Isa 60:15-18 | KD | STEP | The fourth turn ( ) describes the glorification of Zion through the growth and stability of its community both without and within. A glorious change takes place in the church, not only in itself, but also in the judgment of the nations. “Whereas thou wast forsaken, and hated, and no one walked through thee, I make thee now into eternal splendour, a rapture from generation to generation. And thou suckest the milk of nations, and the breast of kings thou wilt suck, and learn that I Jehovah am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.” Of the two ideas of a church (the mother of Israel) and a city (Metropolis) involved in the term Zion, the former prevails in , the latter in Isa 60:16. For although עזוּבה and שׂנוּאה are equally applicable to a city and a church ( , ), the expression “no one walked through thee” applies only to the desolate city as she lay in ruins (see ). The fusion of the two ideas in is similar to Isa 49:21. Jerusalem will now become thoroughly a splendour, and in fact an eternal splendour, a rapture of successive generations so long as the history of this world continues. The nations and their kings give up their own vital energy to the church, just as a mother or nurse gives the milk of her breasts to a child; and the church has thereby rich food for a prosperous growth, and a constant supply of fresh material for grateful joy. We cannot for a moment think of enriching by means of conquest, as Hitzig does; the sucking is that of a child, not of a vampyre. We should expect melâkhōth ( ) instead of melâkhı̄m (kings); but by שׁד (as in for שׁדי) the natural character of what is promised is intentionally spiritualized. The figure proves itself to be only a figure, and requires an ideal interpretation. The church sees in all this the gracious superintendence of her God; she learns from experience that Jehovah is her Saviour, that He is her Redeemer, He the Mighty One of Jacob, who has conquered for her, and now causes her to triumph (אני כּי with munach yethib , as in , which passage is repeated almost verbatim here, and ).

‏ Isaiah 60:15-18

The fourth turn (Isa 60:15-18) describes the glorification of Zion through the growth and stability of its community both without and within. A glorious change takes place in the church, not only in itself, but also in the judgment of the nations. “Whereas thou wast forsaken, and hated, and no one walked through thee, I make thee now into eternal splendour, a rapture from generation to generation. And thou suckest the milk of nations, and the breast of kings thou wilt suck, and learn that I Jehovah am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.” Of the two ideas of a church (the mother of Israel) and a city (Metropolis) involved in the term Zion, the former prevails in Isa 60:15, the latter in Isa 60:16. For although עזוּבה and שׂנוּאה are equally applicable to a city and a church (Isa 54:6, Isa 54:11), the expression “no one walked through thee” applies only to the desolate city as she lay in ruins (see Isa 34:10). The fusion of the two ideas in Isa 60:15 is similar to Isa 49:21. Jerusalem will now become thoroughly a splendour, and in fact an eternal splendour, a rapture of successive generations so long as the history of this world continues. The nations and their kings give up their own vital energy to the church, just as a mother or nurse gives the milk of her breasts to a child; and the church has thereby rich food for a prosperous growth, and a constant supply of fresh material for grateful joy. We cannot for a moment think of enriching by means of conquest, as Hitzig does; the sucking is that of a child, not of a vampyre. We should expect melâkhōth (Isa 49:23) instead of melâkhı̄m (kings); but by שׁד (as in Isa 56:11 for שׁדי) the natural character of what is promised is intentionally spiritualized. The figure proves itself to be only a figure, and requires an ideal interpretation. The church sees in all this the gracious superintendence of her God; she learns from experience that Jehovah is her Saviour, that He is her Redeemer, He the Mighty One of Jacob, who has conquered for her, and now causes her to triumph (אני כּי with munach yethib, as in Isa 49:26, which passage is repeated almost verbatim here, and Isa 61:8). Isa 60:17-18

The outward and inward beauty of the new Jerusalem is now depicted by the materials of her structure, and the powers which prevail within her. “For copper I bring gold, and for iron I bring silver, and for wood copper, and for stones iron, and make peace thy magistracy, and righteousness thy bailiffs. Injustice is no more seen in thy land, wasting and destruction in thy borders; and thou callest salvation thy walls, and renown thy gates.” Wood and stone are not used at all in the building of the new Jerusalem. Just as in the time of Solomon silver was counted as nothing (1Ki 10:21) and had only the value of stones (1Ki 10:27), so here Jehovah gives her gold instead of copper, silver instead of iron; whilst copper and iron are so despised with this superabundance of the precious metals, that they take the place of such building materials as wood and stones. Thus the city will be a massive one, and not even all of stone, but entirely built of metal, and indestructible not only by the elements, but by all kinds of foes. The allegorical continuation of the prophecy shows very clearly that the prophet does not mean his words to be taken literally. The lxx, Saad., and others, are wrong in adopting the rendering, “I make thy magistracy peace,” etc.; since shâlōm and tsedâqâh are not accusatives of either the predicate or the object, but such personifications as we are accustomed to in Isaiah (vid., Isa 32:16-17; Isa 59:14; cf., Isa 45:8). Jehovah makes peace its pequddâh, i.e., its “overseership” (like gebhūrâh, heroship, in Isa 3:25, and ‛ezrâh, helpership, in Isa 31:2), or magistracy; and righteousness its bailiffs. The plural נגשׂיך is no disproof of the personification; the meaning is, that tsedâqâh (righteousness) is to Jerusalem what the whole body of civil officers together are: that is to say, righteousness is a substitute for the police force in every form. Under such magistracy and such police, nothing is ever heard within the land, of which Jerusalem is the capital, of either châmâs, i.e., a rude and unjust attack of the stronger upon the weaker, or of shōd, i.e., conquest and devastation, and shebher, i.e., dashing to pieces, or breaking in two. It has walls (Isa 60:10); but in truth “salvation,” the salvation of its God, is regarded as its impregnable fortifications. It has gates (Isa 60:11) but tehillâh, the renown that commands respect, with which Jehovah has invested it, is really better than any gate, whether for ornament or protection.