Commentary on Isaiah Part 9 (No. F023ix)

Salvation of the Gentiles

Chapter 34

¹Draw near, O nations, to hear, and hearken, O peoples! Let the earth listen, and all that fills it; the world, and all that comes from it. ²For the LORD is enraged against all the nations, and furious against all their host, he has doomed them, has given them over for slaughter. ³Their slain shall be cast out, and the stench of their corpses shall rise; the mountains shall flow with their blood. ⁴All the host of heaven shall rot away, and the skies roll up like a scroll. All their host shall fall, as leaves fall from the vine, like leaves falling from the fig tree. ⁵For my sword has drunk its fill in the heavens; behold, it descends for judgment upon Edom, upon the people I have doomed. ⁶The LORD has a sword; it is sated with blood, it is gorged with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah, a great slaughter in the land of Edom. ⁷Wild oxen shall fall with them, and young steers with the mighty bulls. Their land shall be soaked with blood, and their soil made rich with fat. ⁸For the LORD has a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion ⁹And the streams of Edom shall be turned into pitch, and her soil into brimstone; her land shall become burning pitch. ¹⁰Night and day it shall not be quenched; its smoke shall go up for ever. From generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever. ¹¹But the hawk and the porcupine shall possess it, the owl and the raven shall dwell in it. He shall stretch the line of confusion over it, and the plummet of chaos over its nobles. ¹²They shall name it No Kingdom There, and all its princes shall be nothing. ¹³Thorns shall grow over its strongholds, nettles and thistles in its fortresses. It shall be the haunt of jackals, an abode for ostriches. ¹⁴And wild beasts shall meet with hyenas, the satyr shall cry to his fellow; yea, there shall the night hag alight, and find for herself a resting place. ¹⁵There shall the owl nest and lay and hatch and gather her young in her shadow; yea, there shall the kites be gathered, each one with her mate. ¹⁶Seek and read from the book of the LORD: Not one of these shall be missing; none shall be without her mate. For the mouth of the LORD has commanded, and his Spirit has gathered them. ¹⁷He has cast the lot for them, his hand has portioned it out to them with the line; they shall possess it for ever, from generation to generation they shall dwell in it.

Intent of Chapter 34

Messianic Prophecy through Isaiah to Hezekiah (No. 157D)

“Isaiah 34 to 36 is concerned with the prophecy of the salvation of the Gentiles. We find Isaiah 35:3 mentioned in the New Testament in Hebrews 12:11-12. The text in Isaiah 34 commences with the indignation of God against the nations and His dealing with them. This prophecy looks forward to the end of the age when the nations are given up to slaughter.”

The text in Isaiah and in 2Kings must therefore be viewed in relation to its place in prophecy, as revealed to Isaiah. Hezekiah is in fact concerned with the future events of the activities of God in sending the Messiah for His purposes. The entire structure of Isaiah is in effect Messianic [over its entire length]. Isaiah 34 commences with the message to the world, which is the inhabited world and all nations (v. 1, Heb. Tebel). The indignation of Yahovah is on them (v. 2). The utter destruction is in fact a devotion to destruction or being placed under a Divine ban (cf. Bullinger, fn. 2). The text says the mountains shall be melted with their blood (hyperbole) (v. 3). The wrath of God is placed upon the nations and they are to be put to the sword (vv. 5,6). They are sacrificed (vv. 6,7) in God’s vengeance (v. 8). The unicorns in verse 7 are the r^e’emin or rhinoceros. The surrounding nations are to be destroyed because of the controversy over Zion as the final recompense as the vengeance of God. The lands will be made tohu and bohu (v. 11). This is the time of the Day of the Lord. The command is given to search the Book of the Lord – and He has commanded and none of the words of God will fail. He has commanded and the Spirit will gather those for whom God has cast lot. He has divided the lands by line and they will dwell there forever (vv. 16,17). This is Messianic prophecy for the Last Days (see the paper The Day of the Lord and the Last Days (No. 192)).

The structure of the text deals with God’s zeal for Zion and its redemption. It is in this context that the subsequent chapters must be viewed.”

34:1-17 The conversion of Edom is the commencement of the absorption into Israel (see also Ezek. Chs. 38-39).

34:4 This text deals with the Fall of the Host as we saw in Isa. Ch. 14 and Ezek. Ch. 28. The host are confined and then after the final release the Fallen Host are killed and then sent to the Second Resurrection (No. 143B) under judgment and correction in the Judgment of the Demons (No. 080).

The Host of Heaven are associated with the corruption of the nations as God's earthly enemies (24:21).

v. 5 The destruction of Edom is used as an example of all the enemies of the Kingdom of God exemplified by Israel (Jer. 49:7-22) as with all God's enemies (Ob. 15-15). Sword of the Lord (Ezek. Ch. 21).

Sacrifice (Ezek. 39:17-20). The animals are those of the sacrifices. That is not the intent of those to be sacrificed in Edom. They were brought into Judah in the Second century BCE under John Hyrcanus.

v. 8 Day. See 13:6; 27:2.

34:9-17 God's Assault and After

34:9-10 Edom suffers the punishment of Sodom and Gomorrah (13:19; Gen. 19:24).

v. 11 It is as the primordial chaos.

34:12-15 No kingdom there Thus the end of those opposing the plan of God (No. 001A) in Israel (Nos. 001B and 001C) are to be brought to an end.

Night hag – The storm demon Lilith said to inhabit abandoned places and wild animals haun its ruins (13:19-22).

v. 16 The book of the Lord (see 4:3).

Chapter 35

¹The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus ²it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the LORD, the majesty of our God. ³Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. ⁴Say to those who are of a fearful heart, "Be strong, fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you." ⁵Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; ⁶then shall the lame man leap like a hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; ⁷the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp, the grass shall become reeds and rushes. ⁸And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way; the unclean shall not pass over it, and fools shall not err therein. ⁹No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it; they shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there. ¹⁰And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

Intent of Chapter 35

Here we see Zion Restored (35:1-10).

The OARSV n. says that the text, with 34:1-17, probably belonged originally to Chs. 40-66 (seemingly following the Revisionist Division of Isaiah).

35:1-6a All creation will see God's Glory. The helpless exiles (feeble knees) will wait on God and He will send for them to return to Zion (Chs. 65-66). We see the declaration re Lebanon, Carmel and Sharon, as we saw previously and again below.

35:8-10 The Holy Way through a land like paradise (11:6-9), they will come to Zion to sing the praises of God their Deliverer.

Messianic Prophecy through Isaiah to Hezekiah (No. 157D)

“Isaiah 35 then goes on to declare that Lebanon and Carmel and Sharon shall see the Glory of the Lord and the Majesty of our God. This is Messianic. The Glory of the Lord is Messiah.

Isaiah 35:3 is quoted in Hebrews 12:11-12 and that text refers directly to Messiah and the chastening he suffered for us. Isaiah 35:1-2 declares that the desert shall blossom like a rose and the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, together with the excellence of Carmel and Sharon, and they will see the Glory of the Lord (Yahovah), and the Excellency of our God. Thus Messiah was to be in Judah and remain in Zion and return to Zion in the Last Days. We are told in verse 4 that he will come specifically to save us. The miracles he performed were to open the eyes of the blind and the ears of the deaf, and so that the lame should leap as an hart and the dumb should sing. He performed these miracles in order to commence the calling of the Church, which was to be watered by the Holy Spirit [No. 117] over two thousand years.

Thus Yahovah has declared that he will come with vengeance and with the recompense of the One True God. We know from both the OT and NT texts that the entity that God will send is Messiah. We are specifically told that the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness and sighing will flee away. This theme is then taken up in Isaiah 40 after the references to the theme of the Assyrian invasion, and it is in that context that the Assyrian invasion and return must be viewed.

In the midst of this Messianic declaration in Isaiah, and by comparison with 2Kings, we then find that we are confronted with the Assyrians besieging Jerusalem in the fourteenth year of Hezekiah. Sennacherib had besieged the fortified cities of Judah and took them, and finally besieged Jerusalem.

The early period of Hezekiah is dealt with in 2Kings 18:1-12. It is important to read that section also.

We see that Israel was taken away in the sixth year of Hezekiah. In the fourteenth year of Hezekiah the Assyrians decided to destroy Jerusalem and transport Judah into captivity, as they had done to Israel at Samaria eight years previously. As was the practice of the Assyrians, Israel was taken to the opposite ends of the Empire beyond the Araxes to the north, in what is now Georgia and Armenia. The significance of this event was that Judah would not have been identified, and the Messiah could not have been born in Judea when it was time for him to be incarnated in the virgin, as prophesied elsewhere in Isaiah 7:14. Isaiah 37:22 also refers to the virgin as the daughter of Zion who has despised the Assyrian and mocked her. Isaiah 47:1 also deals with the virgin daughter of Babylon and prophesies against her and says she will sit in the dust and grind and no longer be called the lady of kingdoms. In Isaiah 47:6 it is clearly stated that God is to give Judah into her hands and then deal with her. The text in Isaiah and in 2Kings dealing with Hezekiah is prophetic and has nothing to do with that time, except that the second element of the prophecy deals with the return of the Assyrians, and they remain there in Assyria.

Also, Messiah could not have come to the Temple and fulfilled the prophecies as given to Isaiah if Assyria had removed Judah. Thus God decided to intervene and He told Isaiah why and what the sign of the ministry would be. The sign of the Messiah’s ministry was given by God to Isaiah and spoken to Hezekiah and recorded in both books as a dual witness to the commencement of the ministry. It is for this reason that so much effort was made to destroy the Calendar and the Jubilee system by the later Pharisees and Rabbis.”

Chapter 36

¹In the fourteenth year of King Hezeki'ah, Sennach'erib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them. ²And the king of Assyria sent the Rab'shakeh from Lachish to King Hezeki'ah at Jerusalem, with a great army. And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Fuller's Field. ³And there came out to him Eli'akim the son of Hilki'ah, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and Jo'ah the son of Asaph, the recorder. ⁴And the Rab'shakeh said to them, "Say to Hezeki'ah, 'Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: On what do you rest this confidence of yours? ⁵Do you think that mere words are strategy and power for war? On whom do you now rely, that you have rebelled against me? ⁶Behold, you are relying on Egypt, that broken reed of a staff, which will pierce the hand of any man who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who rely on him. ⁷But if you say to me, "We rely on the LORD our God," is it not he whose high places and altars Hezeki'ah has removed, saying to Judah and to Jerusalem, "You shall worship before this altar"? ⁸Come now, make a wager with my master the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders upon them. ⁹How then can you repulse a single captain among the least of my master's servants, when you rely on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? ¹⁰Moreover, is it without the LORD that I have come up against this land to destroy it? The LORD said to me, Go up against this land, and destroy it.'" ¹¹Then Eli'akim, Shebna, and Jo'ah said to the Rab'shakeh, "Pray, speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it; do not speak to us in the language of Judah within the hearing of the people who are on the wall." ¹²But the Rab'shakeh said, "Has my master sent me to speak these words to your master and to you, and not to the men sitting on the wall, who are doomed with you to eat their own dung and drink their own urine?" ¹³Then the Rab'shakeh stood and called out in a loud voice in the language of Judah: "Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! ¹⁴Thus says the king: 'Do not let Hezeki'ah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you. ¹⁵Do not let Hezeki'ah make you rely on the LORD by saying, "The LORD will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria." ¹⁶Do not listen to Hezeki'ah; for thus says the king of Assyria: Make your peace with me and come out to me; then every one of you will eat of his own vine, and every one of his own fig tree, and every one of you will drink the water of his own cistern; ¹⁷until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and wine, a land of bread and vineyards. ¹⁸Beware lest Hezeki'ah mislead you by saying, "The LORD will deliver us." Has any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? ¹⁹Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharva'im? Have they delivered Sama'ria out of my hand? ²⁰Who among all the gods of these countries have delivered their countries out of my hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?'" ²¹But they were silent and answered him not a word, for the king's command was, "Do not answer him." ²²Then Eli'akim the son of Hilki'ah, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and Jo'ah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezeki'ah with their clothes rent, and told him the words of the Rab'shakeh.

Intent of Chapter 36

Messianic Prophecy through Isaiah to Hezekiah (No. 157D)

“The Assyrians were so confident that they uttered blasphemy against God at the walls of Jerusalem. God is not mocked, and He brings all to fruition in accordance with His Plan and in His own time, according to His Calendar.

The text in 2Kings chapters 18 to 20 has much repeated in Isaiah chapters 37 to 40. Some of the text is not repeated in Isaiah, and so the text in 2Kings 19 is used over Isaiah 38. We see from the text in Isaiah 37 and 2Kings 19 that the prophecy concerning what is to happen to Judah is broken into two parts. (See esp. 2Kgs. 19:1-19 in this text.)

Hezekiah was obedient enough to place his faith in God and ask for deliverance, and God answered Him.

The text also continues in 2Kings 19: 20-28.

Here we see God answering Assyria and speaking concerning the virgin daughter of Zion. This is the Church of the Messiah that is being spoken about. What virgin daughter of Zion existed before 28 CE? The virgin was to conceive and bear a child, as we know from Isaiah, and the child was Messiah. God then gives the sign for the virgin daughter of Zion. 2Kgs. 19:29-31 continues on regarding the sign given regarding the surviving remnant of the House of Judah.

Here we are seeing God declare the timing and the purpose of the sign. In accordance with the Calendar, at the end of the two years of the Seventh Sabbath and the Jubilee year, the work was to be undertaken. In the third year of this sequence, which was the first year after the Jubilee, the planting was to be undertaken and the fruit eaten. Then the surviving remnant would again take root downward. Now this was to be fulfilled in two ways. The restoration of Jerusalem and the Law were undertaken by Ezra and Nehemiah at the Jubilee sequence, as we see from the text in Reading the Law with Ezra and Nehemiah (No. 250). This was to point to the Restoration under Messiah and the forming of the Virgin daughter of Zion, which is the Church of God, and the ultimate despatch of the Church into all lands; “For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant and out of Jerusalem a band of survivors”. Thus Christ could only have commenced his ministry in the first year after the Jubilee. We know that he declared the acceptable year of the Lord from the scroll of Isaiah in 27 CE, which was a Jubilee year, and he commenced his ministry after the imprisonment of John the Baptist, after Passover of 28 CE (see the paper Christ’s Age at Baptism and the Duration of his Ministry (No. 019)).

This sign could not be broken. Hezekiah had nothing to do with the remnant or the captivity. It was not done in his reign (see also the paper The Seven Great Passovers of the Bible (No. 107)).

The sign referred to Messiah and the establishment of the remnant after the Jubilee year. Messiah thus had to commence in the year following the Jubilee of 27 CE. We know from the NT text itself that he did not commence his ministry until after the Passover of 28 CE, after John the Baptist had been imprisoned.

God purposes to send Jerusalem and Judah into captivity to Babylon and not to Assyria, as Assyria was about to fall, and the restoration had to take place under the Medes and Persians. If Judah had gone north of the Araxes, they could not have returned. There was no remnant during the reign of Hezekiah, as Jerusalem did not fall in his lifetime and not to the Assyrians. After the purpose of the prophecy had been declared by God through Isaiah, the message then turned to what God was to do with the Assyrians. The text in 2Kgs. 19:32-37 then concerns the king of Assyria and the slaying of 185,000 Assyrians attacking Jerusalem, causing them to return home.

The timeframe of verses 36-37 covers 20 odd-years from the king’s return to his eventual death, as described. It was prophecy that the Assyrians would not take Jerusalem nor come near them again – and they did not do so.

The next sequence in 2Kgs. 20:1-3. 12-21 concerns the remainder of the life of Hezekiah and the actual details of the captivity of Judah to the Babylonians, and for this we compare 2Kings 20 with Isaiah 38.

Chapter 37

¹When King Hezeki'ah heard it, he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the LORD. ²And he sent Eli'akim, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and the senior priests, clothed with sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz. ³They said to him, "Thus says Hezeki'ah, 'This day is a day of distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace; children have come to the birth, and there is no strength to bring them forth. ⁴It may be that the LORD your God heard the words of the Rab'shakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to mock the living God, and will rebuke the words which the LORD your God has heard; therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.'" ⁵When the servants of King Hezeki'ah came to Isaiah, ⁶Isaiah said to them, "Say to your master, 'Thus says the LORD: Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have reviled me. ⁷Behold, I will put a spirit in him, so that he shall hear a rumor, and return to his own land; and I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.'" ⁸The Rab'shakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah; for he had heard that the king had left Lachish. ⁹Now the king heard concerning Tirha'kah king of Ethiopia, "He has set out to fight against you." And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezeki'ah, saying, ¹⁰"Thus shall you speak to Hezeki'ah king of Judah: 'Do not let your God on whom you rely deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. ¹¹Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, destroying them utterly. And shall you be delivered? ¹²Have the gods of the nations delivered them, the nations which my fathers destroyed, Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Tel-assar? ¹³Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharva'im, the king of Hena, or the king of Ivvah?'" ¹⁴Hezeki'ah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezeki'ah went up to the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD. ¹⁵And Hezeki'ah prayed to the LORD: ¹⁶"O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, who art enthroned above the cherubim, thou art the God, thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth. ¹⁷Incline thy ear, O LORD, and hear; open thy eyes, O LORD, and see; and hear all the words of Sennach'erib, which he has sent to mock the living God. ¹⁸Of a truth, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations and their lands, ¹⁹and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone; therefore they were destroyed. ²⁰So now, O LORD our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou alone art the LORD." ²¹Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezeki'ah, saying, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Because you have prayed to me concerning Sennach'erib king of Assyria, ²²this is the word that the LORD has spoken concerning him: 'She despises you, she scorns you--the virgin daughter of Zion; she wags her head behind you--the daughter of Jerusalem. ²³'Whom have you mocked and reviled? Against whom have you raised your voice and haughtily lifted your eyes? Against the Holy One of Israel! ²⁴By your servants you have mocked the Lord, and you have said, With my many chariots I have gone up the heights of the mountains, to the far recesses of Lebanon; I felled its tallest cedars, its choicest cypresses; I came to its remotest height, its densest forest. ²⁵I dug wells and drank waters, and I dried up with the sole of my foot all the streams of Egypt. ²⁶'Have you not heard that I determined it long ago? I planned from days of old what now I bring to pass, that you should make fortified cities crash into heaps of ruins, ²⁷while their inhabitants, shorn of strength, are dismayed and confounded, and have become like plants of the field and like tender grass, like grass on the housetops, blighted before it is grown. ²⁸'I know your sitting down and your going out and coming in, and your raging against me. ²⁹Because you have raged against me and your arrogance has come to my ears, I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth, and I will turn you back on the way by which you came.' ³⁰"And this shall be the sign for you: this year eat what grows of itself, and in the second year what springs of the same; then in the third year sow and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. ³¹And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward; ³²for out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this. ³³"Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come into this city, or shoot an arrow there, or come before it with a shield, or cast up a siege mound against it. ³⁴By the way that he came, by the same he shall return, and he shall not come into this city, says the LORD. ³⁵For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David." ³⁶And the angel of the LORD went forth, and slew a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies. ³⁷Then Sennach'erib king of Assyria departed, and went home and dwelt at Nin'eveh. ³⁸And as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, Adram'melech and Share'zer, his sons, slew him with the sword, and escaped into the land of Ar'arat. And E'sar-had'don his son reigned in his stead.

Intent of Chapter 37

37:1-35 Hezekiah consults Isaiah

See 2Kgs. Ch. 19.

37:1 Clothes rent, sackcloth, signs of mourning and despair (15:3; Jl. 2:12); for recourse to the Temple in national crisis see Neh. Ch. 9; Jl. 1:13-14.

v. 2 Earlier kings consulted the prophets hence Hezekiah’s embassy to Isaiah (see 1Kgs. 22:8-28; 2Kgs. 1:9-17; 3:11-27).

37:5-7 Isaiah's reply reassures Hezekiah. The rumour was of internal problems at home in Assyria.

37:8-20 This was Sennacherib's second challenge to Hezekiah ca 688-687 BCE, perhaps in a later attack on Jerusalem.

v. 8 Libnah ten miles north of Lachish.

v. 9 Tirhakah 2Kgs. 19:9.

v. 12 Places in Mesopotamia: Gozan on the west Tributary of the Kabur River, east of Haran; Haran, on the upper Balikh River (Gen. 11:27-32); Reseph between Nineveh and northern Khabur; Eden, Bit Adini, on the Middle Euphrates (Ezek. 27:23); Telassar also on Middle Euphrates.

v. 14 Letter – scroll

v. 16 Enthroned - Temple imagery also in 1Kgs. 8:6-7; Ezek. 1:4-28.

vv. 17-20 Recalling Sennacherib’s claim in vv. 11-13.

no gods see Jer. 10:1-16.

v. 21 see vv. 33-35.

37:22-29 Isaiah's challenge to Sennacherib (10:5-19); 22-29 Isaiah here taunts Sennacherib by reminding him that he has defied God, who determines history’s course, and He is to frustrate Sennacherib’s purpose and plan.

vv. 27-28 Reads with the Dead Sea Scroll of Isaiah “...housetops which are parched by the east wind; Your rising and your sitting down I know ...” (see also OARSV n.).

v. 27 with 2Kgs. 19:26 Heb. field

37:30-32 A Second Assurance to Hezekiah (see vv. 5-7). The sign will be a return to normal conditions by the third year (considered to belong between verses 35 and 36 (OARSV n.).

Remnant see 10:22 n.

37:33-35 A Third Assurance to Hezekiah. (comp. v. 21). Verse 35 recalls Nathan's words to David (2Sam. 7:12-17).

37:36-38 Devastation of Sennacherib's Army

Here the Angel of the Lord went into the camp of the Assyrians and slew 185,000 of the Assyrians. Modern scholars say that it is a euphemism for a plague by reference to the texts in Ex. 12:29 and 2Sam. 24:15-17. (see OARSV n.). The text does say messenger of the Lord.

Chapter 38

¹In those days Hezeki'ah became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him, and said to him, "Thus says the LORD: Set your house in order; for you shall die, you shall not recover." ²Then Hezeki'ah turned his face to the wall, and prayed to the LORD, ³and said, "Remember now, O LORD, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in thy sight." And Hezeki'ah wept bitterly. ⁴Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah: ⁵"Go and say to Hezeki'ah, Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will add fifteen years to your life. ⁶I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and defend this city. ⁷"This is the sign to you from the LORD, that the LORD will do this thing that he has promised: ⁸Behold, I will make the shadow cast by the declining sun on the dial of Ahaz turn back ten steps." So the sun turned back on the dial the ten steps by which it had declined. ⁹A writing of Hezeki'ah king of Judah, after he had been sick and had recovered from his sickness: ¹⁰I said, In the noontide of my days I must depart; I am consigned to the gates of Sheol for the rest of my years. ¹¹I said, I shall not see the LORD in the land of the living; I shall look upon man no more among the inhabitants of the world. ¹²My dwelling is plucked up and removed from me like a shepherd's tent; like a weaver I have rolled up my life; he cuts me off from the loom; from day to night thou dost bring me to an end; ¹³I cry for help until morning; like a lion he breaks all my bones; from day to night thou dost bring me to an end. ¹⁴Like a swallow or a crane I clamor, I moan like a dove. My eyes are weary with looking upward. O Lord, I am oppressed; be thou my security! ¹⁵But what can I say? For he has spoken to me, and he himself has done it. All my sleep has fled because of the bitterness of my soul. ¹⁶O Lord, by these things men live, and in all these is the life of my spirit. Oh, restore me to health and make me live! ¹⁷Lo, it was for my welfare that I had great bitterness; but thou hast held back my life from the pit of destruction, for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back. ¹⁸For Sheol cannot thank thee, death cannot praise thee; those who go down to the pit cannot hope for thy faithfulness. ¹⁹The living, the living, he thanks thee, as I do this day; the father makes known to the children thy faithfulness. ²⁰The LORD will save me, and we will sing to stringed instruments all the days of our life, at the house of the LORD. ²¹Now Isaiah had said, "Let them take a cake of figs, and apply it to the boil, that he may recover." ²²Hezeki'ah also had said, "What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the LORD?"

Intent of Chapter 38

vv. 1-4 Hezekiah's Illness and Recovery [cf. 2Kgs. 20:4-11]

v. 3 The Form of Hezekiah’s Prayer for recovery is found in the Psalms (comp. Ps. 6).

v. 8 The dial is lit. stairs or steps. Following the text of one ancient Hebrew MS found in the DSS it may be translated “... Behold I shall turn back the shadow of the steps down which the sun has moved on the steps of the roof chambers of Ahaz your father. I will cause the sun to move backwards ten steps and the sun moved back on the steps down which the shadow had descended.” (See also OARSV n.).

38:9-20 This song, traditionally ascribed to Hezekiah, is a liturgical thanksgiving for use when presenting a thank-offering in the temple for personal deliverance (Ps. 32; 1Sam. 2:1-10; Jon. 2:2-9) (see also OARSV n.).

v. 9 Writing Heb. “miktab”, read “Miktam” as in Pss. 56-60 (F019_2).

v. 16ab Is based on a corrupted text the Heb. of which is uncertain. It probably should be emended to read. “O Lord with thee is the days of my life, thine alone is the Life of my spirit.” (See also OARSV n.)

v. 17 Here we see God's saving power is demonstrated in recovery from illness demonstrated as forgiveness of sin (Lk. 5:17-26).

38:21-22 These verses are considered to belong between vv. 6-7 (see OARSV n.).

Bullinger’s Notes on Chs. 34-38 (for KJV)

Chapter 34

Verse 1

people = peoples.

world = the inhabited world. Hebrew. tebel.

all things, &c. = and all that is therein.

Verse 2

the LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4.

utterly destroyed = devoted to destruction or placed under a Divine ban.

Verse 3

mountains shall be melted with their blood. Figure of speech Hyperbole. So Isaiah 34:4 and Isaiah 34:5 .

Verse 5

of My curse: i.e. I have devoted.

Verse 7

unicorns: or, rhinoceros. Hebrew. re'emin.

soaked = drunken. Figure of speech Hyperbole.

Verse 8

of = for.

Verse 11

confusion. See note on Isaiah 24:10 .

confusion . . . emptiness. Hebrew. tohu . . . bohu. Reference to Pentateuch (Genesis 1:2 ), "without form and void" = waste and desolate. Only there, here, and Jeremiah 4:23 beside. App-92 .

Verse 13

come up in = climb.

Verse 14

screech owl. Hebrew. Lilith. Used to-day of any being of the night, as the English "bogy" is used. Charms are used against it to-day in Palestine.

a place, &c. = a roost.

Verse 16

Seek = Search.

the book of the LORD. This proves there was a book in existence, which could be searched. See App-47 .

fail = be missing. Hebrew. 'adar. Not the same word as in Isaiah 19:5 (see note there). Occurs here in "former" portion, and Isaiah 40:26 in "latter “portion. See App-79 . Isaiah 35:0 is the sequel to this long series of Burdens (Isaiah 13:1 Isaiah 35:10 ) and Woes; it sets forth the future return of Israel.

Chapter 35

Verse 1

The wilderness, &c .: i.e. the land of Edom referred to in Isaiah 34:9-16 . While Edom becomes a waste, the Land becomes a paradise; and the way of the return thither a peaceful highway.

shall be glad for them = shall rejoice over them.

them: i.e. the noisome creatures of Isaiah 34:14-16 , &c.

and = but; giving the contrast.

the desert shall rejoice, and blossom, & c. The description in this chapter leaves little to be interpreted. It requires only to be believed. No amount of spiritual blessing through the preaching of the Gospel can produce these physical miracles.

Verse 3

Strengthen, &c. Quoted in Hebrews 12:11 , Hebrews 12:12 .

Verse 5

Then the eyes, &c. When Messiah came, these miracles (not miracles qua miracles) were the evidence that He had indeed come to save His People (Matthew 11:1-6 ), but they rejected Him. Hence, this with other similar prophecies are in abeyance. John had based his own claims on Isaiah 40:3 , while the Lord based His claims on Isaiah 35:5-6 .

Verse 8

highway. See note on Isaiah 7:3 . Occurs only here.

The way, &c. = the holy road.

but, &c. : i.e. yet for those very persons it will exist.

err therein = go astray.

Verse 9

No lion shall be there, &c. Reference to Pentateuch (Leviticus 26:6 ). App-92.

Verse 10

their heads. Put by Figure of speech Synecdoche (of Part), for themselves.

sighing. See note on Isaiah 21:2 .Isaiah 40:0 takes up this theme, after the historical episode of Isaiah 36-39, which is necessary for the understanding of the references to the Assyrian invasion. For the general notes on this chapter see notes on 2 Kings 18:13 , 2 Kings 20:19 .

Chapter 36

Verse 1

it came to pass. Note the insertion of these historical events in the midst of prophecy, corresponding with those concerning the reign of Ahaz. Compare 2 Kings 18:13 , 2 Kings 20:19 , on which Isaiah is not dependent, and 2 Chronicles 32:1-33 , which is not dependent on either (see App-56 ). This history is a proof of Isaiah's prophetic mission and gifts. History and prophecy are thus combined: for the latter is history foretold, and the former is (in this and many cases) prophecy fulfilled: the two accounts being perfectly independent.

in the fourteenth year: i.e. 628 B.C. See App-50 . pp Isa 59:60 . After Hezekiah's reformation (2 Chronicles 29:1 -- Isaiah 32:1 ). Samaria had been taken by Shalmaneser in Hezekiah's sixth year (2 Kings 18:10 ). The date (fourteenth year) no "error".

defenced cities = fortified cities.

and took them. See the list and number of them (forty-six) on Sennacherib's hexagonal cylinder in the British Museum. See App-67 .

Verse 2

Rabshakeh: or, "political officer". Probably a renegade Jew.

Lachish. Now Tell el Hesy , or Umm Lakis . See the work on the excavations there, published by the "Palestine Exploration Fund". Compare note on 2 Kings 18:17 , and 2 Kings 19:8 .

with a great army. Foretold in Isaiah 29:1-6 , as foretold in Isa 22:15-26 .

he stood. In the same spot where Isaiah stood with Ahaz twenty-eight years before. See Isaiah 7:3 .

highway. See note on Isaiah 7:3 .

Verse 3

Eliakim. See and Compare Isaiah 22:20-25 . The promise of Isaiah 22:20 , Isaiah 22:21 was already fulfilled.

house. Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Subject), for household. Eliakim fulfils Shebna's office, as foretold in Isa 22:15-26 .

Shebna. See Isaiah 22:15 .

scribe: or, secretary. Title used of a state officer, first in 2 Samuel 8:17 . Connected with finance (2 Kings 22:3 ). Jeremiah 52:25 .

Verse 4

the great king. Contrast Psalms 47:2 .

trustest = hast confided. Hebrew. batah. App-69 . See Hezekiah's "Songs of the Degrees" (Psalms 121:3 ; Psalms 125:1 , Psalms 125:2 ; Psalms 127:1 ; Psalms 130:5-8 ; and App-67 ).

Verse 5

I say, sayest thou. Some codices read "Thou sayest", as in 2 Kings 18:20 .

vain words = lip-talk. Hebrew word of lips.

Verse 6

man. Hebrew. 'ish . App-14 .

Verse 7

thou. Some codices read "ye", as in 2 Kings 18:22 .

the LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4 .

God. Hebrew. Elohim. App-4 .

is it not He . . . ? Manifesting Rabshakeh's ignorance.

Verse 8

master. Hebrew. Adonai . App-4 .

Verse 9

Egypt. Hezekiah at first looked for help there (See Isaiah 20:3-6 ; Isaiah 30:2-5 ; 2 Kings 18:21 ).

Verse 10

am I come up. As foretold twenty-eight years before (Isaiah 10:6-8 ).

If Rabshakeh knew of this, it shows the falsehood of "half the truth".

Verse 11

Then said, &c. This led only to grosser insults.

Jews. The name by which the People were known of old, to foreigners. See note on Isaiah 36:2 . No proof of a later authorship. "Hebrew" is the later word for the language (Compare Isaiah 19:18 ).

Verse 12

speak these words. See App-67 .

sit upon the wall = maintain their posts: i.e. till reduced to these extremities.

Verse 15

this city. Some codices, with two early printed editions, Septuagint, and Syriac, read "and this city": i.e. "this city".

Verse 16

every one = man, as in Isaiah 36:6 .

Verse 17

take you away. As he did Israel (2 Kings 18:11 ).

wine = new wine. Hebrew. tirosh . App-27 .

bread. Put by Figure of speech Synecdoche (of Part), for all kinds of food.

Hath, &c. ? = [Reflect]: Hath, &c?

Verse 19

Where: or, Why, where. Some codices, with two early printed editions, read "Where then".

Chapter 37

Verse 1

went into the house of the Lord. See Hezekiah's reference to his love for, and use of, the Temple in his "Songs of the Degrees" (Psalms 122:1 , Psalms 122:9 ; Psalms 134:1 , Psalms 134:2 ; and App-67 ).

Verse 2

elders of the priests. These now added to the embassy. Joah absent.

Verse 3

blasphemy = reproach. Note the reference to this in Hezekiah's "Song of Degrees".

Verse 4

Rabshakeh = the Rabshakeh. See note on Isaiah 36:2 .

lift up thy prayer. Note the reference to Hezekiah's "Song of the Degrees".

Verse 6

Isaiah said. The message in verses: Isaiah 37:6 , Isaiah 37:7 is shorter and calmer than the second.

Verse 8

was departed from Lachish: having raised the siege. See note on 2 Kings 18:17 ; 2 Kings 19:8 .

Verse 9

he heard. The "rumour" of Isaiah 37:7 .

Tirhakah. The Taracus of the inscriptions. The third and last of Manetho's twenty-sixth dynasty. This reference to the Ethiopian dynasty in Isaiah's time is an "undesigned coincidence".

Ethiopia. Judah's hope in Ethiopia was vain (See Isaiah 20:1-6 ).

Verse 10

trustest = confidest. Hebrew. batah.

Verse 11

all lands = all the earths: i.e. all such countries specially connected with Israel.

Verse 12

Gozan, &c. These places are all in Mesopotamia. and Bezeph. The Hebrew pointing connects this with the next clause.

children = sons.

Verse 13

Hamath . . . Arphad . . . Sepharvaim. See notes on Isaiah 36:19 .

Verse 14

spread it, &c. See note on "lift up", &c. (Isaiah 37:4 ).

Verse 16

LORD of Hosts. See note on Isaiah 1:9 , and 1 Samuel 1:3 .

God of Israel. See note on Isaiah 29:23 .

dwellest: or, sittest enthroned.

the. Hebrew He, the [God]. Compare 1 Kings 18:39 .

God. Hebrew. Elohim. (with Art.) = the [true] God.

made heaven and earth. Note the reference to this in Hezekiah's "Songs of the Degrees" (Psalms 121:1 , Psalms 121:2 ; Psalms 123:1 ; Psalms 124:8 ; Psalms 134:3 ; and App-67 (v)).

Verse 17

ear . . . eyes. Figure of speech Anthropopatheia.

Verse 18

nations, and their countries. Hebrew. ha-arazoth . . . 'arzam : as in Isaiah 37:11 . The latter word put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Adjunct), for the people inhabiting the lands. Note also the Figure of speech Paronomasia . Some codices read "nations, and their land".

Verse 19

men's. Hebrew. 'adam. App-14 .

Verse 20

save us. Some codices add "I (or, we) pray Thee", Compare 2 Kings 19:19 .

Verse 21

thou hast prayed. See note on "lift up" (Isaiah 37:4 ).

Verse 22

shaken = wagged. Denoting derision and scorn.

Verse 23

the Holy One of Israel. See note on Isaiah 1:4 .

Verse 24

LORD*. One of the 134 places where the Sopherim changed "Jehovah" of the primitive text to "Adonai".

am I come up = have I scaled. Compare Isaiah 36:10 . These boasts probably refer to the future as well as the past.

Lebanon, &c. Compare 2 Kings 19:23 . Fulfilling Isaiah 14:8 (see note there). As Hannibal later scaled the Alps.

Verse 25

rivers = arms, or canals. Compare Isaiah 19:6 , and Micah 7:12 .

besieged places. Hebrew. matzor. Put for Egypt.

Verse 26

formed = purposed. Compare Isaiah 10:5 , Isaiah 10:15 ; Isaiah 30:32 .

Verse 27

as the grass. Note Hezekiah's reference to this in his "Songs of the Degrees" (Psalms 129:6-7 ). App-67 .

Verse 28

abode = sitting down.

going out, and thy coming in. Put by Figure of speech Synecdoche (of Part), for life in general

Verse 29

tumult = arrogance.

My hook, &c. Assyrian sculptures represent captives thus led. Jehovah would treat them as they treated others.

turn thee back. See Hezekiah's reference to this (Psalms 129:4 , Psalms 129:6 ). App-67 .

Verse 30

sign. See note on Isaiah 7:11 .

Ye shall eat, &c. No seed would be sown on account of the (foretold) devastation wrought by the invasion. Hezekiah refers to this "sign" in his "Songs of the Degrees" (Psalms 126:5 , Psalms 126:6 ; Psalms 128:2 ).

groweth of itself. Reference to Pentateuch (Leviticus 25:5 , Leviticus 25:11 ). Only here, 2 Kings 19:29 , and Job 14:19 .

springeth of the same = shooteth up of itself, or from the roots. Hebrew. shahith, occurs only here.

sow ye. See note above.

Verse 31

shall. Hezekiah refers to Jehovah's repeated promises on which he relies (compare 2 Kings 19:30-34 ). See Psalms 121:2-8 ; Psalms 124:1-3 , Psalms 124:6 ; Psalms 125:2 ; Psalms 126:2 , Psalms 126:3 ; Psalms 127:1 .

Verse 32

zeal = jealousy. Reference to Pentateuch. Compare Isaiah 9:7 . See App-92 .

Verse 35

defend = shield. See note on Isaiah 31:5 .

My servant. Three are so called in this book: David (here); Israel or Jacob (the nation) (Isaiah 41:8 ; Isaiah 42:19 ; Isaiah 43:10 ; Isaiah 44:1 ; Isaiah 45:4 ; Isaiah 48:20 ; Isaiah 49:3 and whole chapter); and Messiah (Isaiah 42:1 ; Isaiah 65:8 ).

David's sake. Note how Hezekiah refers to these words in his "Songs of the Degrees" (Psalms 132:1 , Psalms 132:10 ).

Verse 36

Then, &c. Compare 2 Kings 19:35-37 .

they: i.e. the Israelites.

Verse 37

and. Note the Figure of speech Polysyndeton in this verse, to emphasize his departure and return, which leads up to what he returned for; also, that he did this without taking the city, Nebuchadnezzar makes no reference to this in his inscription.

Verse 38

his sons . . . Esar-haddon. See note on 2 Kings 19:37 .

Chapter 38

Verse 1

In those days: i.e. Hezekiah's fourteenth year: for fifteen years (603-588 B.C.) are added to his life (Isaiah 38:5 ), and he reigned twenty-nine years (2 Kings 18:2 ); 14 + 15 = 29.

sick. This sickness was therefore during the siege.

the LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4 .

Set thine house in order = Give charge concerning thy house.

die, and not live = thou wilt certainly die. Figure of speech Pleonasm : by which a thing is put both ways (positive and negative) for emphasis.

Verse 2

prayed. As in Isaiah 37:4 ("lift up") and verses: Isaiah 38:14 , Isaiah 38:15 . Contrast Isaiah 39:2 , where, when the king of Babylon sent letters and he neglected prayer.

Verse 3

in truth. See note on Isaiah 10:20 .

wept sore = wept a great weeping. Figure of speech Polyptoton ( App-6 ), for emphasis. Compare 2 Kings 20:3 .

Verse 4

came. The only occurrence of this in the case of Isaiah. Compare Genesis 15:1 .

Verse 5

the God of David. This Divine title reminds and assures Hezekiah that Jehovah would be faithful to His promise made to David in 2 Samuel 7:0 . See App-67 and note on 2 Kings 20:5 .

fifteen years. Hence the number of the "Song of the Degrees". See App-67 .

Verse 6

I will deliver thee and this city. The city was thus still besieged.

I will. Hezekiah trusted this promise.

defend = shield. See note on Isaiah 31:5 .

Verse 7

a sign = the sign. Hezekiah had asked for this sign (see Isaiah 38:22 ). This shows that Isaiah 38:22 is not "displaced" as alleged. compare note on Isaiah 7:11 .

Verse 8

the shadow of the degrees. It is to these "degrees", or steps of the sundial of Ahaz his father, that Hezekiah refers in the title for "The Songs of the Degrees". See App-67 .

degrees = steps. Note the emphasis placed on these by the fivefold repetition of the word.

dial = degrees (making the fifth repetition of the word).

Verse 9

The writing, &c. Hebrew. michtab. Another spelling of michtam. See App-65 . This verse is the superscription common to most Psalms, corresponding with the subscription (Isaiah 38:20 ). See App-65 .

Verse 10

thegrave . Hebrew. Sheol. App-35 .

Verse 11

see THE LORD = appear before Jah. Reference to Pentateuch. See note on Isaiah 1:12 ; and on "appear" (Exodus 23:15 ; Exodus 34:20 ).

in the land of the living. This expression occurs three times with the Art. ("the living") in the Hebrew (viz. here; Job 28:13 ; and Psalms 142:5 ). Without the Art. it occurs eight times. See note on Ezekiel 26:20 .

the living: i.e. alive on the earth. Not Sheol, which is the place of the dead.

the world. Hebrew. hadel = a quiet land: i.e. when this invasion shall be ended. Some codices read heled (transposing the l and d) = the transitory world: hadel occurs only here.

Verse 12

age. Hebrew. dor = generation, or succession.

like a weaver. Supply Ellipsis thus: "like a weaver [his thread]. "See note on "weave" (Isaiah 19:9 ).

Verse 13

I reckoned = I waited expectantly.

as a lion = as a lion [awaits his prey].

so will He break. See note on Psalms 22:16 .

Verse 14

Like a crane or a swallow: or, like a twittering swallow.

mourn. See note on Psalms 55:17 . Compare Ezekiel 7:16 .

undertake = be a surety. Compare Job 17:3 ("put me in surety").

Verse 15

softly = slowly. Hebrew. dadah. Only here and in Psalms 42:4 ("went").

soul. Hebrew. nephesh . App-13 .

Verse 16

by these, &c. = upon these [Thy doings (Isaiah 38:15 ) men] revive (Psalms 104:29 , Psalms 104:30 ), and the reviving of my spirit [is] altogether in them.

spirit. Hebrew. ruach .

Verse 17

pit of corruption. = pit or corruption.

behind Thy back. Sins unforgiven are said to be "before His face" (Psalms 109:14 , Psalms 109:15 .Jeremiah 16:17 . Hosea 7:2 ). Compare Micah 7:19 . Hence the "happinesses" of Psalms 32:1 , Psa 32:16 .

Verse 18

the grave. Hebrew. Sheol . App-35 . Put here by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Subject), for those who are in it.

not. Note the Ellipsis of the second negative. See note on Genesis 2:6 , and 1 Kings 2:9 . Compare for the teaching Psalms 6:5 ; Psalms 30:9 ; Psalms 88:10 , Psalms 88:12 .Ecclesiastes 9:10 .

celebrate. See note on "shall not give their light" (Isaiah 13:10 ).

they. Some codices read "and they".

Verse 19

The living, the living. Figure of speech Epizeuxis , for emphasis, implying that only such are able to praise.

the father to the children. Note the reference to the Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 4:9 ; Deuteronomy 6:7 ).

children = sons.

Verse 20

was ready. Supply "was gracious".

therefore, &c. Note the subscription above.

we will sing my songs: i.e. the "Songs of the Degrees" ( App-67 ). Where are "my songs", and what were they if not the fifteen songs named after the ten degrees by which the shadow of the sun went back on the sundial of Ahaz (verses: Isaiah 38:7 , Isaiah 38:8 )?

the house of the LORD. Note Hezekiah's love for this in these songs (Psalms 122:1 Psalms 122:9 ; Psalms 134:1 , Psalms 134:2 ). See App-67 .

Verse 22

What is the sign . . . ? See on Isaiah 7:8 .

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