@Isa 7:1-9:7. PREDICTION OF THE ILL SUCCESS OF THE SYRO-ISRAELITISH INVASION OF JUDAH--AHAZ 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 @Isa 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 @Isa 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 (@Isa 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--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
@Isa 22:9 2Ch 32:4.
Shearjashub--that is, A remnant shall return (@Isa 6:13) was a
standing memorial to Ahaz and the Jews that the nation should not,
notwithstanding the general calamity (@Isa 7:17-25 Isa 8:6-8), be
utterly destroyed (@Isa 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
(@Isa 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 (@Isa 22:11), or King's (Ne 2:14), and
the Lower (@Isa 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, @Isa 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 (@Isa 3:6,9,12).
7. (@Isa 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 @Isa 7:9, or else they refer to
some older prophecy of Isaiah, or of Amos (as the Jewish writers
represent), parenthetically; to which, in @Isa 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 (@Isa 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 (@Isa 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 (@Jer 31:22 Mic 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
(@Isa 9:6), "the Child, the Son, Wonderful (compare @Isa 8:18),
the mighty God." Local and temporary features (as in @Isa 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 @Isa 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). @Isa 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 @Isa 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 (@Isa 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.
@Isa 7:17-25. FATAL CONSEQUENCES OF AHAZ' ASSYRIAN POLICY.
Though temporary deliverance (@Isa 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 (@Isa 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 (@Isa 39:1-6). Egypt, too, should prove a fatal ally (@Isa 36:6 31:1, &c.).
18. hiss--whistle, to bring bees to settle
(see on Isa 5:26).
fly--found in numbers about the arms of the Nile and the canals from
it (@Isa 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 Ps 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
(@Isa 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 (@Ps 72:8); the river which Abram
crossed; the Nile also may be included (@Isa 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 (@Isa 50:6 2Sa 10:4,5 Eze 5:1).
@Isa 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 Isa 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 thousand vines, worth a silverling (shekel, about fifty cents; 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 @Jer 49:19).
25. shall be--rather, "were once."
digged--in order to plant and rear vines (@Isa 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.