The Pulpit Commentary — Isaiah — Volume 1 — Section 537

an emmple to others. We have waited for Vors. 7 -12. -THB PROPHET ENTIDll8 thee (comp. oh. 'l'iii. 17; xxvi. 8), Their FURTHER INTO PA.RTIOULARS, Having Arm ; i.e. "tho Arm of thy people." Every " sketched the main outlinoe of hie revelo.• morning. Continue.Jly, day by day, sinco their need of thy support is continual. tion," Isaiah proceeds to " fill in and o.pply Ver. 3.-.lt the noise of the tumult the the details" (Cheyne). He first dcsoribea people fled; wther, t.M peoples; i.e. the the despair and low condition of Judo.h: contingents from me.ny ne.tions which made the men of war wailing aloud ; the ambas- up the huge army of Sennacherib. Tho sadors just returned from Laohish weeping " noise " is that cnusod by God "lifting up himself" (comp. Ps. xxix. 3-9). at the ill success of their embassy ; all Ver. 4.-Your spoil ehall be gathered. travelling etoppod; the laud wasted and The "spoiling" of Assyria would commence me.do e. desert; the Assyrians still ravaging with the discomfiture of the great host. In e.nd destroying, despite the pen.co which the historical narrative (2 Kings xix. 35; had been me.de (2 Kings xviii. 14-16). eh. xnvii. 36) nothing is said of it; but, beyond a doubt, when tho host was to a Then suddenly he sees J ehovo.h rousing large ertcnt destroyed, and the remainder himself (ver. 10), e.nd the Assyrie.ns con- fled, thel'e must have been an enormous sumed, e.e if with e. fire (vers. 11, 12). booty left behind, which the enemies of the Ver. 7.-Behold, their valiant one■ ■hall Assyrians would naturally seize. A further cry without. "Their lion-hearts" (Cheyne); spoiling of the fugitives probably followed ; "hel'Oee" (Dl'litzeoh). Literally, lioos of and, the prest-ige of the great king being God (comp. eh. xxix. 1). They raise o gone, maranding bands would probably on cry of mourning in the streets, with child- all sides ravage the Assyrian territory. like effusiveness (comp. Herod., viii. 99: ix, Like the gathering of the caterpillar. The 24). The ambassadors of peaoe. Hezekiah " caterpillar " (khasi,l) is probably the grub probably sent several embassies to Sen- out of which the locust develops-a very nacherib in the course of the war. One destructive insect. Shall he nm. It would went to Lachish, offering submission, in be better t.o render. shall they ron. The n.c. 701 (2 Kings xviii. 14): another t.o word, indeed, is in the singular; but it is Nineveh, with tribute and presents, in the used distributively, of the various spoilers. same or the following yee.r (2 Kingn:viii. 15; Yer. 5.-The Lord iB exalted. His de- comp. ' Eponym Canon,' p. 135). A third struction of the Assyrian host is an exalta- probably sought to deprecate Sennacherib's tion of God; i.e. it ea.uses him to be exalted e.nger, when he me.de his second invasion in the thoughts of those who !Jave cogni- (2 Kings xviii. 17) in B.o. 699 •(?). These zance of the fact (comp. Exod. xv. l!-16; last would seem t.o be the "ambassadors " Ps. xcvL 3-10, etc.). It is an inclicatiou of this verse. to them that he hw! his dwelling on high, Ver. 8.-The highways lie waste (comp. o.nd is the true King of heaven. He hath Judg. v. 6). The meaning is, that they filled Zion with judgment, etc. (comp. eh. were unoccupied. Fear of the Assyrie.ns mii. 15-17). The destruction is, in part, restrained men from travelling. He hath the result, in part the cause, of the J ewe once broken the covenant, Sennacherib, when more tnrning to God, putting away their he accepted the sum of money sent him by iniquities, and establishing the reign of Hezekiah (2 Kings xviii. 15; 'Eponym justice and righteousn8llll in the land (eee Canon,' p. ,135), must have consented to eh. L 26). leave him unmolested for the future. But Ver. 6.-Wisdom a.nd knowledge ■hall be in a very short time we find him, apparently the stability of thy timea; literally, and without any reasone.ble pretext, sending e. tJ.e stabiUty of thy tima shall be (i.e. consist fresh expedition against Jerusalem, requir, in) a rich stm-e of salvation,, wudom, and ing it to he admitted within the walls, e.nd k1101JJ1-edge. The prophet here addresses even threatenin~ the city with destruction the people of Judah in the second person, (2 Kings xvili. 17-35; xix. 10-13); though in the next clause he reverts to the Iaa.ie.h, therefore, taxes him with having third. Such transitions are common in broken his covenant. Dupised oities. "Sen- ancient compositions, and especially cha- nacherib," says Delitzsch, "continued to racterize the writings of Isaiah. The fear storm the fortified places of Judah, in viola- of the Lord is his treuure; i.e. the wisdom tion of his agreement." Begardeth no intended is tliat which is based upon "the man ; i.e. "pays no attention to the protests fear of the Lord" (Ps. cxi. 10). 'fhis will that are me.de age.inst his infraction of the be at once Jude.h's "tree.sure," and a treaty-does not care what is se.id or thought guarantee of stability to her government of him." and institutions (compare the Homiletics on Ver. 9.-The earth moumeth; rather, tha eh. x=ii. 15-17). lo,ad, LebBIIOD. is . . , heWD down j rather, cu. xxxm. 1-24.] THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH. 541