The Pulpit Commentary — Isaiah — Volume 1 — Section 138

(2 Kingii xvi. 5). Could not pnrnil aphl.9t or doing hatm wne on the point of dep&rtlng it; Iitemlly, preroiled Mt in fighting against from them. The)' could not now, kindle' a it. llame; they could only "smoke.'.' The 10n VM. 2.-It 'WIIII told the houe of David. of Bemalia.h. Pekah seem~ to he oalled Before the Mtual siege began, news or the "Remaliah's son" in oontenipt (comp. vel'II. alliance reached Ahaz. It is Mid to have 5, 9), Remaliah having beeu a m11n of no been" told the house of David," because the distinction (2 Kiugs xv. 25). design WII.B to aupersede the family of David Ver. 6.-Make a breaoh therein. .The by &nother-apparenlly a Syrian-house word employed means ·properly "making a (see note on ver. 6). Syria is oonfederate brench in a cj~y' wall" (2 Kinga' uy, 4~ with Ephraim; literally, rests upon Ephraim. 2 Chron. xxxu. l; Jer. xxxix. 2;'1Ezek. Under ordinary circumstances the kingdoms nvi. 10), but is used also in a metlljjhorical of Svri" and Israel were hostile the one to sense for Jnjnring and ruining a coU:1itry the other (see 1 Kings xv. 20; xx. 1-3: (see especially 2 Chron. xxi. 17). The aon nii. 3-36; 2 Kings v. 2; vi. 8-24; viii. of Tabeal; or, Tabel. "Tab-el" appears to 29; x. 32; xiii. 8, 22, 25). But occasion- be e. Syrian name, founded upon the same ally, under the pressure of a great danger, pattern as Tab-rimmon (1 Kings. xv. 18) the relations were changed, and a t.emporary the one meaning "God is good," the. othe; league WBB formed. 'l'he inscriptions of "Bimmon is good.",. .We cannot,.hi>we·ver, Shalmaneser II. show such a league to he.ve conclude from the. name that ·the. family of existed in the time of Benhacle.d IL e.nd Ta.heal. was mop.otheistio (~~y), for El ~as Ahab (' Ancient Monarchies,' vol. ii. pp. one of the ttlany Syrian, godll ·as. much as 103, 104). The invasion of Pu!, and the Rimmon (see Max Muller, 'Science of thre&tening attitude of Tiglath-Pileser II., Religion,' pp. 177, 178). , ' had now once more drawn the two countries Ver. 7.-Thns se.ith the Lord God; lite- together. On the use of the word" Ephraim" rally, the Lord Jehovah, as in eh. ixviii. 16; to designate the kingdom of Isr11el, soe xL 10; xlviii 16, etc. It shall not stand; Hosea., passim. ll:iB hea.rt we.e moved; or, i.e. "the design ·shall not hold•good, it shall shook. II the two kingii hnd each been able not be accomplished.'' Rezin and .Pek,ah acpe.rately to indict on him such loss (see have planned, tQ. set aside the issue 9f Dayiq, the introductory para.graph), whai must he to which God, had pro1J1ised his thrci~e not expect, now that both were a.bout to (2 Sam., vii. ll:-16; Ps, lx.xxi..x,,,~7-;--37), attack him together? It is not clear whether and to .set ·up' e. new line of 'kings' U:ricon- Ahaz had as yet applied to Assyria for help , nected with David.. T~,ey think tcHrnstr,a~ or not. • the everlasting counsel of Ood. •Stlbb, 11.n Ver. 3.-Thou, and Bhear-.Tashnb thy son. attempt was of necessity futile. The name Shear..Jasbub, "a remnant shall Ver. 8.-For the head of Syria is Damas- return." may ha\'e been given to Isaiah's ons, etc. Syria and, Ephraim have 111erely son by revelation. as Ewald thillks it was; human heads-the 'one Rezin•, the 'othe:r or Isaiah mH y have given it to testify his (ver. 9) Pekah; but Judah, it is implied, faith both in the threats and in the promises has a Divine Head, even Jehovah. How, of which he had been made the mouthspiece. tlien, should mere mortals t,J:iink to oppose The command to te.ke him with him on the their will and their designs to God's? Of present occasion was probably given on course, their designs must come to nought. account of his name, tilat the attention of Within threescore a11.d live, years Bhall Abaz might Le ca.lled to it. The oonduit Ephraim be broken, etc. If this prophecy of the upper pool is mentioned also in was delivered, as we have supposed, in B.o. 2 Kings x.viii. 17. It was probably a sub- 733 (see note· on ver. 1), sixty-five years terranean duct which brought water into later would bring us to D.o. 669. This was the city from the hlgh ground outeide the the year in which Esar-haddon, haviug made Damascus gate. .A.h.az may have vitiited it his son, Asshnr-bani-pal, King of Assyria, in order to see that it was made available transforred his own residence to 13abylon, for his own use, but not for the enemy's and probably the year in which he sent from ( comp. 2 Chron. :uxii. 3, 4, 30; eh. niL Babylonia and the adjacent countries''a 9, 11). numbtr of coloni8ts who occupied Samaria, Ver. 4.-Take heed, and be quiet; or, ,ee and entirely destroyed the nationality, whioh, tJiat thou keep quut; i.e. " be not disturbed: fifty-three years earlier, had received a rude do not resort to strange and extreme mea- blow from Sargon (comp. Ezra. iv. 2,,9, 10, enrc"!I; in quietness e.nd confidence should with 2 Kings xvii. 6-24 and 2 Chron. be your strtngth" (see eh. XIL 15). The xxxiii. 11). It is questioned whether, under two wla of these smoking :firebrands. Rezin the circumstances, the prophet can have e.nd Peke.h a.re calltd "t"o tails," or •• two comforted Ahaz with this dIBtant prospect, stumps of smoking firebrandll," as persollS and suggested that in the present chapter wl,o ha.cl beeJl dangero1111, but whoae power prophecies pronounced at widely dii!tant OH, VII, 1-25,] THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH. 127