The Pulpit Commentary — Isaiah — Volume 1 — Section 491

them. Mr. Cheyne compRree, very perti- Most tranal11te, " Wherefore I n&me it" nently, Rn inscription of Sargon's, where he ( i.e. Egypt) " Raho.b, that sits still; " or eays or the people of Philistill,J u<lah, Edom, "Arrogauce, thnt sits still." Ro.ho.b, and Moab. that " they an<l their evil chiefs, '' pride " or "a.rrogauee," would seem to to fight agninst nw, unto Pharlloh, King of have been Bn old name for Egypt (Job Egypt, n. monarch who could not save them, XX\'i, 12; Ps. lxuvii. 4; lxxx.ix. 10; oh. their presents ClflITied, nnd besought his Ii. 9), not one given nt this time by Iee,iab. alliance" (G. Smith, • Eponym Canon,' p. What ho means to sny is, " Proud as thou 130, ll. 35-39). Egypt was, in fact, quite art, thou doest nothing to mnintain thy unable t-0 cope with Assyria, nnd knew it. pride, but art content with sitting still" A shame. and also a reproach. A matter of 'l'his he "cries" or " proclnims" conoeming which they would themselves be" aslrnmc-d," Eg-ypt, as the most important thing for nnd with which the Assyrians would other nations to know about her. "reproa;:,h" them (as they did, 2 Kings Vers. 8-17.-A RENEWAL OF THREATEN• x,iii. 21, 24). ING. The denuncintion of the Egyptian Ver. G.-Eur<ien of the beasts of the south. alliance had been made 'Viva voce, in the, Delitzsch thinks that the Egyptians are iutende<l Ly the "beasts of the south "-the courts of the temple. or in some other p\aoe expwssion pointing primarily to the hippo- of publio resort. As he, ended, Isaiah re- potamus, which w~ an apt emblem of the ceived a. Divineintimo.tion.iho.t tbe prophecy slow-mo,ing Egyptians. But ruost com- was to be put on record, doubly, upon a men tntors re.gard ihe " beasts " of this ta.blot and in o. book. At the ,same time, clanse ns equivalent to the '' young asses nnd cnmcl, " mentione<l towards the end the " rebelliousness" of. .•.the people was of the verse. (On the sense of the word further pointed out, and fresh threats (vers. "burden," see the inll·oductory paragraph 13, 14, o.nd 17) were uttered against them, to eh. xiii.) Into the land of troubl~ o.nd Ver. 8.-Write it before them in a tablet; anguish ; rather, through a land. It is not i.e. " write the prophecy before them " (eq ui,-. Egypt that is spoken of, but the desert valent to "to be set up beforo them")" on a between Judrea o.nd Egypt. The remini- tablet," in the briefest. possible form (comp,: scences of this desert were such that the ob. viii. l ). And note it in a book; i. e. "o.n4 JsraeliLes always exaggerated its terrors and nlso make a full notation of it in e. book," OJ'. dangers (see Deut. viii. 15; Jer. ii. 6). parchment roll. The" tablet" was to be_fo~ From whence come the young and old the admonition of the living gel)emtfon of lion; rather, the lioness and the lion (sec men; the" book" wa.s for future generations, • Speaker's Commentary ' on Gen. xlix. 9; to be a record of God's om~scien.ce a11d fo.ith, vol. i. p. 227). Lions can never have been fulness "for ever alj.d ever." That it may numerous in the tract in question; but they be for the time to come; rather;/or an after- may have haunted portions of it, when it day-not for the immediate present only. was batter wntered than at present. The For ever and ever. Modern critics-observe viper E.D.d fiery fiylug serpent. Snakes of that the phrase, l,3,'ad 'ad 'olam, never oocurs Yo.rious kinda have always been abundant elsewhere, and suggest a. cbo.nge of the in the desert between J udrea and Egypt pointing, which would give the sense of (:\'urn b. xxi. G; Strab., X\"i. p. 759; Schubert, "for e. testimony for ever." ,vhether we • Travels,' vol. ii. p. 406; Burckbarclt, accept the change or not, the meo.ning un- • Trarnls,' p. 499, etc.). Some of them doubtedly is that consigning the prophecy were Lelieved anciently to have wings to a "book" would mo.ke nn nppeal to it (Herod., ii. 75; iii. 107); but the fact is possible in perpetuum. The perpetuity of douLtcd. Isaiah is not concerned with the written Word is assumed o.s cextain. natural history, but with definitely marking Ver. 9.-That this is a. rebellious people; out the locality through whieh the am- rather, for thiA is a rebellioU8 pW1Jle.. '1'.ho bassadors would march. For this purpose words to be written were those of the pre, it was best to describe it in terms drawn ceding prophecy. The reason for their from the popular belief. Their riches ... beiug written is now given (comp. Deut. their treasures. Ambassadors wl:o came to xxxi. 26, 27). Lying children (comp. oh. request military airl, as a matter of course !ix. 13). They professed devotion to Qod; carried rich presents with them. Young but tbeir acts contra.dieted their words. asses ... camels. Tbe ordinary beasts of Ver. 10.-Whioh say, eto. Not, of course, burden employed in the passage of the directly, in so mo.ny words. But indirectly dcsert (Clcn. mvii. 25; xiii. 2G; Herod., they let it be understood that thi~ w~ iii. 9, etc.). what they wished. Compare the advice Ver. 7.-Therefore have I oried conoerning given to Micaiah by Ahab's messenger, this, Their Btrength is to sit still. No who, no doubt, correctly interpreted the modern critic accepts this inforpretation. wishes of the monarch e.nd his nobles (1 0d. u.x. 1-83,] THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH. 491