The Pulpit Commentary — Isaiah — Volume 1 — Section 255

t&nt proepeot of on ultimo.ta deliveranr,6'from confederacies formed, revolts planned, em- the power of Babylon, the prophet turns bassies eent hither and thither. The com- his gaze too. nearer, if'not o. greater, deli- plete dest1"1ction of Assyria involved a complete change in the relations, not only ver1mco. The present enemy is Assyria. It of the principal powers-Egypt, Assyria., is she who has carried Samaria into capti- Babylonia, Media, Elam, bnt even of the vity, nnd who now threatens the indepen- minor ones-Philistia, Edom, Moab, Syria, dence of Judah. Deliverance from her has Phamicia, Ammon. already been promised more the.n once ( eh, Ver. 27.-B:is hand is stretohed out; lite- x. 16-19, 25-21, 33, 34); but appe.rently rally, his is the outstretched Aand, which is more emphatic. the people are not reassured-they still Vera. 28-32.-T!IE BUBDEN OF PHILIBTU. dread the foe who is so near, and who seems so irresistible. God, therefore, condescends The Philistines had saft'ered grievously at the hands of Judah in the reign of Uzziah to give them a fresh prophecy, a fresh assur- (2 Chron. xxvi. 6), and l,ad retaliated in the ance, o.nd to confirm it to them by an oatk reign of Ahaz (2 Chron. xxviii. 18). It (ver. 24). The Assyrian power shall be wonld seem that after this they were in- broken-her yoke shall be cast off (ver. 25); vaded by Tiglath-Pileser, who penetrated God has declared his purpose, and nothing e.~ far as Gaza, which he took (' Recor<h of can hinder it ( ver. 27). the Past,' vol. v. p. 51) and made tributary, Ver. 24.-Kath sworn. This is the em- phatic word-the new thing in the prophecy. ae he nlso did Ascalou (' Ancient Monar- God but seldom declares his purposes with chies,' vol. ii. p. 399). Tiglath-Pileser died an oath-never but in condescension to the shortly before Ahaz, and the present "bur- weakness of his creatures, who, though they den" seems to have been uttered in connec- misdoubt his word, can feel the immuta- tion with his death. Isaiah warns Philistia bility of an oath ( Heh. vi. 17), and yield it the credence aud the confidence which they (equivalent to "Palestina ") that her re- refuse to a bare assertion. A■ I have thought joicing is premature; Tiglath-Pileser will ... as I have purposed. A reference to the have sncceSBors as powerful an,l as cruel prophecies previously given in eh. x. So shall as himself, and these successors will carry it oome to pass; literally, so it hath been destruction and ravage over the whole land. -a striking instance. of the " preterite of prophetic certainty." So shall it stand; Ver. 28.-In the year that King Abu litemlly, as I have purposed, that shall stand. died was this burden. These words intro- Ver. 25.-I will braak the Assyrian in my duce the "bur,len of Philistia," and shows land; This is referred by some critics to the that it is chronologically out of place, since miraculous · destruction of Sennacherib's the prophecies from eh. x. to eh. xiv. 1-27 army, and regarded as a proof the.t the scene have belonged to the reign of Hezekiah. of that destruction w11s Judma. But it is Ahaz appears to have died early in B.c. 725. possible that a disaster to the forces of Sru-- Ver. 29.-Whole Palestina. The Greeks gon may be inteuded (see the comment on called Philistia ..-'l,v Il<&Aaur..-(V71v :"i.upiaJ1, or eh. x. 28-32). His yoke shall depart from "Syria of the Philistines," whence the Llltin oft' them (comp. eh. x. 27). The Aesyrian " Palestin,L " and our " Palestine.'' Isaiah yoke, imposed by Tiglath-Pileser (2 Kings addresses the country as "whole Ps.l.estine," xvi. 7-10), and (according to his own iu- because, while it was made up of n number scriptions) 11gain by Sargon, was thrown off of principnlities (l Sam. vi. IS), his message by Hezekiah, who "rebelled against the concerned it in its entirety. The rod of him King of Assyria., and served him not" (2 that smote thee ii broken. 'fliis can scarcely Kings xviii. 7). It was this rebellion that refor to the death of Ahaz, since Ahaz did provoked the expedition of Sennacherib, not emite the Philistines, but was smitten dcscribl'd in 2 Kings xviii. 13-16; e.nd it by them (2 Chron. xxviii. 1S). It mny, may be this rejection of the yoke which is however, refer to tlte death of Tiglat.h- here prophesied. Pileser, which took plt1ce only a year or two Ver. 26.-The whole eanh ... all the previously. Out of the serpent's root shall nations. . Blows struck ag11ii1st Assyria or . oome forth a oookatrioe; i.e. a more poison- Babylonia nfi'ectod o.Jl the then known na- ous serpent (see note on eh. xi. 8). Shal- tions. Eo.ch, in its turn, wa.s •• the hammer maneser can scarcely be meant, since he does of the whole e111th" (Jtir. l. 23), o.ud n oheok not appear to htwe attacked the Philistines. received by either cnused world-wide dis- Probubly Sru-gon is iutentletl, who "took turbance. No sooner did one suhjeot nation Aehdod" (eh. xx. l), matlc Kha.nun, King of recover her freedom, than 1111 electric shock Gaza, prisoner (' Records of the Past,' vol. nu through all the rest-plots were lo.id, ix. p. 5), nnd reduced Philistia geuerall;y to 248 THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH. [ell. xiv.1-32,