The Pulpit Commentary — Isaiah — Volume 1 — Section 320

(or succour ('let. 20) nnd be delivered (ver. " That city which wa.s known as the City of 20); Egypt slmll evon becolno a po.rt of the Sun-God shall become known as the City Qf Destruction of the Sun-God o.nd of idola.- Jehovo.h's kingdom, shall "know him," and trons worship genera.Uy." That Heliopolis sor,ve him with sacrifice and oblation (ve:r. did actnally fall nnder Jewish influence in 21), and perform her vows to Jehovah, and the Ptolemaic period appears from e. re- have her supplicti.tions heard by him, and be markable pa.asage of Polyhistor, who says or converted and healed (ver.' 22). the Exodus and the passage of the Red See.., Ver. 1,8.-In that day. Not rea)ly the "The Memphites say that Moses, being day of vengeance, but tha.t which, in the well acquainted with the district, watched prophet's mind, is moat closely connected the ebb of the tide, and so led the people with it--the clay or restitution-whereof he across the dry bed of the sea ; but they of has spoken perpetually (eh. i. 25- 27; ii. Heliopolis a.ftirm that the king, a.t the head 2-4; iv. 2-6; vi. 13, etc.). The two are of a vast force, and having the sacred ani• pa.rts of one scheme of things, and belong in ma.ls also with him, pursued after the Jews, the prophet's, mind to one time. Shall live because they were carrying a.way with them oitie,h in the land of Egypt speak the language the riches which they had borrowed from the of' c,naan.. It is quite true, as Mr. Cheyne Egyptians. 'fhen," they say, "the voice of re/!la.rks; that the Eastern Delta was from a God commanded Moses to smite the sea with very cil.rly. date CQntinually more and more his rod, and divide it; and Moses, when he Semitised by nn influx of aettlera from Pales- heard, touched the water with it, and so the tine, and that Egyptian literature bears sea. parted asunder, and the host marched strong me._rks of this linguistic influence. through on dry ground." Such an account Dut thia ia sce.rccly what the prophet intends of the Exodus would scarcely have been to speak nbout. He is not interested in phi- given by Egyptians unless they were three lo,l,ogy, What he means is that there will parts Hebraized. be an appreciable influx into Egypt of Pales- Ver. 19.-There shall be an altar to the tinian ideas, thoughts, and sentiments. Lord. An altar to the Lord was undoubtedly "Five" is probably used as a "round" erected by Onias in tbe temple which he number. The first manifest rulfilment of the obtained leave to build from Ptolemy Philo- prophecy was at the foundation of Alex- metor. Joseph11S says that he persuaded andria, when the Jews were encouraged to Ptolemy by showing him this pa.ese.ge of become settlers by tho concession of impor- Isaiah (' Ant. Jud.,' xiii. 3; 'Bell. Jud.,' vii. tant privileges (Josephus,' Contr. Ap.,' ii. 4), 10). And a pillar at the border thereof. It and where they'ultimately became the pre- is not clear that any ''pillar" was enr domin,o.nt element. in the population, amount- a.ctu11lly erected. The erection of pillo.rs for ing, uccording to Philo (' In Flo.cc.;' § 6), to religions purposes was forbidden by the Law nearly o. million :souls. The 'next great (Deut. xvi. 22). But this would be a pillar Palestinian inftux was under Ptolemy VI. of witness (Gen. xxxi. 52), and would mark {Philometorj, when Onie.a Bed from Palestine that the land was Je_hovah's. Dr. Kay sug- with a. number of bis partisans, and obtained gests fha.t "the Jewish synagogue first, and permission to erectaJewish templeneo.r Helios afterwards the Christian Church at Alex- polis. 'fhe site of this temple is probably andria, standing like a. lofty obelisk, with mqrked by the ruins at Tel-el-Yahoudeh the name of J ehovab inscribed upon it, at the ('Quarterly Statement' of Palest.Ex pl. Fund entrance of Egypt," sufficiently fulfilled the for July, 1880, pp. 137-139). It seems to prophecy. have been o. centre to a number of Jewish Ver. 20.-It shall be fora llign. The out- communities in the neighbourhood. In this ward tokens of J ehova.h-worship shall witness double way Jehovah became known to Egypt to God that he has in Egypt now a covenant before Christianity. A Christian Church people, and be will <lea! with them accord- we.$ early established in Alexandria, possibly ingly. He shall send them a saviour, and a by St.. Mark. Swea.r to the Lord of hosts; great one. 1.'his does not seem to point to i.e. ".swear fidelity to l1im." One shall be any eo.rthly deliverer, but to the Saviour from oa.lled, The oity of destruotion. Some ma.nu- the worst of a.11 oppressors, sin and So.tan, soripts read 'lr-ha-Klteres, "City of the whom they will need equally with the rest Sun," for 'Ir-ha-lte1"es, " City of Destruc- of his people. tion," in which case tbo roference would bo Ver. 21.-The Lord shall be known; rather, plainly to Heliopolis, which wa.s in the im- shall make himself kno,oa, o.s in Ez,,k. x.x. mediate neighbourhood of 1.'el-el-Ynhoudeh, 5, 9; by answering pray, r, by spir,tual in- and which in the Ptolernaio period may well fluences, and the like. The Egyptians shall ha.ve fallen irnder Jewish inftuenco. Evon know the Lord (comp. Jer. xxxi. 3-l, "They if 'Ir-/iq.-ltem stnnd o.s the true rending, the shall o.11 know me from the lcust of them name mo.y still ho.vo been given with ,illusion unto th,) greatest"). And shall do eacrifioo ,o Heliopolis, the prophet intending to sl\y, a.nd oblation; mther, 8hal! Berre 1cilh sacr(tico  316 THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH. [CB. XIX, 1-25,