8:6; Is 7:20).

all his glory--Eastern kings travel with a gorgeous retinue.

channels--natural and artificial in the level region, Mesopotamia.

8. pass through--The flood shall not stop at Syria and Samaria, but shall penetrate into Judea.

the neck--When the waters reach to the neck, a man is near drowning; still the head is not said to be overflowed. Jerusalem, elevated on hills, is the head. The danger shall be so imminent as to reach near it at Sennacherib's invasion in Hezekiah's reign; but it shall be spared (Is 30:28).

wings--the extreme bands of the Assyrian armies, fulfilled (Is 36:1; 37:25).

thy land, O Immanuel--Though temporarily applied to Isaiah's son, in the full sense this is applicable only to Messiah, that Judea is His, was, and still is, a pledge that, however sorely overwhelmed, it shall be saved at last; the "head" is safe even now, waiting for the times of restoration (Ac 1:6); at the same time these words imply that, notwithstanding the temporary deliverance from Syria and Israel, implied in "Immanuel," the greatest calamities are to follow to Judah.

9. Associate yourselves--rather, "Raise tumults," or, Rage, that is, Do your worst [Maurer], referring perhaps to the attack of Rezin and Pekah on Jerusalem.

and ... be broken in pieces--rather, "yet ye shall be thrown into consternation." Imperative in the Hebrew, according to the idiom whereby the second of two imperatives implies the future, namely, the consequence of the action contained in the first (so Is 6:9). The name "Immanuel" in Is 8:8 (compare Is 8:10) suggests the thought of the ultimate safety of Immanuel's land, both from its present two invaders, and even from the Assyrians, notwithstanding the grievous flood, wherewith the previous verses foretell they shall deluge it. The succession of the house of David cannot be set aside in Judah, for Immanuel Messiah is to be born in it as heir of David, of whom Isaiah's son is but a type (Is 9:4, 6).

give ear ... far countries--witness the discomfiture of Judah's enemies. The prophecy probably looks on also to the final conspiracy of Antichrist and his supporters against the Heir of David's throne in the latter days and their utter overthrow [Horsley].

gird yourselves ... gird yourselves--The repetition expresses vehemently the certainty of their being thrown into consternation (not as English Version, "broken in pieces").

10. the word--of command, for the assault of Jerusalem.

God is with us--"Immanuel" implies this (Nu 14:9; Psa 46:7).

11. with a strong hand--or else, "when He grasped me with His hand" [Horsley]. Maurer, as English Version, "with the impetus of His hand," that is, the felt impulse of His inspiration in my mind (Jr 15:17; Eze 1:3; 3:14, 22; 37:1).

way of ... people--their distrust of Jehovah, and the panic which led them and Ahab to seek Assyrian aid.

12-16. The words of Jehovah.

confederacy--rather, a conspiracy; an appropriate term for the unnatural combination of Israel with Syrian foreigners against Judea and the theocracy, to which the former was bound by ties of blood and hereditary religion [Maurer].

to all ... say--rather, of all which this people calleth a conspiracy [G. V. Smith].

their fear--namely, object of fear: the hostile conspiracy.

be afraid--rather [Maurer], "nor make others to be afraid."

17. I--Whatever the rest of the nation may do, I will look to Jehovah alone.

that hideth ... face--though He seems now to withdraw His countenance from Judah (the then representative of "the house of Jacob"). Let us wait and trust in, though we cannot see, Him (Is 50:10; 54:8; Ha 2:3; Lu 2:25, 38).

18. I and the children--Isaiah means "salvation of Jehovah"; His children's names, also (Is 7:3, 14; 8:3), were "signs" suggestive of the coming and final deliverance.

wonders--that is, symbols of the future (Is 20:3; Zec 3:8). "Behold I ... me" is quoted in He 2:13 to prove the manhood of the Messiah. This is the main and ultimate fulfilment of the prophecy; its temporary meaning is applied to Ahaz' time. Isaiah typically, in Is 8:17, 18, personates Messiah, who is at once "Father" and "Son," Isaiah and Immanuel, "Child" and "Mighty God," and is therefore called here a "wonder," as in Is 9:6, "Wonderful." Hence in He 2:13, believers are called His "children"; but in Is 8:11, 12, His "brethren." On "the Lord hath given me," see Joh 6:37, 39; 10:29; 17:12.

which dwelleth in ... Zion--and will therefore protect Jerusalem.

19. Seek unto--Consult in your national difficulties.

them ... familiar spirits--necromancers, spirit charmers. So Saul, when he had forsaken God (1Sa 28:7, &c.), consulted the witch of En-dor in his difficulties. These follow in the wake of idolatry, which prevailed under Ahaz (2Ki 16:3, 4, 10). He copied the soothsaying as he did the idolatrous "altar" of Damascus (compare Le 20:6, which forbids it, Is 19:3).

wizards--men claiming supernatural knowledge; from the old English, "to wit," that is, know.

peep--rather "chirp faintly," as young birds do; this sound was generally ascribed to departed spirits; by ventriloquism the soothsayers caused a low sound to proceed as from a grave, or dead person. Hence the Septuagint renders the Hebrew for "necromancers" here "ventriloquists" (compare Is 29:4).

mutter--moan.

should not, &c.--The answer which Isaiah recommends to be given to those advising to have recourse to necromancers.

for the living, &c.--"should one, for the safety of the living, seek unto (consult) the dead?" [Gesenius]. Lowth renders it, "In place of (consulting) the living, should one consult the dead?"

20. To the law, &c.--the revelation of God by His prophet (Is 8:16), to which he directs them to refer those who would advise necromancy.

if they speak not ... it is because--English Version understands "they" as the necromancers. But the Hebrew rendered "because" is not this but "who"; and "if not," ought rather to be "shall they not"; or, truly they shall speak according to this word, who have no morning light (so the Hebrew, that is, prosperity after the night of sorrows) dawning on them [Maurer and G. V. Smith]. They who are in the dark night of trial, without a dawn of hope, shall surely say so, Do not seek, as we did, to necromancy, but to the law," &c. The law perhaps includes here the law of Moses, which was the "Magna Charta" on which prophetism commented [Kitto].

21-22. More detailed description of the despair, which they shall fall into, who sought necromancy instead of God; Is 8:20 implies that too late they shall see how much better it would have been for them to have sought "to the law," &c. (De 32:31). But now they are given over to despair. Therefore, while seeing the truth of God, they only "curse their King and God"; foreshadowing the future, like conduct of those belonging to the "kingdom of the beast," when they shall be visited with divine plagues (Re 16:11; compare Jr 18:12).

through it--namely, the land.

hardly bestead--oppressed with anxiety.

hungry--a more grievous famine than the temporary one in Ahaz' time, owing to Assyria; then there was some food, but none now (Is 7:15, 22; Le 26:3-5, 14-16, 20).

their king ... God--Jehovah, King of the Jews (Psa 5:2; 68:24).

look upward ... unto the earth--Whether they look up to heaven, or down towards the land of Judea, nothing but despair shall present itself.

dimness of anguish--darkness of distress (Pr 1:27).

driven to darkness--rather, "thick darkness" (Jr 23:12). Driven onward, as by a sweeping storm. The Jewish rejection of "their King and God," Messiah, was followed by all these awful calamities.