The Prophet and His Day: Isaiah 1-39 - Free Bible Commentary
The Prophet and His Day: Isaiah 1-39 - Free Bible Commentary The Prophet and His Day: Isaiah 1-39 - Free Bible Commentary
3All you inhabitants of the world and dwellers on earth,As soon as a standard is raised on the mountains, you will see it,And as soon as the trumpet is blown, you will hear it.4For thus the LORD has told me,"I will look from My dwelling place quietlyLike dazzling heat in the sunshine,Like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest."5For before the harvest, as soon as the bud blossomsAnd the flower becomes a ripening grape,Then He will cut off the sprigs with pruning knivesAnd remove and cut away the spreading branches.6They will be left together for mountain birds of prey,And for the beasts of the earth;And the birds of prey will spend the summer feeding on them,And all the beasts of the earth will spend harvest time on them.7At that time a gift of homage will be brought to the LORD of hostsFrom a people tall and smooth,Even from a people feared far and wide,A powerful and oppressive nation,Whose land the rivers divide —To the place of the name of the LORD of hosts, even Mount Zion.18:1NASB“Alas”NKJV, Peshitta “woe”NRSV, JPSOA “Ah”This INTERJECTION (BDB 222) is used often in the prophets (cf. 1:4,24; 5:8,11,18,20,21,22; 10:1,5;17:12; 18:1; 28:1; 29:1,15; 30:1; 31:1; 33:1; 45:9; 55:1). Mostly it expresses a negative reaction to thecoming pain of divine judgment. However, in some contexts it denotes sympathy or pity, as in 18:1;55:1; Jer. 47:6.}NASB, NRSV “land of whirring wings”NKJV“the land shadowed with buzzing wings”TEV“a land where the sound of wings is heard”NJB“Land of the whirring locust”LXX“wings of a land of ships”Peshitta “the land of shadowing wings”REB“a land of sailing ships” (from Arabic and Aramaic cognates, Targums, and LXX)JPSOA“land of the deep shadow of wings”This root (-7-7, BDB 852) has several possible meanings.1. 852 I, whirring, buzzing as of the wings of insects2. 852 II, spear whizzing in flight (cf. Job 40:7)3. same CONSONANTS, but different VOWELS, whirring locust (cf. Deut. 28:42)4. PLURAL, musical percussion instrument (cf. II Sam. 6:5; I Chr. 13:8; Ps. 150:5).191
5. related VERB (--7, BDB 852), tingle (cf. I Sam. 3:11; II Kgs. 21:12; Jer. 19:3) or quiver (cf.Hab. 3:16)6. 853 II, sink (cf. Exod. 15:10)7. 853 III, grow dark (cf. Neh. 13:19; Ezek. 31:3)8. related NOUN, -7, shadow (cf. Isa. 4:6; 16:3; 25:4,5; 30:2,3; 32:2; 34:15; 38:8; 49:2; 51:16(this is how JPSOA translates the phrase)}NASB, MT,NJB, REB “Cush”NKJV, LXX,Peshitta “Ethiopia”NRSV footnote “Nubia”This refers to the land area south of the first cataract of the Nile. It was known in Genesis as“Cush” (BDB 468, cf. Gen. 2:13; 10:6,7,8). In the Greek period it was called “Ethiopia.” Today itwould include the Sudan and parts of modern Ethiopia (TEV footnote, p. 625).In this context (i.e., chapter 19), it may refer to the 25 th Dynasty of Nubian rulers of Egypt (i.e.,Pianchia, Shabaka).However, notice that the people addressed are “beyond the rivers of Cush.” Maybe Egypt herselfis looking for mercenaries!18:2 “papyrus vessels” At first one would think this must refer to sailing vessels on the Nile, but thesesame kinds of boats also were used on the Tigris and Euphrates (cf. James M. Freeman, Manners andCustoms of the Bible, p. 2560} “Go” This is a Qal IMPERATIVE. To whom is this addressed?1. envoys from Cush2. envoys from Egypt3. envoys from mercenary groups south of Cush4. envoys from Assyria5. all human armies opposing YHWH and His covenant peopleIsaiah regularly switches from a historical setting or event to an eschatological setting. The eventsand crises of his day foreshadow the events of the climatic conclusion of history. This fluidity isdifficult to lock down into one historical referent (time, place, people). Cosmic consequences andpurposes are at work behind existential events.} This verse characterizes the nation.1. seafaring people (i.e., reed boats of the Nile, BDB 479 CONSTRUCT BDB 167)2. tall people (BDB 604, KB 645, Pual PARTICIPLE, lit. “to extend”)3. smooth people, BDB 598, KB 634, Pual PARTICIPLE (used of bald heads, but also polishedswords and people’s skin: [1] no blemishes, REB, TEV, “smooth-skinned’ [2] consistentcolor, “bronzed”, NJB; or [3] clean shaven, no facial hair)4. feared far and wide5. a powerful nation (Hebrew uncertain, but possibly an idiom for “strange language”)6. an oppressive nation (Hebrew uncertain)7. land divided by rivers (Hebrew uncertain, this VERB, BDB 102, KB 107, Qal PERFECT, occursonly in this chapter, twice. The translation “divide” is based on an Aramaic root. REB has“scourged,” referring to an annual flood, however, it could refer to the Tigris and Euphrates)Numbers 2-6 are repeated in v. 7. This description fits the people south of the first cataract of the Nile,a tall, dark, warlike people group.192
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3All you inhabitants of the world <strong>and</strong> dwellers on earth,As soon as a st<strong>and</strong>ard is raised on the mountains, you will see it,And as soon as the trumpet is blown, you will hear it.4For thus the LORD has told me,"I will look from My dwelling place quietlyLike dazzling heat in the sunshine,Like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest."5For before the harvest, as soon as the bud blossomsAnd the flower becomes a ripening grape,<strong>The</strong>n He will cut off the sprigs with pruning knivesAnd remove <strong>and</strong> cut away the spreading branches.6<strong>The</strong>y will be left together for mountain birds of prey,And for the beasts of the earth;And the birds of prey will spend the summer feeding on them,And all the beasts of the earth will spend harvest time on them.7At that time a gift of homage will be brought to the LORD of hostsFrom a people tall <strong>and</strong> smooth,Even from a people feared far <strong>and</strong> wide,A powerful <strong>and</strong> oppressive nation,Whose l<strong>and</strong> the rivers divide —To the place of the name of the LORD of hosts, even Mount Zion.18:1NASB“Alas”NKJV, Peshitta “woe”NRSV, JPSOA “Ah”This INTERJECTION (BDB 222) is used often in the prophets (cf. 1:4,24; 5:8,11,18,20,21,22; 10:1,5;17:12; 18:1; 28:1; 29:1,15; 30:1; 31:1; 33:1; 45:9; 55:1). Mostly it expresses a negative reaction to thecoming pain of divine judgment. However, in some contexts it denotes sympathy or pity, as in 18:1;55:1; Jer. 47:6.}NASB, NRSV “l<strong>and</strong> of whirring wings”NKJV“the l<strong>and</strong> shadowed with buzzing wings”TEV“a l<strong>and</strong> where the sound of wings is heard”NJB“L<strong>and</strong> of the whirring locust”LXX“wings of a l<strong>and</strong> of ships”Peshitta “the l<strong>and</strong> of shadowing wings”REB“a l<strong>and</strong> of sailing ships” (from Arabic <strong>and</strong> Aramaic cognates, Targums, <strong>and</strong> LXX)JPSOA“l<strong>and</strong> of the deep shadow of wings”This root (-7-7, BDB 852) has several possible meanings.1. 852 I, whirring, buzzing as of the wings of insects2. 852 II, spear whizzing in flight (cf. Job 40:7)3. same CONSONANTS, but different VOWELS, whirring locust (cf. Deut. 28:42)4. PLURAL, musical percussion instrument (cf. II Sam. 6:5; I Chr. 13:8; Ps. 150:5).191
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