genern,Jly mlmittod to have designated an rook-fortresses (ver, 9), Therefore ■halt thou artificial construction of wood or metn,L, which plant pleasant plants; rather, dost thou plant, wn,s used in the idolatrous worship of the or haat thou,/lanted. Forgetfulness of Je- Phcenjclrm11 11,nrl tho larf\elites, probably as hovah 110.s le to the adoption of a voluptu- tho emblem of some deity. The Assyrian 0119 religion---0ne of deha,ed foreign rites, "sacred tree "·.was most likely an emblem of There is possibly, as Mr. Cheyne thinks, e, the same kind, and mo.y give an idea of the special reference to the cult of Adonis. sort of object worshipped under the name of Shalt set it; rather, settest it, or hast set it. Ash@r,:1)1 (colJlp. 'Ancient Monarchies,' vol. " It " must refer to " field " or '' uardeu " ii. pp, -J::15-237), · The Isr~olites, in the understood. . The latet Israelite religion has time of their p;rosped,1jy, ·h.ad.s.et up "groves " been a. sort of pleasant garden, planted with of this character " on every high hill, and exotic slips from various qnarters-Phrenicia, under every green tree " (2 Kings xvii. 10). Syria, Moab, etc. It has been thought per- Many of them were still standing when. i:n,issible to introduce into it any ne,w cult Josiuh made his iconoclastic wid into the-' that 'took the fancy. Hence the multiplica- Israelite country (2 Cbron. xxxiv. 5-7), and tion of al~rs complained .of by Hosea (viii. were broken down by him at tli.e ·same time 11 ; l[, 1 ; xii 11 ). ' as the: al tars. The " images" of this place Ver. 11.-In the day; or, in a day (Kuy). e.re the· same as those·. coupled with •the :&halt thou make; rather, thOU, makest. Each Isre;elite. ••groves" in 2 Chi:on. xxxiv. 7, , new slip that la planted is forced to take namely " sun:-images,'.': emblems of .. Bo.fil, root and grow and flourish at once ; the next probably pilhire or conJcal stones, such es morning it is: e,x,pected to ha.ve foriµed its are known !A! have b,eld ·a pl11-cein the reli- seed and reached perfection. So the harvest gious worship of Phcenici(I. is hurr.ied on; but when it is reached, the Ver. 9.-In'tha.t day. Wpil1;1 a remnant of day of visit(ltion has arrived-a ~y of grief th!l Israelites shall repent and tµrn to God, a.nd of ,desperate sorrow. tbr(:rwing iii th'eir lot with J udo.h, a,s it would Ver&.12,-14.-A PBOPB'.EOY AGAINST As- seem, the 'country •general,ly sho.11' feel the weight of God's cho.steni:ng ho.nd;-oh 'account SYBIA. This passage is, apparently, out of of Israel's former :sihs ':ifud offences. As a place. At any rate, it is quite unconnected forsaken bough, and an uppermost branch ; with what precedes, and almost equally so rather, as the f O'Tsaken tract of woodland and with what follows. Still, it mmt be borne T110W1Jtain-creat (Kay). The reference' is to 1 in mind that, until the destruction of Sen- tl,e condition of t,he land when it passed out of tile possession ,of the Cal)aanitish n.o.tions. nacherib's army, Isaiah bas the thought of It was then forso.k.en e.nd cle.solate,. So sho,11 the Assyrie.ns, as the pre,sii:ig danger, always it be once more, when Israel is expelled' for before. him, and continually reverts to it, the same 'sins (see 2 Kings xvii. 7, 8). Which often abruptly, and without prepe.ra.tion (see they left becaus~ of the ohildren of Israel; oh. v. 2~30; vii. 17-25; viii. 5-8; x. ro.~her, iohich men forsook before the c11ildren of Istael; i.e. from which the Canaanites 5-19, 24-34; xiv. 24-27). The present fled as the children of Israel advanced and prophecy seems, more distinctly tban ony took possession. The writer ignor~s the other in the purely prophetical chapters, to long and fierce struggle whioh the Canaan- point· to the miraculous destruction cif the ites me.de, o.nd, looks only to the result- host which Sennacherib wna a.bout to bring retirement f~QIIl a desolated country. Ver. 10.~Because thou ho.et forgotten; against Jerusalem. rather, because thou didiit forget. The ln,te Ver. 12,-Woe to the multitude of many repentanceot'a "remnant" which'' looked to people; rather, Ro for the tumult of many their Maker" (ver. 7) could not cancel the prop!~! The advance of o.n army composed long· catalogue of former sins (2 Kings xvii. of soldiers from many nations is descried. 8-17); foremost among which .was thP-ir They advance with noise and tumult-a rejection of God, or, at o.ny ro.te, their com- tumult compared with the.t of "seas that plete forgetfulness of his olctims upon them. are tumultuous." Under the circumstcmces The Rook of thy strength, God is first called of tho time, it is reasonable to suppose the "e. Rook" in Deut. xxxii. 4, 15, 18, 30, 31. Assyrians to be intended (comp. eh. :uii. 6, The image is caught up by the psulmists 7). '!'he rushing sound of the advance is (2 Sum. xxii. 2, 32, 47; xxiii. 8; Ps. xv iii. borne in strongly upon the prophet'8 mind, 2, 31, 46; xix. 14; xx.viii. 1, eto.), and from and ma.de the subject of three consecutive them pusses to Iso.io.h (see, besides the ofouses. present passn,ge, oh. xxvi. 4: xxx. 29; o.nd Ver. 13.-God shall rebnke them; lite- xliv. 8). Among the later prophets only rally, he shall rebuke them-ho who 11,lone Habnkkuk uses it (i. 12). Ismel, inste(ld of can do so. '!'here is no need to mention his looking to this " Rook," had looked to their nllme. They shall :flee far oft', Th0 destruc- 292 THE DOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH, [oe. xvn, 1-14.
tion or the great bulk of Sennacherib's army quently greater power. Like a rolling thing; In the night wa.e followed, as eoon as morning or, li'/ui whirling dt11t (Kay). The word used c,amP, b~· the hasty flight of the survivors commonly means "a wheel." (2 Kings xix. 36; oh. xxxvii. 87). And shall Ver. 14.-Behold at evening-tide trouble; be chased. Herodotus says th&t the Egyp- rnther, terror, !WI the word is elsewhere ti&ns pl11'B1led the army of Senn&0herib and always transl&ted (comp. 2 Kings xix. 85, alew vast numbers (ii. 141). Al the oh&ff " It oe.me to pass that night that the angel of the mountain■ (oomp. Hos. xiii. 8). of the Lord went out," eto.). He is not Threahing-floors were ordine.rily placed upon (oomp. 2 Kings xix. 85, "They were all eminenMS (2 Sam. xxiv. 18 ; 2 Chron. iii. 1), deed corpses"). That spoil ua, , , ~t rob where the wind had freer OOIUll8 a.nd 001188- ua (see 2 Kings xvili. 18-16).