The Song of Judah: Trust in the Everlasting Rock, Resurrection Hope, and Hidden Refuge Until Judgment Passes

Isa 26:5-6 He has already proved Himself to be such a rock, on which everything breaks that would attack the faithful whom He surrounds. “For He hath bent down them that dwell on high; the towering castle, He tore it down, tore it down to the earth, cast it into dust. The foot treads it to pieces, feet of the poor, steps of the lowly. ” Passing beyond the fall of Moab, the fall of the imperial city is celebrated, to which Moab was only an annex (Isa 25:1-2; Isa 24:10-12).

The futures are determined by the preterite; and the anadiplosis , which in other instances (e. g. , Isa 25:1, cf. , Psa 118:11) links together derivatives or variations of form, is satisfied in this instance with changing the forms of the suffix. The second thought of Isa 26:6 is a more emphatic repetition of the first: it is trodden down; the oppression of those who have been hitherto oppressed is trodden down.

Isa 26:7 The righteous, who go astray according to the judgment of the world, thus arrive at a goal from which their way appears in a very different light. “The path that the righteous man takes is smoothness; Thou makest the course of the righteous smooth. ” ישׁר is an accusative predicate: Thou rollest it, i. e. , Thou smoothest it, so that it is just as if it had been bevelled with a rule, and leads quite straight (on the derivative peles , a level, see at Job 37:16) and without interruption to the desired end.

The song has here fallen into the language of a mashal of Solomon (vid. , Pro 4:26; Pro 5:6, Pro 5:21). It pauses here to reflect, as if at the close of a strophe.

Isa 26:8-9 It then commences again in a lyrical tone in Isa 26:8 and Isa 26:9 : “We have also waited for Thee, that Thou shouldest come in the path of Thy judgments; the desire of the soul went after Thy name, and after Thy remembrance. With my soul I desired Thee in the night; yea, with my spirit deep within me, I longed to have Thee here: for when Thy judgments strike the earth, the inhabitants of the earth learn righteousness.

” In the opinion of Hitzig, Knobel, Drechsler, and others, the prophet here comes back from the ideal to the actual present. But this is not the case. The church of the last days, looking back to the past, declares with what longing it has waited for that manifestation of the righteousness of God which has now taken place. “The path of Thy judgments:” 'orach mishpâtēkâ belongs to the te ; venientem (or venturum ) being understood.

The clause follows the poetical construction ארח בּוא, after the analogy of דרך הלך. They longed for God to come as a Redeemer in the way of His judgments. The “name” and “remembrance” ad the nature of God, that has become nameable and memorable through self-assertion and self-manifestation (Exo 3:15). They desired that God should present Himself again to the consciousness and memory of man, by such an act as should break through His concealment and silence.

The prophet says this more especially of himself; for he feels himself “in spirit” to be a member of the perfected church. “My soul” and “my spirit” are accusatives giving a more precise definition (Ewald, §281, c ). “ The night ” is the night of affliction, as in Isa 21:11. In connection with this, the word shichēr (lit. to dig for a thing, to seek it eagerly) is employed here, with a play upon shachar .

The dawning of the morning after a night of suffering was the object for which he longed, naphshi (my soul), i. e. , with his entire personality ( Pyschol . p. 202), and ruchi b'kirbi (my spirit within me), i. e. , with the spirit of his mind, πνεῦμα τοῦ νοός ( Psychol . p. 183). And why? Because, as often as God manifested Himself in judgment, this brought men to the knowledge, and possibly also to the recognition, of what was right (cf.

, Psa 9:17). “ Will learn: ” lâmdu is a praet. gnomicum , giving the result of much practical experience.

Isa 26:8-9 It then commences again in a lyrical tone in Isa 26:8 and Isa 26:9 : “We have also waited for Thee, that Thou shouldest come in the path of Thy judgments; the desire of the soul went after Thy name, and after Thy remembrance. With my soul I desired Thee in the night; yea, with my spirit deep within me, I longed to have Thee here: for when Thy judgments strike the earth, the inhabitants of the earth learn righteousness.

” In the opinion of Hitzig, Knobel, Drechsler, and others, the prophet here comes back from the ideal to the actual present. But this is not the case. The church of the last days, looking back to the past, declares with what longing it has waited for that manifestation of the righteousness of God which has now taken place. “The path of Thy judgments:” 'orach mishpâtēkâ belongs to the te ; venientem (or venturum ) being understood.

The clause follows the poetical construction ארח בּוא, after the analogy of דרך הלך. They longed for God to come as a Redeemer in the way of His judgments. The “name” and “remembrance” ad the nature of God, that has become nameable and memorable through self-assertion and self-manifestation (Exo 3:15). They desired that God should present Himself again to the consciousness and memory of man, by such an act as should break through His concealment and silence.

The prophet says this more especially of himself; for he feels himself “in spirit” to be a member of the perfected church. “My soul” and “my spirit” are accusatives giving a more precise definition (Ewald, §281, c ). “ The night ” is the night of affliction, as in Isa 21:11. In connection with this, the word shichēr (lit. to dig for a thing, to seek it eagerly) is employed here, with a play upon shachar .

The dawning of the morning after a night of suffering was the object for which he longed, naphshi (my soul), i. e. , with his entire personality ( Pyschol . p. 202), and ruchi b'kirbi (my spirit within me), i. e. , with the spirit of his mind, πνεῦμα τοῦ νοός ( Psychol . p. 183). And why? Because, as often as God manifested Himself in judgment, this brought men to the knowledge, and possibly also to the recognition, of what was right (cf.

, Psa 9:17). “ Will learn: ” lâmdu is a praet. gnomicum , giving the result of much practical experience.

Isa 26:10 Here again the shiir has struck the note of a mâshâl . And proceeding in this tone, it pauses here once more to reflect as at the close of a strophe. “If favour is shown to the wicked man, he does not learn righteousness; in the most upright land he acts wickedly, and has no eye for the majesty of Jehovah. ” רשׁע יחן is a hypothetical clause, which is left to be indicated by the emphasis, like Neh 1:8 (Ewald, §357, b ): granting that favour ( chēn = “goodness,” Rom 2:4) is constantly shown to the wicked man.

“ The most upright land: ” 'eretz necochoth is a land in which everything is right, and all goes honourably. A worthless man, supposing he were in such a land, would still act knavishly; and of the majesty of Jehovah, showing itself in passing punishments of sin, though still sparing him, he would have no perception whatever. The prophet utters this with a painful feeling of indignation; the word bal indicating denial with emotion.

Isa 26:11-13 The situation still remains essentially the same as in Isa 26:11-13 : “Jehovah, Thy hand has been exalted, but they did not see: they will see the zeal for a people, being put to shame; yea, fire will devour Thine adversaries. Jehovah, Thou wilt establish peace for us: for Thou hast accomplished all our work for us. Jehovah our God, lords besides Thee had enslaved us; but through Thee we praise Thy name.

” Here are three forms of address beginning with Jehovah, and rising in the third to “Jehovah our God. ” The standpoint of the first is the time before the judgment; the standpoint of the other two is in the midst of the redemption that has been effected through judgment. Hence what the prophet states in Isa 26:11 will be a general truth, which has now received its most splendid confirmation through the overthrow of the empire.

The complaint of the prophet here is the same as in Isa 53:1. We may also compare Exo 14:8, not Psa 10:5; ( rūm does not mean to remain beyond and unrecognised, but to prove one’s self to be high.) The hand of Jehovah had already shown itself to be highly exalted ( râmâh , 3 pr .) , by manifesting itself in the history of the nations, by sheltering His congregation, and preparing the way for its exaltation in the midst of its humiliation; but as they had no eye for this hand, they would be made to feel it upon themselves as the avenger of His nation.

The “zeal for a people,” when reduced from this ideal expression into a concrete one, is the zeal of Jehovah of hosts (Isa 9:6; Isa 37:32) for His own nation (as in Isa 49:8). Kin'ath ‛âm (zeal for a people) is the object to yechezū (they shall see); v'yēbōshū (and be put to shame) being a parenthetical interpolation, which does not interfere with this connection.

“ Thou wilt establish peace ” ( tishpōt shâlom , Isa 26:12) expresses the certain hope of a future and imperturbable state of peace ( pones , stabilies ); and this hope is founded upon the fact, that all which the church has hitherto accomplished ( ma‛aseh , the acting out of its calling, as in Psa 90:17, see at Isa 5:12) has not been its own work, but the work of Jehovah for it . And the deliverance just obtained from the yoke of the imperial power is the work of Jehovah also.

The meaning of the complaint, “other lords beside Thee had enslaved us,” is just the same as that in Isa 63:18; but there the standpoint is in the midst of the thing complained of, whereas here it is beyond it. Jehovah is Israel’s King. He seemed indeed to have lost His rule, since the masters of the world had done as they liked with Israel. But it was very different now, and it was only through Jehovah (“through Thee”) that Israel could now once more gratefully celebrate Jehovah’s name.

Isa 26:11-13 The situation still remains essentially the same as in Isa 26:11-13 : “Jehovah, Thy hand has been exalted, but they did not see: they will see the zeal for a people, being put to shame; yea, fire will devour Thine adversaries. Jehovah, Thou wilt establish peace for us: for Thou hast accomplished all our work for us. Jehovah our God, lords besides Thee had enslaved us; but through Thee we praise Thy name.

” Here are three forms of address beginning with Jehovah, and rising in the third to “Jehovah our God. ” The standpoint of the first is the time before the judgment; the standpoint of the other two is in the midst of the redemption that has been effected through judgment. Hence what the prophet states in Isa 26:11 will be a general truth, which has now received its most splendid confirmation through the overthrow of the empire.

The complaint of the prophet here is the same as in Isa 53:1. We may also compare Exo 14:8, not Psa 10:5; ( rūm does not mean to remain beyond and unrecognised, but to prove one’s self to be high.) The hand of Jehovah had already shown itself to be highly exalted ( râmâh , 3 pr .) , by manifesting itself in the history of the nations, by sheltering His congregation, and preparing the way for its exaltation in the midst of its humiliation; but as they had no eye for this hand, they would be made to feel it upon themselves as the avenger of His nation.

The “zeal for a people,” when reduced from this ideal expression into a concrete one, is the zeal of Jehovah of hosts (Isa 9:6; Isa 37:32) for His own nation (as in Isa 49:8). Kin'ath ‛âm (zeal for a people) is the object to yechezū (they shall see); v'yēbōshū (and be put to shame) being a parenthetical interpolation, which does not interfere with this connection.

“ Thou wilt establish peace ” ( tishpōt shâlom , Isa 26:12) expresses the certain hope of a future and imperturbable state of peace ( pones , stabilies ); and this hope is founded upon the fact, that all which the church has hitherto accomplished ( ma‛aseh , the acting out of its calling, as in Psa 90:17, see at Isa 5:12) has not been its own work, but the work of Jehovah for it . And the deliverance just obtained from the yoke of the imperial power is the work of Jehovah also.

The meaning of the complaint, “other lords beside Thee had enslaved us,” is just the same as that in Isa 63:18; but there the standpoint is in the midst of the thing complained of, whereas here it is beyond it. Jehovah is Israel’s King. He seemed indeed to have lost His rule, since the masters of the world had done as they liked with Israel. But it was very different now, and it was only through Jehovah (“through Thee”) that Israel could now once more gratefully celebrate Jehovah’s name.

Isa 26:11-13 The situation still remains essentially the same as in Isa 26:11-13 : “Jehovah, Thy hand has been exalted, but they did not see: they will see the zeal for a people, being put to shame; yea, fire will devour Thine adversaries. Jehovah, Thou wilt establish peace for us: for Thou hast accomplished all our work for us. Jehovah our God, lords besides Thee had enslaved us; but through Thee we praise Thy name.

” Here are three forms of address beginning with Jehovah, and rising in the third to “Jehovah our God. ” The standpoint of the first is the time before the judgment; the standpoint of the other two is in the midst of the redemption that has been effected through judgment. Hence what the prophet states in Isa 26:11 will be a general truth, which has now received its most splendid confirmation through the overthrow of the empire.

The complaint of the prophet here is the same as in Isa 53:1. We may also compare Exo 14:8, not Psa 10:5; ( rūm does not mean to remain beyond and unrecognised, but to prove one’s self to be high.) The hand of Jehovah had already shown itself to be highly exalted ( râmâh , 3 pr .) , by manifesting itself in the history of the nations, by sheltering His congregation, and preparing the way for its exaltation in the midst of its humiliation; but as they had no eye for this hand, they would be made to feel it upon themselves as the avenger of His nation.

The “zeal for a people,” when reduced from this ideal expression into a concrete one, is the zeal of Jehovah of hosts (Isa 9:6; Isa 37:32) for His own nation (as in Isa 49:8). Kin'ath ‛âm (zeal for a people) is the object to yechezū (they shall see); v'yēbōshū (and be put to shame) being a parenthetical interpolation, which does not interfere with this connection.

“ Thou wilt establish peace ” ( tishpōt shâlom , Isa 26:12) expresses the certain hope of a future and imperturbable state of peace ( pones , stabilies ); and this hope is founded upon the fact, that all which the church has hitherto accomplished ( ma‛aseh , the acting out of its calling, as in Psa 90:17, see at Isa 5:12) has not been its own work, but the work of Jehovah for it . And the deliverance just obtained from the yoke of the imperial power is the work of Jehovah also.

The meaning of the complaint, “other lords beside Thee had enslaved us,” is just the same as that in Isa 63:18; but there the standpoint is in the midst of the thing complained of, whereas here it is beyond it. Jehovah is Israel’s King. He seemed indeed to have lost His rule, since the masters of the world had done as they liked with Israel. But it was very different now, and it was only through Jehovah (“through Thee”) that Israel could now once more gratefully celebrate Jehovah’s name.

Isa 26:14 The tyrants who usurped the rule over Israel have now utterly disappeared. “Dead men live not again, shades do not rise again: so hast Thou visited and destroyed them, and caused all their memory to perish. ” The meaning is not that Jehovah had put them to death because there was no resurrection at all after death; for, as we shall see further on, the prophet was acquainted with such a resurrection.

In mēthim (dead men) and rephâ'im (shades) he had directly in mind the oppressors of Israel, who had been thrust down into the region of the shades (like the king of Babylon in chapter 14), so that there was no possibility of their being raised up or setting themselves up again. The לכן is not argumentative (which would be very freezing in this highly lyrical connection), but introduces what must have occurred eo ipso when the other had taken place (it corresponds to the Greek ἄρα, and is used here in the same way as in Isa 61:7; Jer 5:2; Jer 2:33; Zec 11:7; Job 34:25; Job 42:3).

They had fallen irrevocably into Sheol (Psa 49:15), and consequently God had swept them away, so that not even their name was perpetuated.

Isa 26:15 Israel, when it has such cause as this for praising Jehovah, will have become a numerous people once more. “Thou hast added to the nation, O Jehovah, hast added to the nation; glorified Thyself; moved out all the borders of the land. ” The verb יסף, which is construed in other cases with על, אל ,, here with ל, carried its object within itself: to add, i.

e. , to give an increase. The allusion is to the same thing as that which caused the prophet to rejoice in Isa 9:2 (compare Isa 49:19-20; Isa 54:1. , Mic 2:12; Mic 4:7; Oba 1:19-20, and many other passages; and for richaktâ , more especially Mic 7:11). Just as Isa 26:13 recals the bondage in Egypt, and Isa 26:14 the destruction of Pharaoh in the Red Sea, so Isa 26:16 recals the numerical strength of the nation, and the extent of the country in the time of David and Solomon.

At the same time, we cannot say that the prophet intended to recall these to mind. The antitypical relation, in which the last times stand to these events and circumstances of the past, is a fact in sacred history, though not particularly referred to here.

Isa 26:16-18 The tephillâh now returns to the retrospective glance already cast in Isa 26:8, Isa 26:9 into that night of affliction, which preceded the redemption that had come. “Jehovah, in trouble they missed Thee, poured out light supplication when Thy chastisement came upon them. As a woman with child, who draws near to her delivery, writhes and cries out in her pangs, so were we in Thy sight, O Jehovah.

We went with child, we writhed; it was as if we brought forth wind. We brought no deliverance to the land, and the inhabitants of the world did not come to the light. ” The substantive circumstantial clause in the parallel line, למו מוּסר, castigatione tua eos affilgente (ל as in Isa 26:9), corresponds to בּצּר; and לחשׁ צקוּן, a preterite עצוּק etire = יצק, Job 28:2; Job 29:6, to be poured out and melt away) with Nun paragogic (which is only met with again in Deu 8:3, Deu 8:16, the yekōshūn in Isa 29:21 being, according to the syntax, the future of kōsh ), answers to pâkad , which is used here as in Isa 34:16; 1Sa 20:6; 1Sa 25:15, in the sense of lustrando desiderare .

Lachash is a quiet, whispering prayer (like the whispering of forms of incantation in Isa 3:3); sorrow renders speechless in the long run; and a consciousness of sin crushes so completely, that a man does not dare to address God aloud (Isa 29:4). Pregnancy and pangs are symbols of a state of expectation strained to the utmost, the object of which appears all the closer the more the pains increase.

Often, says the perfected church, as it looks back upon its past history, often did we regard the coming of salvation as certain; but again and again were our hopes deceived. The first כּמו is equivalent to כּ, “as a woman with child,” etc. (see at Isa 8:22); the second is equivalent to כּאשׁר, “as it were, we brought forth wind. ” This is not an inverted expression, signifying we brought forth as it were wind; but כמו governs the whole sentence in the sense of “(it was) as if .

” The issue of all their painful toil was like the result of a false pregnancy ( empneumatosis ), a delivery of wind. This state of things also proceeded from Jehovah, as the expression “before Thee” implies. It was a consequence of the sins of Israel, and of a continued want of true susceptibility to the blessings of salvation. Side by side with their disappointed hope, Isa 26:18 places the ineffectual character of their won efforts.

Israel’s own doings - no, they could never make the land into ישׁוּעת (i. e. , bring it into a state of complete salvation); and (so might the final clause be understood) they waited in vain for the judgment of Jehovah upon the sinful world that was at enmity against them, or they made ineffectual efforts to overcome it. This explanation is favoured by the fact, that throughout the whole of this cycle of prophecies yōshbē tēbēl does not mean the inhabitants of the holy land, but of the globe at large in the sense of “the world” (Isa 26:21; Isa 24:5-6).

Again, the relation of יפּלוּ to the תּפּיל in Isa 26:19, land the figure previously employed of the pains of child-birth, speak most strongly in favour of the conclusion, that nâphal is here used for the falling of the fruit of the womb (cf. , Wis. 7:3, Il . xix. 110, καταπεσεῖν and πεσεῖν). And yōshbē tēbēl (the inhabitants of the world) fits in with this sense (viz.

, that the expected increase of the population never came), from the fact that in this instance the reference is not to the inhabitants of the earth; but the words signify inhabitants generally, or, as we should say, young, new-born “mortals. ” The punishment of the land under the weight of the empire still continued, and a new generation did not come to the light of day to populate the desolate land (cf.

, Psychol. p. 414).

Isa 26:16-18 The tephillâh now returns to the retrospective glance already cast in Isa 26:8, Isa 26:9 into that night of affliction, which preceded the redemption that had come. “Jehovah, in trouble they missed Thee, poured out light supplication when Thy chastisement came upon them. As a woman with child, who draws near to her delivery, writhes and cries out in her pangs, so were we in Thy sight, O Jehovah.

We went with child, we writhed; it was as if we brought forth wind. We brought no deliverance to the land, and the inhabitants of the world did not come to the light. ” The substantive circumstantial clause in the parallel line, למו מוּסר, castigatione tua eos affilgente (ל as in Isa 26:9), corresponds to בּצּר; and לחשׁ צקוּן, a preterite עצוּק etire = יצק, Job 28:2; Job 29:6, to be poured out and melt away) with Nun paragogic (which is only met with again in Deu 8:3, Deu 8:16, the yekōshūn in Isa 29:21 being, according to the syntax, the future of kōsh ), answers to pâkad , which is used here as in Isa 34:16; 1Sa 20:6; 1Sa 25:15, in the sense of lustrando desiderare .

Lachash is a quiet, whispering prayer (like the whispering of forms of incantation in Isa 3:3); sorrow renders speechless in the long run; and a consciousness of sin crushes so completely, that a man does not dare to address God aloud (Isa 29:4). Pregnancy and pangs are symbols of a state of expectation strained to the utmost, the object of which appears all the closer the more the pains increase.

Often, says the perfected church, as it looks back upon its past history, often did we regard the coming of salvation as certain; but again and again were our hopes deceived. The first כּמו is equivalent to כּ, “as a woman with child,” etc. (see at Isa 8:22); the second is equivalent to כּאשׁר, “as it were, we brought forth wind. ” This is not an inverted expression, signifying we brought forth as it were wind; but כמו governs the whole sentence in the sense of “(it was) as if .

” The issue of all their painful toil was like the result of a false pregnancy ( empneumatosis ), a delivery of wind. This state of things also proceeded from Jehovah, as the expression “before Thee” implies. It was a consequence of the sins of Israel, and of a continued want of true susceptibility to the blessings of salvation. Side by side with their disappointed hope, Isa 26:18 places the ineffectual character of their won efforts.

Israel’s own doings - no, they could never make the land into ישׁוּעת (i. e. , bring it into a state of complete salvation); and (so might the final clause be understood) they waited in vain for the judgment of Jehovah upon the sinful world that was at enmity against them, or they made ineffectual efforts to overcome it. This explanation is favoured by the fact, that throughout the whole of this cycle of prophecies yōshbē tēbēl does not mean the inhabitants of the holy land, but of the globe at large in the sense of “the world” (Isa 26:21; Isa 24:5-6).

Again, the relation of יפּלוּ to the תּפּיל in Isa 26:19, land the figure previously employed of the pains of child-birth, speak most strongly in favour of the conclusion, that nâphal is here used for the falling of the fruit of the womb (cf. , Wis. 7:3, Il . xix. 110, καταπεσεῖν and πεσεῖν). And yōshbē tēbēl (the inhabitants of the world) fits in with this sense (viz.

, that the expected increase of the population never came), from the fact that in this instance the reference is not to the inhabitants of the earth; but the words signify inhabitants generally, or, as we should say, young, new-born “mortals. ” The punishment of the land under the weight of the empire still continued, and a new generation did not come to the light of day to populate the desolate land (cf.

, Psychol. p. 414).

Isa 26:16-18 The tephillâh now returns to the retrospective glance already cast in Isa 26:8, Isa 26:9 into that night of affliction, which preceded the redemption that had come. “Jehovah, in trouble they missed Thee, poured out light supplication when Thy chastisement came upon them. As a woman with child, who draws near to her delivery, writhes and cries out in her pangs, so were we in Thy sight, O Jehovah.

We went with child, we writhed; it was as if we brought forth wind. We brought no deliverance to the land, and the inhabitants of the world did not come to the light. ” The substantive circumstantial clause in the parallel line, למו מוּסר, castigatione tua eos affilgente (ל as in Isa 26:9), corresponds to בּצּר; and לחשׁ צקוּן, a preterite עצוּק etire = יצק, Job 28:2; Job 29:6, to be poured out and melt away) with Nun paragogic (which is only met with again in Deu 8:3, Deu 8:16, the yekōshūn in Isa 29:21 being, according to the syntax, the future of kōsh ), answers to pâkad , which is used here as in Isa 34:16; 1Sa 20:6; 1Sa 25:15, in the sense of lustrando desiderare .

Lachash is a quiet, whispering prayer (like the whispering of forms of incantation in Isa 3:3); sorrow renders speechless in the long run; and a consciousness of sin crushes so completely, that a man does not dare to address God aloud (Isa 29:4). Pregnancy and pangs are symbols of a state of expectation strained to the utmost, the object of which appears all the closer the more the pains increase.

Often, says the perfected church, as it looks back upon its past history, often did we regard the coming of salvation as certain; but again and again were our hopes deceived. The first כּמו is equivalent to כּ, “as a woman with child,” etc. (see at Isa 8:22); the second is equivalent to כּאשׁר, “as it were, we brought forth wind. ” This is not an inverted expression, signifying we brought forth as it were wind; but כמו governs the whole sentence in the sense of “(it was) as if .

” The issue of all their painful toil was like the result of a false pregnancy ( empneumatosis ), a delivery of wind. This state of things also proceeded from Jehovah, as the expression “before Thee” implies. It was a consequence of the sins of Israel, and of a continued want of true susceptibility to the blessings of salvation. Side by side with their disappointed hope, Isa 26:18 places the ineffectual character of their won efforts.

Israel’s own doings - no, they could never make the land into ישׁוּעת (i. e. , bring it into a state of complete salvation); and (so might the final clause be understood) they waited in vain for the judgment of Jehovah upon the sinful world that was at enmity against them, or they made ineffectual efforts to overcome it. This explanation is favoured by the fact, that throughout the whole of this cycle of prophecies yōshbē tēbēl does not mean the inhabitants of the holy land, but of the globe at large in the sense of “the world” (Isa 26:21; Isa 24:5-6).

Again, the relation of יפּלוּ to the תּפּיל in Isa 26:19, land the figure previously employed of the pains of child-birth, speak most strongly in favour of the conclusion, that nâphal is here used for the falling of the fruit of the womb (cf. , Wis. 7:3, Il . xix. 110, καταπεσεῖν and πεσεῖν). And yōshbē tēbēl (the inhabitants of the world) fits in with this sense (viz.

, that the expected increase of the population never came), from the fact that in this instance the reference is not to the inhabitants of the earth; but the words signify inhabitants generally, or, as we should say, young, new-born “mortals. ” The punishment of the land under the weight of the empire still continued, and a new generation did not come to the light of day to populate the desolate land (cf.

, Psychol. p. 414).

Isa 26:19 But now all this had taken place. Instead of singing what has occurred, the tephillah places itself in the midst of the occurrence itself. “Thy dead will live, my corpses rise again. Awake and rejoice, ye that lie in the dust! For thy dew is dew of the lights, and the earth will bring shades to the day. ” The prophet speaks thus out of the heart of the church of the last times.

In consequence of the long-continued sufferings and chastisements, it has been melted down to a very small remnant; and many of those whom it could once truly reckon as its own, are now lying as corpses in the dust of the grave. The church, filled with hope which will not be put to shame, now calls to itself, “Thy dead will live” (מתיך יחיוּ, reviviscent, as in המּתים תּסהיּת, the resurrection of the dead), and consoles itself with the working of divine grace ad power, which is even now setting itself in motion: “my corpses will rise again” (יקמוּן נבלתי, nebēlah : a word without a plural, but frequently used in a plural sense, as in Isa 5:25, and therefore connected with יקמוּן, equivalent to תקמנה: here before a light suffix, with the ê retained, which is lost in other cases).

It also cries out, in full assurance of the purpose of God, the believing word of command over the burial-ground of the dead, “Wake up and rejoice, ye that sleep in the dust,” and then justifies to itself this believing word of command by looking up to Jehovah, and confessing, “Thy dew is dew born out of (supernatural) lights,” as the dew of nature is born out of the womb of the morning dawn (Psa 110:3). Others render it “dew upon herbs,” taking אורות as equivalent to ירקות, as in 2Ki 4:39.

We take it as from אורה (Psa 139:12), in the sense of החיּים אור. The plural implies that there is a perfect fulness of the lights of life in God (“the Father of lights,” Jam 1:17). Out of these there is born the gentle dew, which gives new life to the bones that have been sown in the ground (Psa 141:7) - a figure full of mystery, which is quite needlessly wiped away by Hofmann’s explanation, viz.

, that it is equivalent to tal hōrōth , “dew of thorough saturating. ” Luther, who renders it, “Thy dew is a dew of the green field,” stands alone among the earlier translators. The Targum, Syriac, Vulgate, and Saad. all render it, “Thy dew is light dew;” and with the uniform connection in which the Scriptures place 'or (light) and chayyı̄m (life), this rendering is natural enough.

We now translate still further, “and the earth ( vâ'âretz , as in Isa 65:17; Pro 25:3, whereas וארץ is almost always in the construct state) will bring shades to the day” ( hippil , as a causative of nâphal , Isa 26:18), i. e. , bring forth again the dead that have sunken into it (like Luther’s rendering, “and the land will cast out the dead” - the rendering of our English version also: Tr.)

The dew from the glory of God falls like a heavenly seed into the bosom of the earth; and in consequence of this, the earth gives out from itself the shades which have hitherto been held fast beneath the ground, so that they appear alive again on the surface of the earth. Those who understand Isa 26:18 as relating to the earnestly descried overthrow of the lords of the world, interpret this passage accordingly, as meaning either, “and thou castest down shades to the earth” (ארץ, acc.

loci, = עד־ארץ, Isa 26:5, לארץ, Isa 25:12), or, “and the earth causeth shades to fall,” i. e. , to fall into itself. This is Rosenmüller’s explanation ( terra per prosopopaeiam , ut supra Isa 24:20, inducta , deturbare in orcum sistitur impios , eo ipso manes eos reddens ). But although rephaim , when so interpreted, agrees with Isa 26:14, where this name is given to the oppressors of the people of God, it would be out of place here, where it would necessarily mean, “those who are just becoming shades.

” But, what is of greater importance still, if this concluding clause is understood as applying to the overthrow of the oppressors, it does not give any natural sequence to the words, “dew of the lights is thy dew;” whereas, according to our interpretation, it seals the faith, hope, and prayer of the church for what is to follow. When compared with the New Testament Apocalypse, it is “the first resurrection” which is here predicted by Isaiah.

The confessors of Jehovah are awakened in their graves to form one glorious church with those who are still in the body. In the case of Ezekiel also (Ez. Eze 37:1-14), the resurrection of the dead which he beholds is something more than a figurative representation of the people that were buried in captivity. The church of the period of glory on this side is a church of those who have been miraculously saved and wakened up from the dead.

Their persecutors lie at their feet beneath the ground.

Isa 26:20-21 The judgment upon them is not mentioned, indeed, till after the completion of the church through those of its members that have died, although it must have actually preceded the latter. Thus the standpoint of the prophecy is incessantly oscillating backwards and forwards in these four chapters (Isaiah 24-27). This explains the exhortation in the next verses, and the reason assigned.

“Go in, my people, into thy chambers, and shut the door behind thee; hide thyself a little moment, till the judgment of wrath passes by. For, behold, Jehovah goeth out from His place to visit the iniquity of the inhabitants of the earth upon them; and the earth discloses the blood that it has sucked up, and no more covers her slain. ” The shı̄r is now at an end.

The prophecy speaks once more as a prophet. Whilst the judgment of wrath ( za‛am ) is going forth, and until it shall have passed by (on the fut. exact. , see Isa 10:12; Isa 4:4; and on the fact itself, acharith hazza‛am , Dan 8:19), the people of God are to continue in the solitude of prayer (Mat 6:6, cf. , Psa 27:5; Psa 31:21). They can do so, for the judgment by which they get rid of their foes is the act of Jehovah alone; and they are to do so because only he who is hidden in God by prayer can escape the wrath.

The judgment only lasts a little while (Isa 10:24-25; Isa 54:7-8,. cf. , Psa 30:6), a short time which is shortened for the elect’s sake. Instead of the dual דּלתיך (as the house-door is called, though not the chamber-door), the word is pointed דּלת (from דּלה = דּלת), just as the prophet intentionally chooses the feminine חבי instead of חבה. The nation is thought of as feminine in this particular instance (cf.

, Isa 54:7-8); because Jehovah, its avenger and protector, is acting on its behalf, whilst in a purely passive attitude it hides itself in Him. Just as Noah, behind whom Jehovah shut the door of the ark, was hidden in the ark whilst the water-floods of the judgment poured down without, so should the church be shut off from the world without in its life of prayer, because a judgment of Jehovah was at hand.

“He goeth out of His place” (verbatim the same as in Mic 1:3), i. e. , not out of His own divine life, as it rests within Himself, but out of the sphere of the manifested glory in which He presents Himself to the spirits. He goeth forth thence equipped for judgment, to visit the iniquity of the inhabitant of the earth upon him (the singular used collectively), and more especially their blood-guiltiness.

The prohibition of murder was given to the sons of Noah, and therefore was one of the stipulations of “the covenant of old” (Isa 24:5). The earth supplies two witnesses: (1.) the innocent blood which has been violently shed (on dâmim , see Isa 1:15), which she has had to suck up, and which is now exposed, and cries for vengeance; and (2.) the persons themselves who have been murdered in their innocence, and who are slumbering within her.

Streams of blood come to light and bear testimony, and martyrs arise to bear witness against their murderers.

Isa 26:20-21 The judgment upon them is not mentioned, indeed, till after the completion of the church through those of its members that have died, although it must have actually preceded the latter. Thus the standpoint of the prophecy is incessantly oscillating backwards and forwards in these four chapters (Isaiah 24-27). This explains the exhortation in the next verses, and the reason assigned.

“Go in, my people, into thy chambers, and shut the door behind thee; hide thyself a little moment, till the judgment of wrath passes by. For, behold, Jehovah goeth out from His place to visit the iniquity of the inhabitants of the earth upon them; and the earth discloses the blood that it has sucked up, and no more covers her slain. ” The shı̄r is now at an end.

The prophecy speaks once more as a prophet. Whilst the judgment of wrath ( za‛am ) is going forth, and until it shall have passed by (on the fut. exact. , see Isa 10:12; Isa 4:4; and on the fact itself, acharith hazza‛am , Dan 8:19), the people of God are to continue in the solitude of prayer (Mat 6:6, cf. , Psa 27:5; Psa 31:21). They can do so, for the judgment by which they get rid of their foes is the act of Jehovah alone; and they are to do so because only he who is hidden in God by prayer can escape the wrath.

The judgment only lasts a little while (Isa 10:24-25; Isa 54:7-8,. cf. , Psa 30:6), a short time which is shortened for the elect’s sake. Instead of the dual דּלתיך (as the house-door is called, though not the chamber-door), the word is pointed דּלת (from דּלה = דּלת), just as the prophet intentionally chooses the feminine חבי instead of חבה. The nation is thought of as feminine in this particular instance (cf.

, Isa 54:7-8); because Jehovah, its avenger and protector, is acting on its behalf, whilst in a purely passive attitude it hides itself in Him. Just as Noah, behind whom Jehovah shut the door of the ark, was hidden in the ark whilst the water-floods of the judgment poured down without, so should the church be shut off from the world without in its life of prayer, because a judgment of Jehovah was at hand.

“He goeth out of His place” (verbatim the same as in Mic 1:3), i. e. , not out of His own divine life, as it rests within Himself, but out of the sphere of the manifested glory in which He presents Himself to the spirits. He goeth forth thence equipped for judgment, to visit the iniquity of the inhabitant of the earth upon him (the singular used collectively), and more especially their blood-guiltiness.

The prohibition of murder was given to the sons of Noah, and therefore was one of the stipulations of “the covenant of old” (Isa 24:5). The earth supplies two witnesses: (1.) the innocent blood which has been violently shed (on dâmim , see Isa 1:15), which she has had to suck up, and which is now exposed, and cries for vengeance; and (2.) the persons themselves who have been murdered in their innocence, and who are slumbering within her.

Streams of blood come to light and bear testimony, and martyrs arise to bear witness against their murderers.

Isa 27:1 Upon whom the judgment of Jehovah particularly falls, is described in figurative and enigmatical words in Isa 27:1 : “In that day will Jehovah visit with His sword, with the hard, and the great, and the strong, leviathan the fleet serpent, and leviathan the twisted serpent, and slay the dragon in the sea. ” No doubt the three animals are emblems of three imperial powers.

The assertion that there are no more three animals than there are three swords, is a mistake. If the preposition were repeated in the case of the swords, as it is in the case of the animals, we should have to understand the passage as referring to three swords as well as three animals. But this is not the case. We have therefore to inquire what the three world-powers are; and this question is quite a justifiable one: for we have no reason to rest satisfied with the opinion held by Drechsler, that the three emblems are symbols of ungodly powers in general, of every kind and every sphere, unless the question itself is absolutely unanswerable.

Now the tannin (the stretched-out aquatic animal) is the standing emblem of Egypt (Isa 51:9; Psa 74:13; Eze 29:3; Eze 32:2). And as the Euphrates-land and Asshur are mentioned in Isa 27:12, Isa 27:13 in connection with Egypt, it is immediately probable that the other two animals signify the kingdom of the Tigris, i. e. , Assyria, with its capital Nineveh which stood on the Tigris, and the kingdom of the Euphrates, i.

e. , Chaldea, with its capital Babylon which stood upon the Euphrates. Moreover, the application of the same epithet Leviathan to both the kingdoms, with simply a difference in the attributes, is suggestive of two kingdoms that were related to each other. We must not be misled by the fact that nâchâsh bâriach is a constellation in Job 26:13; we have no bammarōm (on high) here, as in Isa 24:21, and therefore are evidently still upon the surface of the globe.

The epithet employed was primarily suggested by the situation of the two cities. Nineveh was on the Tigris, which was called Chiddekel , on account of the swiftness of its course and its terrible rapids; hence Asshur is compared to a serpent moving along in a rapid, impetuous, long, extended course ( bâriach , as in Isa 43:14, is equivalent to barriach, a noun of the same form as עלּיז, and a different word from berriach , a bolt, Isa 15:5).

Babylon, on the other hand, is compared to a twisted serpent, i. e. , to one twisting about in serpentine curves, because it was situated on the very winding Euphrates, the windings of which are especially labyrinthine in the immediate vicinity of Babylon. The river did indeed flow straight away at one time, but by artificial cuttings it was made so serpentine that it passed the same place, viz.

, Arderikka, no less than three times; and according to the declaration of Herodotus in his own time, when any one sailed down the river, he had to pass it three times in three days (Ritter, x. p. 8). The real meaning of the emblem, however, is no more exhausted by this allusion to the geographical situation, than it was in the case of “the desert of the sea” (Isa 21:1).

The attribute of winding is also a symbol of the longer duration of one empire than of the other, and of the more numerous complications into which Israel would be drawn by it. The world-power on the Tigris fires with rapidity upon Israel, so that the fate of Israel is very quickly decided. But the world-power on the Euphrates advances by many windings, and encircles its prey in many folds.

And these windings are all the more numerous, because in the prophet’s view Babylon is the final form assumed by the empire of the world, and therefore Israel remains encircled by this serpent until the last days. The judgment upon Asshur, Babylon, and Egypt, is the judgment upon the world-powers universally.

Isa 27:2-5 The prophecy here passes for the fourth time into the tone of a song. The church recognises itself in the judgments upon the world, as Jehovah’s well-protected and beloved vineyard. In that day a merry vineyard - sing it! I, Jehovah, its keeper, Every moment I water it. That nothing may come near it, I watch it night and day. Wrath have I none; O, had I thorns, thistles before me!

I would make up to them in battle, Burn them all together. Men would then have to grasp at my protection, Make peace with me, Make peace with me. Instead of introducing the song with, “In that day shall this song be sung,” or some such introduction, the prophecy passes at once into the song. It consists in a descending scale of strophes, consisting of one of five lines (Isa 27:2, Isa 27:3), one of four lines (Isa 27:4), and one of three lines (Isa 27:5).

The thema is placed at the beginning, in the absolute case: cerem chemer . This may signify a vineyard of fiery or good wine (compare cerem zaith in Jdg 15:5); but it is possible that the reading should be cerem chemed , as in Isa 32:12, as the lxx, Targum, and most modern commentators assume. ענּה ל signifies, according to Num 21:17; Psa 147:7 (cf. , Exo 32:18; Psa 88:1), to strike up a song with reference to anything - an onomatopoetic word (different from ענה, to begin, literally to meet).

Cerem (the vineyard) is a feminine here, like בּאר, the well, in the song of the well in Num 21:17-18, and just as Israel, of which the vineyard here is a symbol (Isa 3:14; Isa 5:1.) , is sometimes regarded as masculine, and at other times as feminine (Isa 26:20). Jehovah Himself is introduced as speaking. He is the keeper of the vineyard, who waters it every moment when there is any necessity ( lirgâ‛im , like labbekârim in Isa 33:2, every morning), and watches it by night as well as by day, that nothing may visit it.

על פּקד (to visit upon) is used in other cases to signify the infliction of punishment; here it denotes visitation by some kind of misfortune. Because it was the church purified through afflictions, the feelings of Jehovah towards it were pure love, without any admixture of the burning of anger ( chēmâh ). This is reserved for all who dare to do injury to this vineyard.

Jehovah challenges these, and says, Who is there, then, that gives me thorns, thistles! עיתּנני = לי יתּן, as in Jer 9:1, cf. , Jos 15:19.) The asyndeton , instead of ושׁית שׁמיר, which is customary elsewhere, corresponds to the excitement of the exalted defender. If He had thorns, thistles before Him, He would break forth upon them in war, i. e. , make war upon them ( bâh , neuter, upon such a mass of bush), and set it all on fire (הצית = הצּית).

The arrangement of the strophes requires that we should connect כּמּלחמה with אפשׂעה (var. אפשׂעה), though this is at variance with the accents. We may see very clearly, even by the choice of the expression bammilchâmâh , that thorns and thistles are a figurative representation of the enemies of the church (2Sa 23:6-7). And in this sense the song concludes in Isa 27:5 : only by yielding themselves to mercy will they find mercy.

או with a voluntative following, “unless,” as in Lev 26:41. “ Take hold of: ” hechezik b' , as in 1Ki 1:50, of Adonijah, who lays hold of the horns of the altar. “ Make peace with: ” ‛âsâh shâlōm l' , as in Jos 9:15. The song closes here. What the church here utters, is the consciousness of the gracious protection of its God, as confirmed in her by the most recent events.

Isa 27:2-5 The prophecy here passes for the fourth time into the tone of a song. The church recognises itself in the judgments upon the world, as Jehovah’s well-protected and beloved vineyard. In that day a merry vineyard - sing it! I, Jehovah, its keeper, Every moment I water it. That nothing may come near it, I watch it night and day. Wrath have I none; O, had I thorns, thistles before me!

I would make up to them in battle, Burn them all together. Men would then have to grasp at my protection, Make peace with me, Make peace with me. Instead of introducing the song with, “In that day shall this song be sung,” or some such introduction, the prophecy passes at once into the song. It consists in a descending scale of strophes, consisting of one of five lines (Isa 27:2, Isa 27:3), one of four lines (Isa 27:4), and one of three lines (Isa 27:5).

The thema is placed at the beginning, in the absolute case: cerem chemer . This may signify a vineyard of fiery or good wine (compare cerem zaith in Jdg 15:5); but it is possible that the reading should be cerem chemed , as in Isa 32:12, as the lxx, Targum, and most modern commentators assume. ענּה ל signifies, according to Num 21:17; Psa 147:7 (cf. , Exo 32:18; Psa 88:1), to strike up a song with reference to anything - an onomatopoetic word (different from ענה, to begin, literally to meet).

Cerem (the vineyard) is a feminine here, like בּאר, the well, in the song of the well in Num 21:17-18, and just as Israel, of which the vineyard here is a symbol (Isa 3:14; Isa 5:1.) , is sometimes regarded as masculine, and at other times as feminine (Isa 26:20). Jehovah Himself is introduced as speaking. He is the keeper of the vineyard, who waters it every moment when there is any necessity ( lirgâ‛im , like labbekârim in Isa 33:2, every morning), and watches it by night as well as by day, that nothing may visit it.

על פּקד (to visit upon) is used in other cases to signify the infliction of punishment; here it denotes visitation by some kind of misfortune. Because it was the church purified through afflictions, the feelings of Jehovah towards it were pure love, without any admixture of the burning of anger ( chēmâh ). This is reserved for all who dare to do injury to this vineyard.

Jehovah challenges these, and says, Who is there, then, that gives me thorns, thistles! עיתּנני = לי יתּן, as in Jer 9:1, cf. , Jos 15:19.) The asyndeton , instead of ושׁית שׁמיר, which is customary elsewhere, corresponds to the excitement of the exalted defender. If He had thorns, thistles before Him, He would break forth upon them in war, i. e. , make war upon them ( bâh , neuter, upon such a mass of bush), and set it all on fire (הצית = הצּית).

The arrangement of the strophes requires that we should connect כּמּלחמה with אפשׂעה (var. אפשׂעה), though this is at variance with the accents. We may see very clearly, even by the choice of the expression bammilchâmâh , that thorns and thistles are a figurative representation of the enemies of the church (2Sa 23:6-7). And in this sense the song concludes in Isa 27:5 : only by yielding themselves to mercy will they find mercy.

או with a voluntative following, “unless,” as in Lev 26:41. “ Take hold of: ” hechezik b' , as in 1Ki 1:50, of Adonijah, who lays hold of the horns of the altar. “ Make peace with: ” ‛âsâh shâlōm l' , as in Jos 9:15. The song closes here. What the church here utters, is the consciousness of the gracious protection of its God, as confirmed in her by the most recent events.

Isa 27:2-5 The prophecy here passes for the fourth time into the tone of a song. The church recognises itself in the judgments upon the world, as Jehovah’s well-protected and beloved vineyard. In that day a merry vineyard - sing it! I, Jehovah, its keeper, Every moment I water it. That nothing may come near it, I watch it night and day. Wrath have I none; O, had I thorns, thistles before me!

I would make up to them in battle, Burn them all together. Men would then have to grasp at my protection, Make peace with me, Make peace with me. Instead of introducing the song with, “In that day shall this song be sung,” or some such introduction, the prophecy passes at once into the song. It consists in a descending scale of strophes, consisting of one of five lines (Isa 27:2, Isa 27:3), one of four lines (Isa 27:4), and one of three lines (Isa 27:5).

The thema is placed at the beginning, in the absolute case: cerem chemer . This may signify a vineyard of fiery or good wine (compare cerem zaith in Jdg 15:5); but it is possible that the reading should be cerem chemed , as in Isa 32:12, as the lxx, Targum, and most modern commentators assume. ענּה ל signifies, according to Num 21:17; Psa 147:7 (cf. , Exo 32:18; Psa 88:1), to strike up a song with reference to anything - an onomatopoetic word (different from ענה, to begin, literally to meet).

Cerem (the vineyard) is a feminine here, like בּאר, the well, in the song of the well in Num 21:17-18, and just as Israel, of which the vineyard here is a symbol (Isa 3:14; Isa 5:1.) , is sometimes regarded as masculine, and at other times as feminine (Isa 26:20). Jehovah Himself is introduced as speaking. He is the keeper of the vineyard, who waters it every moment when there is any necessity ( lirgâ‛im , like labbekârim in Isa 33:2, every morning), and watches it by night as well as by day, that nothing may visit it.

על פּקד (to visit upon) is used in other cases to signify the infliction of punishment; here it denotes visitation by some kind of misfortune. Because it was the church purified through afflictions, the feelings of Jehovah towards it were pure love, without any admixture of the burning of anger ( chēmâh ). This is reserved for all who dare to do injury to this vineyard.

Jehovah challenges these, and says, Who is there, then, that gives me thorns, thistles! עיתּנני = לי יתּן, as in Jer 9:1, cf. , Jos 15:19.) The asyndeton , instead of ושׁית שׁמיר, which is customary elsewhere, corresponds to the excitement of the exalted defender. If He had thorns, thistles before Him, He would break forth upon them in war, i. e. , make war upon them ( bâh , neuter, upon such a mass of bush), and set it all on fire (הצית = הצּית).

The arrangement of the strophes requires that we should connect כּמּלחמה with אפשׂעה (var. אפשׂעה), though this is at variance with the accents. We may see very clearly, even by the choice of the expression bammilchâmâh , that thorns and thistles are a figurative representation of the enemies of the church (2Sa 23:6-7). And in this sense the song concludes in Isa 27:5 : only by yielding themselves to mercy will they find mercy.

או with a voluntative following, “unless,” as in Lev 26:41. “ Take hold of: ” hechezik b' , as in 1Ki 1:50, of Adonijah, who lays hold of the horns of the altar. “ Make peace with: ” ‛âsâh shâlōm l' , as in Jos 9:15. The song closes here. What the church here utters, is the consciousness of the gracious protection of its God, as confirmed in her by the most recent events.