Text -- Isaiah 23:18 (NET)

23:18 Her profits and earnings will be set apart for the Lord. They will not be stored up or accumulated, for her profits will be given to those who live in the Lord’s presence and will be used to purchase large quantities of food and beautiful clothes.

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Wesley: Isa 23:18

This is a prophecy concerning the conversion of the Tyrians to the true religion.

Wesley: Isa 23:18

Either out of covetousness, or for their pride and luxury, as they formerly did; but now they shall freely lay it out upon pious and charitable uses.

Wesley: Isa 23:18

For the support and encouragement of the ministers of holy things, who shall teach the good knowledge of the Lord. Although this does not exclude, but rather imply their liberality in contributing to the necessities of all Christians.

JFB: Isa 23:18

Her traffic and gains shall at last (long after the restoration mentioned in Isa 23:17) be consecrated to Jehovah. Jesus Christ visited the neighborhood of Tyre (Mat 15:21); Paul found disciples there (Act 21:3-6); it early became a Christian bishopric, but the full evangelization of that whole race, as of the Ethiopians (Isa 18:1-7), of the Egyptians and Assyrians (Isa. 19:1-25), is yet to come (Isa 60:5).

JFB: Isa 23:18

But freely expended in His service.

JFB: Isa 23:18

The ministers of religion. But HORSLEY translates, "them that sit before Jehovah" as disciples.

JFB: Isa 23:18

Changes of raiment constituted much of the wealth of former days.

JFB: Isa 23:18

Babylon, Philistia, Moab, Syria, Israel, Egypt, Edom, and Tyre (the miniature representative of all, as all kingdoms flocked into it)--he passes to the last times of the world at large and of Judah the representative and future head of the churches.

Calvin: Isa 23:18

18.But her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to the Lord This was another instance of the divine compassion towards Tyre. Though she had been restored, yet she was not converted to God, but continued to follow dishonest practices, so that she justly deserved to be ruined. And indeed she was again punished severely, when Alexander took the city by storm; but still the kingdom of Christ, as Luke informs us, was erected there. (Act 21:4.) This verse ought therefore to be viewed as contrasted with the former, as if he had said, “ And yet the merchandise of Tyre shall be consecrated to God.” Here we have an astonishing proof of the goodness of God, which penetrated not only into this abominable brothel, but almost into hell itself. The restoration of Tyre ought thus to be regarded as a proof of the goodness of God; but the former favor was small in comparison with the second, when God consecrated her to himself.

But a question arises, “Could that which the inhabitants of Tyre obtained by cheating and unlawful methods be offered to God in sacrifice?” For God abhors such sacrifices, and demands an honest and pure conscience. (Pro 21:27, Isa 1:13.) Many commentators, in expounding this passage, give themselves much uneasiness about this question, but without any good reason; for the Prophet does not mean that the merchandise of Tyre will be consecrated to God while she continues to commit fornication, but describes a time subsequent to her change and conversion. At that time she will not lay up riches for herself, will not amass them by unlawful methods, but will employ them in the service of God, and will spend the produce of her merchandise in relieving the wants of the godly. When he used a word expressive of what was disgraceful, he had his eye on the past, but intimated that she would unlearn those wicked practices, and change her disposition.

It shall not be treasured nor laid up He describes, in a few words, the repentance of Tyre, who, having formerly been addicted to avarice, has been converted to Christ, and will no longer labor to amass riches, but will employ them in kind and generous actions; and this is the true fruit of repentance, as Paul admonishes, that “he who stole should steal no more, but, on the contrary, should labor that he might relieve the poor and needy.” (Eph 4:28.) Isaiah foretells that the inhabitants of Tyre, who formerly, through insatiable avarice, devoured the riches of all, will henceforth take pleasure in generous actions, because they will no longer have an insatiable desire of gain. It is an evidence of brotherly love when we relieve our neighbors, as it is an evidence of cruelty if we suffer them to be hungry, especially when we ourselves have abundance.

Her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before the Lord. He next mentions a proper method of exercising generosity, which is, to employ their wealth in aiding the servants of God. Though he includes all godly persons, yet he alludes to the Levites and priests, some of whom sacrificed, while others made ready the sacrifices, and others kept watch, and, in short, all were ready to perform their duty; and therefore they were said to “dwell before the Lord.” (Num 3:1.) The same thing may justly be said of all the ministers of the Church. But as all believers, of whatever rank they are, belong to the sanctuary of God, and have been made by Christ “a royal priesthood,” (1Pe 2:9; Rev 1:6,) that they may stand in the presence of God, so I willingly regard this passage as relating to all “the household of faith,” (Gal 6:10,) to whom attention is especially due; for Paul holds them out as having the highest claims, and enjoins that they shall be first relieved. If the tie which binds us universally to mankind ought to prevent us from “despising our own flesh,” (Isa 58:7,) how much more the tie that binds the members of Christ, which is closer and more sacred than any natural bonds?

We ought also to attend to this mode of expression, by which we are said to “dwell before God;” ¹¹⁸ for though there is not now any “Ark of the Covenant,” (Heb 9:4,) yet, through the kindness of Christ, we approach more nearly to God than the Levites formerly did. We are therefore enjoined to “walk before him,” as if we were under his eye, that we may follow holiness and justice with a pure conscience. We are enjoined to walk before him, and always to consider him as present, that we may be just and upright.

That they may eat till they are satisfied ¹¹⁹ The Prophet means that we ought to supply the wants of brethren with greater abundance and generosity than what is customary among men; for when neighbors ought to be relieved, men are very niggardly. Few men perform cheerfully any gratuitous duty, or labor, or kindness; for they reckon that they give up and take from their own property all that they bestow on others. For the purpose of correcting this error, God highly commends cheerfulness; for the command which Paul gives to deacons, “to distribute joyfully,” (Rom 12:8,) ought to be applied to all; and all ought to remember that passage which declares that “God loveth a cheerful giver.” (2Co 9:7.)

It deserves our attention, also, that the Prophet says that what is bestowed on the poor is consecrated to God; as the Spirit elsewhere teaches, that “with such sacrifices God is well pleased.” (Heb 13:16; 2Co 9:12.) Never was it on his own account that he commanded sacrifices to be made, nor did he ever stand in need of them. But under the law he ordained such exercises of piety; and he now commands us to bestow and spend on our neighbors something that is our own, and declares that all that we lay out on their account ¹²⁰ is “a sacrifice of sweet savor,” (Phi 4:18,) and is approved and accepted by him. This ought powerfully to inflame us to the exercise of kindness and generosity, when we learn that our alms are so highly applauded, and that our hands, as well as our gift, are consecrated to God.

TSK: Isa 23:18

her merchandise : Isa 60:6, Isa 60:7; 2Ch 2:7-9, 2Ch 2:11-16; Psa 45:12, Psa 72:10; Zec 14:20,Zec 14:21; Mar 3:8; Act 21:3-5

it shall : Mat 6:19-21; Luk 12:18-20,Luk 12:33, Luk 16:9-13

for them : Deu 12:18, Deu 12:19, Deu 26:12-14; Pro 3:9, Pro 3:10, Pro 13:22, Pro 28:8; Ecc 2:26; Mal 3:10; Mat 25:35-40; Luk 8:3; Act 9:39; Rom 15:25-27; Gal 6:6; Phi 4:17, Phi 4:18

durable : Heb. old

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: Isa 23:18

And her merchandise - The prophecy here does not mean that this would take place immediately after her rebuilding, but that subsequent to the seventy years of desolation this would occur.

Shall be holiness to the Lord - This undoubtedly means, that at some future period, after the rebuilding of Tyre, the true religion would prevail there, and her wealth would be devoted to his service. That the true religion prevailed at Tyre subsequently to its restoration and rebuilding there can be no doubt. The Christian religion was early established at Tyre. It was visited by the Saviour Mat 15:21, and by Paul. Paul found several disciples of Christ there when on his way to Jerusalem Act 21:3-6. It suffered much, says Lowth, under the Diocletian persecution. Eusebius (Hist. x. 4.) says that ‘ when the church of God was founded in Tyre, and in other places, much of its wealth was consecrated to God, and was brought as an offering to the church, and was presented for the support of the ministry agreeable to the commandments of the Lord.’ Jerome says, ‘ We have seen churches built to the Lord in Tyre; we have beheld the wealth of all, which was not treasured up nor hid, but which was given to those who dwelt before the Lord.’ It early became a Christian bishopric; and in the fourth century of the Christian era, Jerome (Commentary in Eze 26:7; Eze 27:2) speaks of Tyre as the most noble and beautiful city of Phenicia, and as still trading with all the world. Reland enumerates the following list of bishops as having been present from Tyre at various councils; namely, Cassius, Paulinus, Zeno, Vitalis, Uranius, Zeno, Photius, and Eusebius (see Reland’ s Palestine, pp. 1002-101l, in Ugolin vi.) Tyre continued Christian until it was taken by the Saracens in 639 a.d.; but was recovered again by Christians in 1124. In 1280, it was conquered by the Mamelukes, and was taken by the Turks in 1516. It is now under the dominion of the Sultan as a part of Syria.

It shall not be treasured ... - It shall be regarded as consecrated to the Lord, and freely expended in his service.

For them that dwell before the Lord - For the ministers of religion. The language is taken from the custom of the Jews, when the priests dwelt at Jerusalem. The meaning is, that the wealth of Tyre would be consecrated to the service and support of religion.

For durable clothing - Wealth formerly consisted much in changes of raiment; and the idea here is, that the wealth of Tyre would be devoted to God, and that it would be furnished for the support of those who ministered at the altar.

Poole: Isa 23:18

Her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to the Lord: he speaks not here of what the Tyrians would do immediately after their restitution, but some time after it, even in the days of the Messiah; of which even some of the Jewish rabbies understand it, and to which the prophets have a special respect in their several prophecies, and Isaiah among and above the rest of them. So this is a prophecy concerning the conversion of the Tyrians to the true religion, of the accomplishment whereof something is said Act 21:3-5 , and more in other authors.

It shall not be treasured nor laid up either out of covetousness, or for the service of their pride and luxury, as they formerly did; but now they shall freely lay it out upon pious and charitable uses.

For them that dwell before the Lord for the support and encouragement of the ministers of holy things, who shall teach the good knowledge of the Lord, who dwell in God’ s house, and minister in his presence; the support of such persons being not only an act of justice and charity, but also of piety, and of great use and necessity to maintain and propagate religion in the world. Although this doth not exclude, but rather imply, their liberality in contributing to the necessities of all Christians.

Haydock: Isa 23:18

Sanctified to the Lord. This alludes to the conversion of the Gentiles. (Challoner) ---

Before, the Tyrian were great enemies to the Jews, 2 Esdras xiii. 16., and 1 Machabees v. 15. Our Saviour wrought a miracle in favour of one of this country, Matthew v. 22., and Zacharias viii. 20. (Calmet) ---

Continuance. Literally, "old age." Aquila, "with changes of dress." (Haydock)

Gill: Isa 23:18

And her merchandise, and her hire,.... Or, "but her merchandise", &c. not the same as before; or, however, not as carried on at the same time, but many ages after, even in the times of the Gospel; for this part of the prophecy respects the conversion of the Tyrians, in the first ages of Christianity; this is prophesied of elsewhere, Psa 45:12 and was fulfilled in the times of the apostles, Act 11:19 and so Kimchi and Jarchi say this is a prophecy to be fulfilled in the days of the Messiah ^m; and then the trade of this people, and what they got by it,

should be holiness to the Lord; that is, devoted, at least, great part of it, to holy uses and service; that is, in defraying of all expenses in carrying on the worship of God, for the maintenance of Gospel ministers, and for the supply and support of the poor saints:

it shall not be treasured, nor laid up: in order to be laid out in pride and luxury; or to be kept as useless, to gratify a covetous disposition; or for posterity to come:

for her merchandise shall be laid up for them, that dwell before the Lord; part of what should be gained by trading, at least, should be laid by for religious uses, as is directed, 1Co 16:1 even for the relief of poor saints in general, who assemble together before the Lord, for the sake of his worship; and particularly for the support of the ministers of the Gospel, who stand before the Lord, and minister in holy things, in his name, to the people:

to eat sufficiently; that they may have food convenient for them, and enough of it; or, in other words, have a sufficient maintenance, a comfortable supply of food for themselves and families, and raiment also; as follows:

and for durable clothing; that they may have a supply of clothing, and never want a coat to put upon their backs. This prophecy, as it belongs to Gospel times, is a proof of the maintenance of Gospel ministers, that they ought to be liberally provided for; and care should be taken that they want not food and raiment, but have a fulness and sufficiency of both, and that which is convenient for them.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Isa 23:18

¹ tn Heb “for eating to fullness and for beautiful covering[s].”

sn The point of this verse, which in its blatant nationalism comes precariously close to comparing the Lord to one who controls or manages a prostitute, is that Tyre will become a subject of Israel and her God. Tyre’s commercial profits will be used to enrich the Lord’s people.

Geneva Bible: Isa 23:18

And her merchandise and her hire shall be ^{( z )} holiness to the LORD: it shall not be treasured nor laid up; for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before the LORD, for sufficient food and for durable clothing.

^{( z )} He shows that God yet by the preaching of the gospel will call Tyre to repentance and turn her heart from evil and filthy gain, to the true worshipping of God, and liberality toward his saints.

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: Isa 23:1-18

1 The miserable overthrow of Tyre.

15 Her restoration and whoredoms.

MHCC: Isa 23:15-18

The desolations of Tyre were not to be for ever. The Lord will visit Tyre in mercy. But when set at liberty, she will use her old arts of temptation. The love of worldly wealth is spiritual idolatry; and covetousness is spiritual idolatry. This directs those that have wealth, to use it in the service of God. When we abide with God in our worldly callings, when we do all in our power to further the gospel, then our merchandise and hire are holiness to the Lord, if we look to his glory. Christians should carry on business as God's servants, and use riches as his stewards.

Matthew Henry: Isa 23:15-18

Here is, I. The time fixed for the continuance of the desolations of Tyre, which were not to be perpetual desolations: Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, Isa 23:15. So long it shall lie neglected and buried in obscurity. It was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar much about the time that Jerusalem was, and lay as long as it did in its ruins. See the folly of that proud ambitious conqueror. What the richer, what the stronger, was he for making himself master of Tyre, when all the inhabitants were driven out of it and he had none of his own subjects to spare for the replenishing and fortifying of it? It is surprising to see what pleasure men could take in destroying cities and making their memorial perish with them, Psa 9:6. He trampled on the pride of Tyre, and therein served God's purpose; but with greater pride, for which God soon after humbled him.

II. A prophecy of the restoration of Tyre to its glory again: After the end of seventy years, according to the years of one king, or one dynasty or family of kings, that of Nebuchadnezzar; when that expired, the desolations of Tyre came to an end. And we may presume that Cyrus at the same time when he released the Jews, and encouraged them to rebuild Jerusalem, released the Tyrians also, and encouraged them to rebuild Tyre. Thus the prosperity and adversity of places, as well as persons, are set the one over against the other, that the most glorious cities may not be secure nor the most ruinous despair. It is foretold, 1. That God's providence shall gain smile upon this ruined city (Isa 23:17): The Lord will visit Tyre in mercy; for, though he contend, he will not contend for ever. It is not said, Her old acquaintance shall visit her, the colonies she has planted, and the trading cities she has had correspondence with (they have forgotten her); but, The Lord shall visit her by some unthought-of turn; he shall cause his indignation towards her to cease, and then things will run of course in their former channel. 2. That she shall use her best endeavours to recover her trade again. She shall sing as a harlot, that has been some time under correction for her lewdness; but, when she is set at liberty (so violent is the bent of corruption), she will use her old arts of temptation. The Tyrians having returned from their captivity, and those that remained recovering new spirits thereupon, they shall contrive how to force a trade, shall procure the best choice of goods, under-sell their neighbours, and be obliging to all customers; as a harlot that has been forgotten, when she comes to be spoken of again, recommends herself to company by singing and playing, takes a harp, goes about the city, perhaps in the night, serenading, makes sweet melody, and sings many songs. These are innocent and allowable diversions, if soberly, and moderately, and modestly used; but those that value themselves upon their virtue should not be over-fond of them, nor ambitious to excel in them, because, whatever they are now, anciently they were some of the baits with which harlots used to entice fools. Tyre shall now by degrees come to be the mart of nations again; she shall return to her hire, to her traffic, and shall commit fornication (that is, she shall have dealings in trade, for the prophet carries on the similitude of a harlot) with all the kingdoms of the world that she had formerly traded with in her prosperity. The love of worldly wealth is a spiritual whoredom, and therefore covetous people are called adulterers and adulteresses (Jam 4:4), and covetousness is spiritual idolatry. 3. That, having recovered her trade again, she shall make a better use of it than she had done formerly; and this good she should get by her calamities (Isa 23:18): Her merchandise, and her hire, shall be holiness to the Lord. The trade of Tyre, and all the gains of her trade, shall be devoted to God and to his honour and employed in his service. It shall not be treasured and hoarded up, as formerly, to be the matter of their pride and the support of their carnal confidence; but it shall be laid out in acts of piety and charity. What they can spare from the maintenance of themselves and their families shall be for those that dwell before the Lord, for the priests, the Lord's ministers, that attend in his temple at Jerusalem; not to maintain them in pomp and grandeur, but that they and theirs may eat sufficiently, may have food convenient for them, with as little as may be of that care which would divert them from their ministration, and that they may have, not rich and fine clothing, but durable clothing, that which is strong and lasting, clothing for old men (so some read it), as if the priests, though they were young, must wear such plain grave clothing as old men used to wear. Now, (1.) This supposes that religion should be set up in New Tyre, that they should come to the knowledge of the true God and into communion with the Israel of God. Perhaps their being fellow-captives with the Jews in Babylon (who had prophets with them there) disposed them to join with them in their worship there, and turned them from idols, as it cured the Jews of their idolatry: and when they were released with them, and as they had reason to believe for their sakes, when they were settled again in Tyre, they would send gifts and offerings to the temple, and presents to the priests. We find men of Tyre then dwelling in the land of Judah, Neh 13:16. Tyre and Sidon were better disposed to religion in Christ's time than the cities of Israel; for, if Christ had gone among them, they would have repented, Mat 11:21. And we meet with Christians at Tyre (Act 21:3, Act 21:4), and, many years after, did Christianity flourish there. Some of the rabbin refer this prophecy of the conversion of Tyre to the days of the Messiah. (2.) It directs those that have estates to make use of them in the service of God and religion, and to reckon that best laid up which is so laid out. Both the merchandise of the tradesmen and the hire of the day-labourers shall be devoted to God. Both the merchandise (the employment we follow) and the hire (the gain of our employments) must be holiness to the Lord, alluding to the motto engraven on the frontlet of the high priest (Exo 39:30), and to the separation of the tithe under the law, Lev 27:30. See a promise like this referring to gospel times, Zec 14:20, Zec 14:21. We must first give up ourselves to be holiness to the Lord before what we do, or have, or get, can be so. When we abide with God in our particular callings, and do common actions after a godly sort - when we abound in works of piety and charity, are liberal in relieving the poor, and supporting the ministry, and encouraging the gospel - then our merchandise and our hire are holiness to the Lord, if we sincerely look at his glory in them. And our wealth need not be treasured and laid up on earth; for it is treasured and laid up in heaven, in bags that wax not old, Luk 12:33.

Keil-Delitzsch: Isa 23:18

This restoration of the trade of Tyre is called a visitation on the part of Jehovah, because, however profane the conduct of Tyre might be, it was nevertheless a holy purpose to which Jehovah rendered it subservient. "And her gain and her reward of prostitution will be holy to Jehovah: it is not stored up nor gathered together; but her gain from commerce will be theirs who dwell before Jehovah, to eat to satiety and for stately clothing." It is not the conversion of Tyre which is held up to view, but something approaching it. Sachar (which does not render it at all necessary to assume a form sâchâr for Isa 23:3) is used here in connection with ' ethnân , to denote the occupation itself which yielded the profit. This, and also the profit acquired, would become holy to Jehovah; the latter would not be treasured up and capitalized as it formerly was, but they would give tribute and presents from it to Israel, and thus help to sustain in abundance and clothe in stately dress the nation which dwelt before Jehovah, i.e., whose true dwelling-place was in the temple before the presence of God (Psa 27:4; Psa 84:5; mecasseh = that which covers, i.e., the covering; ‛ âthik , like the Arabic ‛atik , old, noble, honourable). A strange prospect! As Jerome says, "Haec secundum historiam necdum facta comperimus ."

The Assyrians, therefore, were not the predicted instruments of the punishment to be inflicted upon Phoenicia. Nor was Shalmanassar successful in his Phoenician war, as the extract from the chronicle of Menander in the Antiquities of Josephus ( Ant. ix. 14, 2) clearly shows. Elulaeus, the king of Tyre, had succeeded in once more subduing the rebellious Cyprians ( Kittaioi ). But with their assistance (if indeed ἐπὶ τούτους πέμπσας is to be so interpreted)

(Note: The view held by Johann Brandis is probably the more correct one-namely, that Shalmanassar commenced the contest by sending an army over to the island against the Chittaeans ( ἐπὶ not in the sense of ad , to, but of contra , against, just as in the expression further on, ἐπ ̓ αὐτοὺς ὑπέστρεψε , contra eos rediit ), probably to compel them to revolt again from the Tyrians. Rawlinson ( Monarchies , ii. 405) proposes, as an emendation of the text, ἐπὶ του'τον ,by which the Cyprian expedition is got rid of altogether.))

Shalmanassar made war upon Phoenicia, though a general peace soon put an end to this campaign. Thereupon Sidon, Ace, Palaetyrus, and many other cities, fell away from Tyrus (insular Tyre), and placed themselves under Assyrian supremacy. But as the Tyrians would not do this, Shalmanassar renewed the war; and the Phoenicians that were under his sway supplied him with six hundred ships and eight hundred rowers for this purpose. The Tyrians, however, fell upon them with twelve vessels of war, and having scattered the hostile fleet, took about five hundred prisoners. This considerably heightened the distinction of Tyre. And the king of Assyria was obliged to content himself with stationing guards on the river (Leontes), and at the conduits, to cut off the supply of fresh water from the Tyrians. This lasted for five years, during the whole of which time the Tyrians drank from wells that they hand sunk themselves. Now, unless we want to lower the prophecy into a mere picture of the imagination, we cannot understand it as pointing to Asshur as the instrument of punishment, for the simple reason that Shalmanassar was obliged to withdraw from the "fortress of the sea"without accomplishing his purpose, and only succeeded in raising it to all the greater honour. But it is a question whether even Nebuchadnezzar was more successful with insular Tyre. All that Josephus is able to tell us from the Indian and Phoenician stories of Philostratus, is that Nebuchadnezzar besieged Tyre for thirteen years in the reign of Ithobal ( Ant. x. 11, 1). And from Phoenician sources themselves, he merely relates (c. Ap. i. 21) that Nebuchadnezzar besieged Tyre for thirteen years under Ithobal (viz., from the seventh year of his reign onwards). But so much, at any rate, may apparently be gathered from the account of the Tyrian government which follows, viz., that the Persian era was preceded by the subjection of the Tyrians to the Chaldeans, inasmuch as they sent twice to fetch their king from Babylon. When the Chaldeans made themselves masters of the Assyrian empire, Phoenicia (whether with or without insular Tyre, we do not know) was a satrapy of that empire (Josephus, Ant. x. 11, 1; c. Ap. i. 19, from Berosus), and this relation still continued at the close of the Chaldean rule. So much is certain, however - and Berosus, in fact, says it expressly - viz. that Nebuchadnezzar once more subdued Phoenicia when it rose in rebellion; and that when he was called home to Babylon in consequence of the death of his father, he returned with Phoenician prisoners. What we want, however, is a direct account of the conquest of Tyre by the Chaldeans. Neither Josephus nor Jerome could give any such account. And the Old Testament Scriptures appear to state the very opposite - namely, the failure of Nebuchadnezzar's enterprise. For in the twenty-seventh year after Jehoiachim's captivity (the sixteenth from the destruction of Jerusalem) the following word of the Lord came to Ezekiel (Eze 29:17-18): "Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon has caused his army to perform a long and hard service against Tyre: every head is made bald, and every shoulder peeled; yet neither he nor his army has any wages at Tyre for the hard service which they have performed around the same."It then goes on to announce that Jehovah would give Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar, and that this would be the wages of his army. Gesenius, Winer, Hitzig, and others, infer from this passage, when taken in connection with other non-Israelitish testimonies given by Josephus, which merely speak of a siege, that Nebuchadnezzar did not conquer Tyre; but Hengstenberg ( de rebus Tyriorum , 1832), Hävernick ( Ezek . pp. 427-442), and Drechsler ( Isaiah ii. 166-169) maintain by arguments, which have been passed again and again through the sieve, that this passage presupposes the conquest of Tyre, and merely announces the disproportion between the profit which Nebuchadnezzar derived from it and the effort that it cost him. Jerome (on Ezekiel) gives the same explanation. When the army of Nebuchadnezzar had made insular Tyre accessible by heaping up an embankment with enormous exertions, and they were in a position to make use of their siege artillery, they found that the Tyrians had carried away all their wealth in vessels to the neighbouring islands; "so that when the city was taken, Nebuchadnezzar found nothing to repay him for his labour; and because he had obeyed the will of God in this undertaking, after the Tyrian captivity had lasted a few years, Egypt was given to him"(Jerome).

I also regard this as the correct view to take; though without wishing to maintain that the words might not be understood as implying the failure of the siege, quite as readily as the uselessness of the conquest. But on the two following grounds, I am persuaded that they are used here in the latter sense. (1.) In the great trilogy which contains Ezekiel's prophecy against Tyre (Ezek 26-28), and in which he more than once introduces thoughts and figures from Isaiah 23, which he still further amplifies and elaborates (according to the general relation in which he stands to his predecessors, of whom he does not make a species of mosaic, as Jeremiah does, but whom he rather expands, fills up, and paraphrases, as seen more especially in his relation to Zephaniah), he predicts the conquest of insular Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar. He foretells indeed even more than this; but if Tyre had not been at least conquered by Nebuchadnezzar, the prophecy would have fallen completely to the ground, like any merely human hope. Now we candidly confess that, on doctrinal grounds, it is impossible for us to make such an assumption as this. There is indeed an element of human hope in all prophecy, but it does not reach such a point as to be put to shame by the test supplied in Deu 18:21-22. (2.) If I take a comprehensive survey of the following ancient testimonies: ( a ) that Nebuchadnezzar, when called home in consequence of his father's death, took some Phoenician prisoners with him (Berosus, ut sup. ); ( b ) that with this fact before us, the statement found in the Phoenician sources, to the effect that the Tyrians fetched two of their rulers from Babylon, viz., Merbal and Eirom, presents a much greater resemblance to 2Ki 24:12, 2Ki 24:14, and Dan 1:3, than to 1Ki 12:2-3, with which Hitzig compares it; ( c ) that, according to Josephus (c. Ap. i. 20), it was stated "in the archives of the Phoenicians concerning this king Nebuchadnezzar, that he conquered all Syria and Phoenicia;"and ( d ) that the voluntary submission to the Persians (Herod. Isa 3:19; Xen. Cyrop. i. 1, 4) was not the commencement of servitude, but merely a change of masters; - if, I say, I put all these things together, the conclusion to which I am brought is, that the thirteen years' siege of Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar ended in its capture, possibly through capitulation (as Winer, Movers, and others assume).

The difficulties which present themselves to us when we compare together the prophecies of Isaiah and Ezekiel, are still no doubt very far from being removed; but it is in this way alone that any solution of the difficulty is to be found. For even assuming that Nebuchadnezzar conquered Tyre, he did not destroy it, as the words of the two prophecies would lead us to expect. The real solution of the difficulty has been already given by Hävernick and Drechsler: "The prophet sees the whole enormous mass of destruction which eventually came upon the city, concentrated, as it were, in Nebuchadnezzar's conquest, inasmuch as in the actual historical development it was linked on to that fact like a closely connected chain. The power of Tyre as broken by Nebuchadnezzar is associated in his view with its utter destruction."Even Alexander did not destroy Tyre, when he had conquered it after seven months' enormous exertions. Tyre was still a flourishing commercial city of considerable importance under both the Syrian and the Roman sway. In the time of the Crusades it was still the same; and even the Crusaders, who conquered it in 1125, did not destroy it. It was not till about a century and a half later that the destruction was commenced by the removal of the fortifications on the part of the Saracens. At the present time, all the glory of Tyre is either sunk in the sea or buried beneath the sand - an inexhaustible mine of building materials for Beirut and other towns upon the coast. Amidst these vast ruins of the island city, there is nothing standing now but a village of wretched wooden huts. And the island is an island no longer. The embankment which Alexander threw up has grown into a still broader and stronger tongue of earth through the washing up of sand, and now connects the island with the shore - a standing memorial of divine justice (Strauss, Sinai und Golgotha , p. 357). This picture of destruction stands before the prophet's mental eye, and indeed immediately behind the attack of the Chaldeans upon Tyre - the two thousand years between being so compressed, that the whole appears as a continuous event. This is the well-known law of perspective, by which prophecy is governed throughout. This law cannot have been unknown to the prophets themselves, inasmuch as they needed it to accredit their prophecies even to themselves. Still more was it necessary for future ages, in order that they might not be deceived with regard to the prophecy, that this universally determining law, in which human limitations are left unresolved, and are miraculously intermingled with the eternal view of God, should be clearly known.

But another enigma presents itself. The prophet foretells a revival of Tyre at the end of seventy years, and the passing over of its world-wide commerce into the service of the congregation of Jehovah. We cannot agree with R. O. Gilbert ( Theodulia , 1855, pp. 273-4) in regarding the seventy years as a sacred number, which precludes all clever human calculation, because the Lord thereby conceals His holy and irresistible decrees. The meaning of the seventy is clear enough: they are, as we saw, the seventy years of the Chaldean rule. And this is also quite enough, if only a prelude to what is predicted here took place in connection with the establishment of the Persian sway. Such a prelude there really was in the fact, that, according to the edict of Cyrus, both Sidonians and Tyrians assisted in the building of the temple at Jerusalem (Ezr 3:7, cf., Isa 1:4). A second prelude is to be seen in the fact, that at the very commencement of the labours of the apostles there was a Christian church in Tyre, which was visited by the Apostle Paul (Act 21:3-4), and that this church steadily grew from that time forward. In this way again the trade of Tyre entered the service of the God of revelation. But it is Christian Tyre which now lies in ruins. One of the most remarkable ruins is the splendid cathedral of Tyre, for which Eusebius of Caesarea wrote a dedicatory address, and in which Friedrich Barbarossa, who was drowned in the Kalykadnos in the year 1190, is supposed to have been buried. Hitherto, therefore, these have been only preludes to the fulfilment of the prophecy. Its ultimate fulfilment has still to be waited for. But whether the fulfilment will be an ideal one, when not only the kingdoms of the world, but also the trade of the world, shall belong to God and His Christ; or spiritually , in the sense in which this word is employed in the Apocalypse, i.e., by the true essence of the ancient Tyre reappearing in another city, like that of Babylon in Rome; or literally , by the fishing village of Tzur actually disappearing again as Tyre rises from its ruins - it would be impossible for any commentator to say, unless he were himself a prophet.

Constable: Isa 7:1--39:8

III. Israel's crisis of faith chs. 7--39

This long section of the book deals with Israel's major decision in Isaiah's day. Would she trust in Yahweh or in other nations? The decision was a matter of faith; who is more trustworthy, God or strong people? God promised that trust in the nations would result in destruction (ch. 34) but trust in Him would bring abundance (ch. 35). Israel's decision would also determine whether she had a message for the nations or not and whether she would fulfill her mission to the nations or not. This decision is, of course, one that the people of God of all ages continually face.

Constable: Isa 13:1--35:10

B. God's sovereignty over the nations chs. 13-35

This major section of the book emphasizes the folly of trusting in the nations rather than in Yahweh. The section preceding it shows how King Ahaz trusted in Assyria and experienced destruction (chs. 7-12). The section following it shows how King Hezekiah trusted in the Lord and experienced deliverance (chs. 36-39). In this section the prophet expanded his perspective from Israel to include the world. The God of Israel is also Lord of the nations.

Constable: Isa 13:1--23:18

1. Divine judgments on the nations chs. 13-23

The recurrence of the Hebrew word massa', translated "oracle" or "burden," prescribes the boundaries of this section of text.¹⁴⁰ These chapters present the nations over which Immanuel is ruler, and they expand the idea of God's hatred of Assyria's pride (10:5-34; cf. 2:6-22; 13:11, 19; 14:11; 16:6; 17:7-11; 23:9). They are announcements of doom on these nations, but they are also announcements of salvation for Israel if she would trust in Yahweh. Isaiah delivered them to Israel rather than to the nations mentioned. Thus they assured the Israelites of Yahweh's sovereignty over the nations with a view to encouraging God's people to trust in the Lord (cf. Jer. 46-51; Ezek. 25-32; Amos 1-2). It would be foolish to trust in nations whom God has doomed. The unifying theme is the pride of these nations. Exalting self and failing to acknowledge God results in destruction.

". . . He [God] will hold every nation accountable for its actions."¹⁴¹

It is helpful to notice the structure of this section and the one that follows it.¹⁴²

Babylon (13:1-14:27)Political overthrow	The desert by the sea (Babylon) (21:1-10)Religious overthrow	The city of emptiness (24:1-20)Broken laws and gates
Philistia (14:28-32)A Davidic king will yet reign in Zion	Silence (Edom) (21:11-12)Indefinite continuance of things as they are	Zion's king (24:21-23)"After many days"
Moab (chs. 15-16)Moab in need, but through pride suffers destruction in spite of shelter in Zion	Evening (Arabia) (21:13-17)Desert tribes in need: no ultimate refuge in mutual security	The great banquet (ch. 25)All nations feasted in Zion save Moab, excluded by pride
Damascus/Ephraim (chs. 17-18)Strong cities forsaken; the forgotten rock	The Valley of Vision (Jerusalem) (ch. 22)The city torn down	The city of God (ch. 26)The strong city; the everlasting rock
Egypt (chs. 19-20)Co-equal membership: Egypt, Assyria and Israel	Tyre (ch. 23)Holiness to the Lord	The final gathering (ch. 27)The harvest from Egypt and Assyria

Note that each of the first two columns of oracles (chs. 13-23) begins with Babylon, and the third deals with Israel, which the peoples of the world surround. In the first list Babylon is to Israel's north, Philistia to the west, Moab to the east, and Egypt to the south. In the second list Babylon is to the north, Edom to the south, Arabia to the east, and Tyre to the west. Thus the selection of these nations suggests that Israel occupies the central place in God's plans, and the surrounding nations are vulnerable.¹⁴³

Constable: Isa 21:1--23:18

The second series of five oracles chs. 21-23

Compared to the first series of oracles against the Gentile nations, this second series is more negative. Also the nations and cities against which they were sent are not as clearly defined suggesting that they apply more broadly to all the nations, not just the historical ones addressed.

Constable: Isa 23:1-18

The oracle against Tyre ch. 23

The first cycle of oracles closed by revealing that Egypt, the political oppressor of the Israelites, would come into equal status with Israel in the future (19:25). The second cycle similarly closes by disclosing that Tyre, the materialistic religious corrupter of God's people in the past, would come into a relationship of holiness (v. 18). Thus the climax of both revelations of judgment was the divine blessing of the Gentiles.

There are also parallels between Babylon, the first oracle in the first series, and Tyre, the last oracle in the second series. Babylon was the great land power of the ancient world, and Tyre was the great sea power. Babylon gained her power through warfare whereas Tyre gained hers peacefully. The descriptions of both cities meld into the view of future Babylon presented in Revelation 17-18. There the religious and commercial aspect of future Babylon are strongly reminiscent of Tyre. Note also the reference to a prostitute in both passages.

"Babylon's greatness lay in her glory, the list of her achievements and accomplishments, her sophistication and culture. Tyre did not have all of that, but she did have her wealth and her vast maritime contacts. So between the two of them, Babylon and Tyre summed up from east to west all that the world of that day--and this--thought was significant."²¹²

This oracle consists of two parts: a poem describing Tyre's fall (vv. 1-14) and a prediction of Tyre's ultimate commitment to the Lord and His people. Tyre was the major city of Phoenicia at this time and undoubtedly represents the other towns allied with it in some of the references in this chapter.²¹³

23:1 The prophet described news of Tyre's total destruction reaching sailors on ships of Tarshish moored in Cyprus. Tarshish was probably in Spain, but "ships of Tarshish" was a term that described the largest ships of the day capable of the longest voyages (cf. 2:16). Tyre was a very important Mediterranean seaport north of Israel, and its destruction would impact maritime trade everywhere.

23:2-3 Isaiah also called the residents of the Phoenician coast, including Sidon, another important port, to be silent and motionless since Tyre had collapsed. Tyre had been the marketplace for the large wheat crops that came from Egypt and were distributed to other Mediterranean lands.

23:4 Isaiah also gave voice to the sea, the mother of Tyre, which bewailed its loss at Tyre's demise. It's children were the ships that plied its waters because of Tyre's commercial activity. This loss would be a source of embarrassment to Sidon since it was a sister city in Phoenicia.

23:5 The fourth entity to sorrow over the news of Tyre's downfall would be Egypt. Tyrian ships transported Egyptian products all over the Mediterranean region. Tyre's destruction would have far-reaching effects.

23:6-7 Isaiah advised refugees to flee from Tyre to Tarshish. How the course of Tyre's fate would change! She had for centuries been a world power, not as an empire but as a broker of international trade. Her ambitions were not political, to rule others, but commercial, to grow rich. As such, Tyre symbolizes one aspect of worldly endeavor.

23:8-9 Why had Tyre perished? When Tyre founded colonies, she set up rulers over them--bestowed crowns. Princes and the honored of the earth ended up serving Tyre's ends. Thus this ancient city had tremendous power and influence. The reason for Tyre's death was the plan of the Lord Almighty. He desired to humble the proud and to humiliate the admired. He wanted to show the transitory nature of human glory and the folly of depending on such glory. God does not object when worthy people receive the credit due them. What He opposes is pride that seeks to live independent of Himself.

23:10 Tarshish could now expand freely, as the Nile overflows Egypt, because God had removed her main competitor, Tyre.

23:11-12 The Lord had stretched His hand over the sea in judgment, as He had over Egypt long ago (cf. Exod. 14:16; 15:4-6, 12). The sea was His province, not Tyre's (cf. Jon. 1:3-4). He had made all kingdoms tremble by condemning the whole Gentile Canaan region to judgment. The Phoenician coastal cities would have no more joy, peace, or security. Their residents would flee to Cyprus, Tarshish, and elsewhere but would not be able to find rest.

23:13 They would not find rest because the Assyrians would take revenge on any nation that gave sanctuary to the Tyrians. God's agent in the destruction of Tyre was first Assyria, then Babylonia, and finally Greece. Tiglath-pileser of Assyria set up a military governor in Tyre in 738 B.C., and his successors imposed escalating restraints on the city because it stubbornly resisted foreign control. Alexander the Great finally wiped the city into the sea in 332 B.C. leaving it uninhabitable.²¹⁴ Here Isaiah pointed to Assyria as the power God would use to cut back the influence of Tyre. Assyria had already done to the Chaldeans what the prophet foretold it would do to Tyre.²¹⁵

23:14 This repeated call to the ships of Tarshish to wail concludes Isaiah's announcement of Tyre's destruction forming an inclusio with verse 1. Even though Tyre's demise would give Tarshish more control, Tarshish would suffer because Tyre determined the prosperity of the Mediterranean world. The ships of Tarshish would have no port to enter at Tyre (v. 1), and they would have no security for their enterprise (v. 14). How foolish it would be, then, for the Jerusalemites to pin their hopes on Tyre.

As in the previous chapter, Isaiah gave a sign that what he had predicted about Tyre's destruction would indeed happen (cf. 22:15-25). It would experience a brief revival in the near future. Looking into the far distant future, the prophet also announced the conversion of Tyre into a place of holiness to the Lord (cf. 19:16-25).

23:15-16 In the day that the Lord would execute His plan against Tyre, there would be a period of 70 years when Tyre would experience relief from her oppressors.²¹⁶ "Like the days of one king" refers to the book of days that kings kept in which they recorded the events of their reigns day by day. The meaning is similar to "as a hired man would count" (16:14; 21:16), namely, that these would be 70 literal years. Tyre did experience such a period of respite following the campaigns of Sennacherib in 701 B.C. During the next 70 years Assyria was in decline and did not pay much attention to Tyre.²¹⁷ Consequently Tyre regained some of her former strength.

23:16 Isaiah's comparison of Tyre's recovery to the self-advertisements of a harlot illustrates two realities. Tyre would attract interest in herself again, and what she did was selfish and strictly for money (cf. Amos 1:9).

23:17 At the end of 70 years the Lord would restore Tyre to her former position of playing the materialistic harlot among the nations.

23:18 Unlike a selfish prostitute, however, Tyre would set aside her income to the Lord, and it would benefit those who dwell in the Lord's presence. When the Jewish exiles returned from Babylon, the merchants of Tyre sold them building materials for the second temple (Ezra 3:7), as they had done for the first temple during Solomon's reign (1 Kings 5:1-12). But the change in the Tyrians' attitude that this verse promises did not mark them then; they still engaged in commerce for selfish ends. Thus this verse looks beyond the history of ancient Tyre to a time yet future when God will transform hearts and cause Gentiles worldwide to come and worship Him (cf. 60:5-9; Rev. 21:24-26).²¹⁸ In the future Tyre will have a new status, a new spirit, and a new allegiance (cf. Ps. 87:4). She will join the Ethiopians, Egyptians, Assyrians (18:7; 19:18-25), and many other Gentiles in uniting to fulfill God's glorification of Israel.

"The care of a Phoenician widow once extended to a prophet (1 Ki. 17:8-16) will be the norm of coming relationships."²¹⁹

The Judeans should not envy the Tyrians, nor should God's people of any age envy materialistic idolaters. Ultimately God's people will enjoy all the wealth of Tyre that will come to her God.

". . . chs. 13-23 seem to be saying that since the glory of the nations (chs. 13, 14) equals nothing, and since the scheming of the nations (chs. 14-18) equals nothing, and since the vision of this nation (chs. 21, 22) equals nothing, and since the wealth of the nations (ch. 23) equals nothing, don't trust the nations! The same is true today. If we believe that a system of alliances can save us, we have failed to learn the lessons of Isaiah and of history. God alone is our refuge and strength (Ps. 46:2 [Eng. 1])."²²⁰

Guzik: Isa 23:1-18

Isaiah 23 - The Burden Against Tyre

A. The promise of coming judgment against Tyre.

1. (1-5) The sailors of Tyre agonize when they hear of the destruction of their home port.

The burden against Tyre. Wail, you ships of Tarshish! For it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no harbor; from the land of Cyprus it is revealed to them. Be still, you inhabitants of the coastland, you merchants of Sidon, whom those who cross the sea have filled. And on great waters the grain of Shihor, the harvest of the River, is her revenue; and she is a marketplace for the nations. Be ashamed, O Sidon; for the sea has spoken, the strength of the sea, saying, "I do not labor, nor bring forth children; neither do I rear young men, nor bring up virgins." When the report reaches Egypt, they also will be in agony at the report of Tyre.

a. The burden against Tyre: To the north of Israel, Tyre was the leading city of Phoenecia, the great maritime power of the ancient world. Because it was such an important harbor and center for shipping, Tyre was synonymous with commerce and materialism.

i. Tyre was the "Babylon of the Sea." Because of their excellent harbor and seamanship, they established a commercial empire far greater than one would expect given their size and military power.

ii. Tyre was a city in two parts - an inland city, and an island city. The inland city was conquered by the Assyrians and the Babylonians, just as Isaiah prophesied. The island city was conquered later by Alexander the Great in 332 B.C.

iii. Tyre was a mixed bag for Israel. King Hiram of Tyre supplied David and Solomon great timbers for the building of the temple and other projects. Hiram gave Solomon sailors so Israel could build their commerce by sea. But later, Tyre gave Israel one of the worst rulers Israel ever had: Jezebel, the wife of King Ahab of Israel.

b. There is no house, no harbor: Isaiah pictures sailors from Tyre in the land of Cyprus and in Egypt hearing of the destruction of the harbor of Tyre. When they hear the news, the wail and are in agony at the report of Tyre.

2. (6-9) The proud city of Tyre is humbled.

Cross over to Tarshish; wail, you inhabitants of the coastland! Is this your joyous city, whose antiquity is from ancient days, whose feet carried her far off to dwell? Who has taken this counsel against Tyre, the crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whose traders are the honorable of the earth? The LORD of hosts has purposed it, to bring to dishonor the pride of all glory, to bring into contempt all the honorable of the earth.

a. Tyre was a city where money ruled. The merchants are princes, and the traders are the honorable of the earth. To be a leader or honorable, one didn't need to be of royal heritage, a good or a honest man. The only thing needed was success in business!

b. The LORD of hosts has purposed it, to bring dishonor the pride of all glory: Because of its great success, Tyre had become proud and full of self-glory. But the LORD of hosts has purposed to judge and humble Tyre, and Isaiah announces it.

i. "Pride, pride, pride, is that basic sin to which God is ever opposed, and man is ever expressing." (Jennings)

3. (10-14) The destruction of the city of Tyre.

Overflow through your land like the River, O daughter of Tarshish; there is no more strength. He stretched out His hand over the sea, He shook the kingdoms; the LORD has given a commandment against Canaan to destroy its strongholds. And He said, "You will rejoice no more, O you oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon. Arise, cross over to Cyprus; there also you will have no rest." Behold, the land of the Chaldeans, this people which was not; Assyria founded it for wild beasts of the desert. They set up its towers, they raised up its palaces, and brought it to ruin. Wail, you ships of Tarshish! For your strength is laid waste.

a. The Chaldeans . . . Assyria: The mainland city of Tyre was defeated by both the Assyrians and the Babylonians. They were used by God to bring the city to ruin.

B. A promise of restoration to the city of Tyre.

1. (15-16) Seventy years of desolation for the city of Tyre.

Now it shall come to pass in that day that Tyre will be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king. At the end of seventy years it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the harlot: "Take a harp, go about the city, you forgotten harlot; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that you may be remembered."

a. Tyre will be forgotten seventy years: God's judgments are so precise that He decrees the exact number of years Tyre will be forgotten.

b. That you may be remembered: Quoting what may have been a well-known song in his day, Isaiah makes the point that at the end of the seventy years appointed by God, Tyre will be remembered again.

2. (17-18) God's purpose in restoring the city of Tyre.

And it shall be, at the end of seventy years, that the LORD will visit Tyre. She will return to her hire, and commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth. Her gain and her pay will be set apart for the LORD; it will not be treasured nor laid up, for her gain will be for those who dwell before the LORD, to eat sufficiently, and for fine clothing.

a. She will return to her hire: God will allow Tyre, symbolized by a prostitute, to continue her gross materialism with all the kingdoms of the world. But Her gain and her pay will be set apart for the LORD; ultimately, the riches Tyre so desperately sought will be given to the LORD anyway.

b. The LORD will visit Tyre: Many commentators think this refers to the presence of Christianity in Tyre in the days of the early church.

i. "Tyre, after its destruction by Nebuchadnezzar, recovered, as it is here foretold, its ancient trade, wealth, and grandeur; as it did likewise after a second destruction by Alexander. It became Christian early with the rest of the neighboring countries. St. Paul himself found many Christian there, Acts 21:4. It suffered much in the Diocletian persecution. It was an archbishopric under the patriarchate of Jerusalem, with fourteen bishoprics under its jurisdiction. It continued Christian till it was taken by the Saracens in 639; was recovered by the Christians in 1124; but in 1280 was conquered by the Mamelukes and afterwards taken from them by the Turks in 1517. Since that time it has sunk into utter decay; is now a mere ruin, a bare rock, 'a place to spread nets upon,' as the Prophet Ezekiel foretold it should be, chapter 26:14." (Clarke)

© 2001 David Guzik - No distribution beyond personal use without permission

Introduction / Outline

JFB: Isaiah (Book Introduction)

ISAIAH, son of Amoz (not Amos); contemporary of Jonah, Amos, Hosea, in Israel, but younger than they; and of Micah, in Judah. His call to a higher degree of the prophetic office (Isa 6:1-13) is assigned to the last year of Uzziah, that is, 754 B.C. The first through fifth chapters belong to the closing years of that reign; not, as some think, to Jotham's reign: in the reign of the latter he seems to have exercised his office only orally, and not to have left any record of his prophecies because they were not intended for all ages. The first through fifth and sixth chapters are all that was designed for the Church universal of the prophecies of the first twenty years of his office. New historical epochs, such as occurred in the reigns of Ahaz and Hezekiah, when the affairs of Israel became interwoven with those of the Asiatic empires, are marked by prophetic writings. The prophets had now to interpret the judgments of the Lord, so as to make the people conscious of His punitive justice, as also of His mercy. Isa. 7:1-10:4 belong to the reign of Ahaz. The thirty-sixth through thirty-ninth chapters are historical, reaching to the fifteenth year of Hezekiah; probably the tenth through twelfth chapters and all from the thirteenth through twenty-sixth chapters, inclusive, belong to the same reign; the historical section being appended to facilitate the right understanding of these prophecies; thus we have Isaiah's office extending from about 760 to 713 B.C., forty-seven years. Tradition (Talmud) represents him as having been sawn asunder by Manasseh with a wooden saw, for having said that he had seen Jehovah (Exo 33:20; 2Ki 21:16; Heb 11:37). 2Ch 32:32 seems to imply that Isaiah survived Hezekiah; but "first and last" is not added, as in 2Ch 26:22, which makes it possible that his history of Hezekiah was only carried up to a certain point. The second part, the fortieth through sixty-sixth chapters, containing complaints of gross idolatry, needs not to be restricted to Manasseh's reign, but is applicable to previous reigns. At the accession of Manasseh, Isaiah would be eighty-four; and if he prophesied for eight years afterwards, he must have endured martyrdom at ninety-two; so Hosea prophesied for sixty years. And Eastern tradition reports that he lived to one hundred and twenty. The conclusive argument against the tradition is that, according to the inscription, all Isaiah's prophecies are included in the time from Uzziah to Hezekiah; and the internal evidence accords with this.

His WIFE is called the prophetess [Isa 8:3], that is, endowed, as Miriam, with a prophetic gift.

His CHILDREN were considered by him as not belonging merely to himself; in their names, Shearjashub, "the remnant shall return" [Isa 7:3, Margin], and Maher-shalal-hash-baz, "speeding to the spoil, he hasteth to the prey" [Isa 8:1, Margin], the two chief points of his prophecies are intimated to the people, the judgments of the Lord on the people and the world, and yet His mercy to the elect.

His GARMENT of sackcloth (Isa 20:2), too, was a silent preaching by fact; he appears as the embodiment of that repentance which he taught.

His HISTORICAL WORKS.--History, as written by the prophets, is retroverted prophecy. As the past and future alike proceed from the essence of God, an inspired insight into the past implies an insight into the future, and vice versa. Hence most of the Old Testament histories are written by prophets and are classed with their writings; the Chronicles being not so classed, cannot have been written by them, but are taken from historical monographs of theirs; for example, Isaiah's life of Uzziah, 2Ch 26:22; also of Hezekiah, 2Ch 32:32; of these latter all that was important for all ages has been preserved to us, while the rest, which was local and temporary, has been lost.

The INSCRIPTION (Isa 1:1) applies to the whole book and implies that Isaiah is the author of the second part (the fortieth through sixty-sixth chapters), as well as of the first. Nor do the words, "concerning Judah and Jerusalem" [Isa 1:1], oppose the idea that the inscription applies to the whole; for whatever he says against other nations, he says on account of their relation to Judah. So the inscription of Amos, "concerning Israel" [Amo 1:1], though several prophecies follow against foreign nations. EWALD maintains that the fortieth through sixty-sixth chapters, though spurious, were subjoined to the previous portion, in order to preserve the former. But it is untrue that the first portion is unconnected with those chapters. The former ends with the Babylonian exile (Isa 39:6), the latter begins with the coming redemption from it. The portion, the fortieth through forty-sixth chapters, has no heading of its own, a proof that it is closely connected with what precedes, and falls under the general heading in Isa 1:1. JOSEPHUS (The Antiquities of the Jews, 11. 1, sec. 1, 2) says that Cyrus was induced by the prophecies of Isaiah (Isa 44:28; Isa 45:1, Isa 45:13) to aid the Jews in returning and rebuilding the temple Ezr 1:1-11 confirms this; Cyrus in his edict there plainly refers to the prophecies in the second portion, which assign the kingdoms to him from Jehovah, and the duty of rebuilding the temple. Probably he took from them his historical name Cyrus (Coresh). Moreover, subsequent prophets imitate this second portion, which EWALD assigns to later times; for example, compare Jer. 50:1-51:64 with Isaiah's predictions against Babylon [Isa. 13:1-14:23]. "The Holy One of Israel," occurring but three times elsewhere in the Old Testament [2Ki 19:22; Psa 78:41; Psa 89:18; Jer 50:29; Jer 51:5], is a favorite expression in the second, as in the first portion of Isaiah: it expresses God's covenant faithfulness in fulfilling the promises therein: Jeremiah borrows the expression from him. Also Ecclesiasticus 48:22-25 ("comforted"), quotes Isa 40:1 as Isaiah's. Luk 4:17 quotes Isa 61:1-2 as Isaiah's, and as read as such by Jesus Christ in the synagogue.

The DEFINITENESS of the prophecies is striking: As in the second portion of isaiah, so in Mic 4:8-10, the Babylonian exile, and the deliverance from it, are foretold a hundred fifty years before any hostilities had arisen between Babylon and Judah. On the other hand, all the prophets who foretell the Assyrian invasion coincide in stating, that Judah should be delivered from it, not by Egyptian aid, but directly by the Lord. Again Jeremiah, in the height of the Chaldean prosperity, foretold its conquest by the Medes, who should enter Babylon through the dry bed of the Euphrates on a night of general revelry. No human calculation could have discovered these facts. EICHORN terms these prophecies "veiled historical descriptions," recognizing in spite of himself that they are more than general poetical fancies. The fifty-third chapter of Isaiah was certainly written ages before the Messiah, yet it minutely portrays His sufferings: these cannot be Jewish inventions, for the Jews looked for a reigning, not a suffering, Messiah.

Rationalists are so far right that THE PROPHECIES ARE ON A GENERAL BASIS whereby they are distinguished from soothsaying. They rest on the essential idea of God. The prophets, penetrated by this inner knowledge of His character, became conscious of the eternal laws by which the world is governed: that sin is man's ruin, and must be followed by judgment, but that God's covenant mercy to His elect is unchangeable. Without prophetism, the elect remnant would have decreased, and even God's judgments would have missed their end, by not being recognized as such: they would have been unmeaning, isolated facts. Babylon was in Isaiah's days under Assyria; it had tried a revolt unsuccessfully: but the elements of its subsequent success and greatness were then existing. The Holy Ghost enlightened his natural powers to discern this its rise; and his spiritual faculties, to foresee its fall, the sure consequence, in God's eternal law, of the pride which pagan success generates--and also Judah's restoration, as the covenant-people, with whom God, according to His essential character, would not be wroth for ever. True conversion is the prophet's grand remedy against all evils: in this alone consists his politics. Rebuke, threatening, and promise, regularly succeed one another. The idea at the basis of all is in Isa 26:7-9; Lev 10:3; Amo 3:2.

The USE OF THE PRESENT AND PRETERITE in prophecy is no proof that the author is later than Isaiah. For seers view the future as present, and indicate what is ideally past, not really past; seeing things in the light of God, who "calls the things that are not as though they were." Moreover, as in looking from a height on a landscape, hills seem close together which are really wide apart, so, in events foretold, the order, succession, and grouping are presented, but the intervals of time are overlooked. The time, however, is sometimes marked (Jer 25:12; Dan 9:26). Thus the deliverance from Babylon, and that effected by Messiah, are in rapid transition grouped together by THE LAW OF PROPHETIC SUGGESTION; yet no prophet so confounds the two as to make Messiah the leader of Israel from Babylon. To the prophet there was probably no double sense; but to his spiritual eye the two events, though distinct, lay so near, and were so analogous, that he could not separate them in description without unfaithfulness to the picture presented before him. The more remote and antitypical event, however, namely, Messiah's coming, is that to which he always hastens, and which he describes with far more minuteness than he does the nearer type; for example, Cyrus (compare Isa 45:1 with Isa 53:1-12). In some cases he takes his stand in the midst of events between, for example, the humiliation of Jesus Christ, which he views as past, and His glorification, as yet to come, using the future tense as to the latter (compare Isa 53:4-9 with Isa 53:10-12). Marks of the time of events are given sparingly in the prophets: yet, as to Messiah, definitely enough to create the general expectation of Him at the time that He was in fact born.

The CHALDÆISMS alleged against the genuineness of the second portion of Isaiah, are found more in the first and undoubted portion. They occur in all the Old Testament, especially in the poetical parts, which prefer unusual expressions, and are due to the fact that the patriarchs were surrounded by Chaldee-speaking people; and in Isaiah's time a few Chaldee words had crept in from abroad.

His SYMBOLS are few and simple, and his poetical images correct; in the prophets, during and after the exile, the reverse holds good; Haggai and Malachi are not exceptions; for, though void of bold images, their style, unlike Isaiah's, rises little above prose: a clear proof that our Isaiah was long before the exile.

Of VISIONS, strictly so called, he has but one, that in the sixth chapter; even it is more simple than those in later prophets. But he often gives SIGNS, that is, a present fact as pledge of the more distant future; God condescending to the feebleness of man (Isa 7:14; Isa 37:30; Isa 38:7).

The VARIETIES IN HIS STYLE do not prove spuriousness, but that he varied his style with his subject. The second portion is not so much addressed to his contemporaries, as to the future people of the Lord, the elect remnant, purified by the previous judgments. Hence its tenderness of style, and frequent repetitions (Isa 40:1): for comforting exhortation uses many words; so also the many epithets added to the name of God, intended as stays whereon faith may rest for comfort, so as not to despair. In both portions alike there are peculiarities characteristic of Isaiah; for example, "to be called" equivalent to to be: the repetition of the same words, instead of synonyms, in the parallel members of verses; the interspersing of his prophecies with hymns: "the remnant of olive trees," &c., for the remnant of people who have escaped God's judgments. Also compare Isa 65:25 with Isa 11:6.

The CHRONOLOGICAL ARRANGEMENT favors the opinion that Isaiah himself collected his prophecies into the volume; not Hezekiah's men, as the Talmud guesses from Pro 25:1. All the portions, the dates of which can be ascertained, stand in the right place, except a few instances, where prophecies of similar contents are placed together: with the termination of the Assyrian invasion (the thirty-sixth through thirty-ninth chapters) terminated the public life of Isaiah. The second part is his prophetic legacy to the small band of the faithful, analogous to the last speeches of Moses and of Jesus Christ to His chosen disciples.

The EXPECTATION OF MESSIAH is so strong in Isaiah, that JEROME To Paulinus calls his book not a prophecy, but the gospel: "He is not so much a prophet as an evangelist." Messiah was already shadowed forth in Gen 49:10, as the Shiloh, or tranquillizer; also in Psalms 2, 45, 72, 110. Isaiah brings it out more definitely; and, whereas they dwelt on His kingly office, Isaiah develops most His priestly and prophetic office; the hundred tenth Psalm also had set forth His priesthood, but His kingly rather than, as Isaiah, His suffering, priesthood. The latter is especially dwelt on in the second part, addressed to the faithful elect; whereas the first part, addressed to the whole people, dwells on Messiah's glory, the antidote to the fears which then filled the people, and the assurance that the kingdom of God, then represented by Judah, would not be overwhelmed by the surrounding nations.

His STYLE (HENGSTENBERG, Christology of the Old Testament,) is simple and sublime; in imagery, intermediate between the poverty of Jeremiah and the exuberance of Ezekiel. He shows his command of it in varying it to suit his subject.

The FORM is mostly that of Hebrew poetical parallelism, with, however, a freedom unshackled by undue restrictions.

JUDAH, the less apostate people, rather than Israel, was the subject of his prophecies: his residence was mostly at Jerusalem. On his praises, see Ecclesiasticus 48:22-25. Christ and the apostles quote no prophet so frequently.

JFB: Isaiah (Outline)

• PARABLE OF JEHOVAH'S VINEYARD. (Isa. 5:1-30)
• SIX DISTINCT WOES AGAINST CRIMES. (Isa. 5:8-23) (Lev 25:13; Mic 2:2). The jubilee restoration of possessions was intended as a guard against avarice.
• VISION OF JEHOVAH IN HIS TEMPLE. (Isa 6:1-13)
• PREDICTION OF THE ILL SUCCESS OF THE SYRO-ISRAELITISH INVASION OF JUDAH--AHAZ'S ALLIANCE WITH ASSYRIA, AND ITS FATAL RESULTS TO JUDEA--YET THE CERTAINTY OF FINAL PRESERVATION AND OF THE COMING OF MESSIAH. (Isa. 7:1-9:7)
• FATAL CONSEQUENCES OF AHAZ' ASSYRIAN POLICY. (Isa 7:17-25)
• THE COMING DESOLATE STATE OF THE LAND OWING TO THE ASSYRIANS AND EGYPTIANS. (Isa 7:21-25)
• CONTINUATION OF THE PROPHECY IN THE EIGHTH CHAPTER. (Isa 9:1-7)
• PROPHECY AS TO THE TEN TRIBES. (Isa. 9:8-10:4) Heading of the prophecy; (Isa 9:8-12), the first strophe.
• THANKSGIVING HYMN OF THE RESTORED AND CONVERTED JEWS. (Isa 12:1-6)
• THE THIRTEENTH THROUGH TWENTY-THIRD CHAPTERS CONTAIN PROPHECIES AS TO FOREIGN NATIONS.--THE THIRTEENTH, FOURTEENTH, AND TWENTY-SEVENTH CHAPTERS AS TO BABYLON AND ASSYRIA. (Isa. 13:1-22)
• CONFIRMATION OF THIS BY THE HEREFORETOLD DESTRUCTION OF THE ASSYRIANS UNDER SENNACHERIB. (Isa 14:24-27)
• A CHORUS OF JEWS EXPRESS THEIR JOYFUL SURPRISE AT BABYLON'S DOWNFALL. (Isa 14:4-8)
• THE SCENE CHANGES FROM EARTH TO HELL. (Isa 14:9-11)
• THE JEWS ADDRESS HIM AGAIN AS A FALLEN ONCE-BRIGHT STAR. (Isa 14:12-15)
• THE PASSERS-BY CONTEMPLATE WITH ASTONISHMENT THE BODY OF THE KING OF BABYLON CAST OUT, INSTEAD OF LYING IN A SPLENDID MAUSOLEUM, AND CAN HARDLY BELIEVE THEIR SENSES THAT IT IS HE. (Isa 14:16-20)
• GOD'S DETERMINATION TO DESTROY BABYLON. (Isa 14:21-23)
• A FRAGMENT AS TO THE DESTRUCTION OF THE ASSYRIANS UNDER SENNACHERIB. (Isa 14:24-27) In this verse the Lord's thought (purpose) stands in antithesis to the Assyrians' thoughts (Isa 10:7). (See Isa 46:10-11; 1Sa 15:29; Mal 3:6).
• PROPHECY AGAINST PHILISTIA. (Isa 14:28-32)
• THE FIFTEENTH AND SIXTEENTH CHAPTERS FORM ONE PROPHECY ON MOAB. (Isa 15:1-9)
• CONTINUATION OF THE PROPHECY AS TO MOAB. (Isa 16:1-14)
• CONTINUATION OF THE SUBJECT OF THE NINETEENTH CHAPTER, BUT AT A LATER DATE. CAPTIVITY OF EGYPT AND ETHIOPIA. (Isa 20:1-6)
• REPETITION OF THE ASSURANCE GIVEN IN THE THIRTEENTH AND FOURTEENTH CHAPTERS TO THE JEWS ABOUT TO BE CAPTIVES IN BABYLON, THAT THEIR ENEMY SHOULD BE DESTROYED AND THEY BE DELIVERED. (Isa 21:1-10)
• A PROPHECY TO THE IDUMEANS WHO TAUNTED THE AFFLICTED JEWS IN THE BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY. (Isa 21:11-12)
• PROPHECY THAT ARABIA WOULD BE OVERRUN BY A FOREIGN FOE WITHIN A YEAR. (Isa 21:13-17)
• PROPHECY AS TO AN ATTACK ON JERUSALEM. (Isa 22:1-14)
• PROPHECY THAT SHEBNA SHOULD BE DEPOSED FROM BEING PREFECT OF THE PALACE, AND ELIAKIM PROMOTED TO THE OFFICE. (Isa 22:15-25)
• PROPHECY RESPECTING TYRE. (Isa. 23:1-18)
• THE LAST TIMES OF THE WORLD IN GENERAL, AND OF JUDAH AND THE CHURCH IN PARTICULAR. (Isa. 24:1-23)
• CONTINUATION OF THE TWENTY-FOURTH CHAPTER. THANKSGIVING FOR THE OVERTHROW OF THE APOSTATE FACTION, AND THE SETTING UP OF JEHOVAH'S THRONE ON ZION. (Isa 25:1-12)
• CONNECTED WITH THE TWENTY-FOURTH AND TWENTY-FIFTH CHAPTERS. SONG OF PRAISE OF ISRAEL AFTER BEING RESTORED TO THEIR OWN LAND. (Isa. 26:1-21)
• CONTINUATION OF THE TWENTY-FOURTH, TWENTY-FIFTH, AND TWENTY-SIXTH CHAPTERS. (Isa 27:1-13)
• COMING INVASION OF JERUSALEM: ITS FAILURE: UNBELIEF OF THE JEWS. (Isa. 29:1-24)
• THE THIRTIETH THROUGH THIRTY-SECOND CHAPTERS REFER PROBABLY TO THE SUMMER OF 714 B.C., AS THE TWENTY-NINTH CHAPTER TO THE PASSOVER OF THAT YEAR. (Isa. 30:1-32)
• THE CHIEF STRENGTH OF THE EGYPTIAN ARMIES LAY IN THEIR CAVALRY. (Isa 31:1-9)
• MESSIAH'S KINGDOM; DESOLATIONS, TO BE SUCCEEDED BY LASTING PEACE, THE SPIRIT HAVING BEEN POURED OUT. (Isa. 32:1-20)
• JUDGMENT ON IDUMEA. (Isa. 34:1-17) All creation is summoned to hear God's judgments (Eze 6:3; Deu 32:1; Psa 50:4; Mic 6:1-2), for they set forth His glory, which is the end of creation (Rev 15:3; Rev 4:11).
• CONTINUATION OF THE PROPHECY IN THE THIRTY-FOURTH CHAPTER. (Isa 35:1-10)
• SENNACHERIB'S INVASION; BLASPHEMOUS SOLICITATIONS; HEZEKIAH IS TOLD OF THEM. (Isa. 36:1-22)
• CONTINUATION OF THE NARRATIVE IN THE THIRTY-SIXTH CHAPTER. (Isa. 37:1-38)
• HEZEKIAH'S SICKNESS; PERHAPS CONNECTED WITH THE PLAGUE OR BLAST WHEREBY THE ASSYRIAN ARMY HAD BEEN DESTROYED. (Isa. 38:1-22)
• HEZEKIAH'S ERROR IN THE DISPLAY OF HIS RICHES TO THE BABYLONIAN AMBASSADOR. (Isa 39:1-8)
• SECOND PART OF THE PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. (Isa. 40:1-31)
• ADDITIONAL REASONS WHY THE JEWS SHOULD PLACE CONFIDENCE IN GOD'S PROMISES OF DELIVERING THEM; HE WILL RAISE UP A PRINCE AS THEIR DELIVERER, WHEREAS THE IDOLS COULD NOT DELIVER THE HEATHEN NATIONS FROM THAT PRINCE. (Isa. 41:1-29) (Zec 2:13). God is about to argue the case; therefore let the nations listen in reverential silence. Compare Gen 28:16-17, as to the spirit in which we ought to behave before God.
• MESSIAH THE ANTITYPE OF CYRUS. (Isa. 42:1-25)
• CONTINUATION OF THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER. (Isa. 44:1-28)
• BABYLON'S IDOLS COULD NOT SAVE THEMSELVES, MUCH LESS HER. BUT GOD CAN AND WILL SAVE ISRAEL: CYRUS IS HIS INSTRUMENT. (Isa 46:1-13)
• THE DESTRUCTION OF BABYLON IS REPRESENTED UNDER THE IMAGE OF A ROYAL VIRGIN BROUGHT DOWN IN A MOMENT FROM HER MAGNIFICENT THRONE TO THE EXTREME OF DEGRADATION. (Isa. 47:1-15)
• THE THINGS THAT BEFALL BABYLON JEHOVAH PREDICTED LONG BEFORE, LEST ISRAEL SHOULD ATTRIBUTE THEM, IN ITS "OBSTINATE" PERVERSITY, TO STRANGE GODS. (Isa 48:1-5). (Isa. 48:1-22)
• SIMILAR TO CHAPTER 42. (Isa 49:1-9). (Isa. 49:1-26)
• THE JUDGMENTS ON ISRAEL WERE PROVOKED BY THEIR CRIMES, YET THEY ARE NOT FINALLY CAST OFF BY GOD. (Isa 50:1-11)
• ENCOURAGEMENT TO THE FAITHFUL REMNANT OF ISRAEL TO TRUST IN GOD FOR DELIVERANCE, BOTH FROM THEIR LONG BABYLONIAN EXILE, AND FROM THEIR PRESENT DISPERSION. (Isa. 51:1-23)
• FIRST THROUGH THIRTEEN VERSES CONNECTED WITH FIFTY-FIRST CHAPTER. (Isa. 52:1-15)
• MAN'S UNBELIEF: MESSIAH'S VICARIOUS SUFFERINGS, AND FINAL TRIUMPH FOR MAN. (Isa 53:1-12)
• THE FRUIT OF MESSIAH'S SUFFERINGS, AND OF ISRAEL'S FINAL PENITENCE AT HER PAST UNBELIEF (Isa 53:6): HER JOYFUL RESTORATION AND ENLARGEMENT BY JEHOVAH, WHOSE WRATH WAS MOMENTARY, BUT HIS KINDNESS EVERLASTING. (Isa. 54:1-17)
• THE CALL OF THE GENTILE WORLD TO FAITH THE RESULT OF GOD'S GRACE TO THE JEWS FIRST. (Isa 55:1-13)
• THE PREPARATION NEEDED ON THE PART OF THOSE WHO WISH TO BE ADMITTED TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. (Isa 56:1-12)
• THE PEACEFUL DEATH OF THE RIGHTEOUS FEW: THE UNGODLINESS OF THE MANY: A BELIEVING REMNANT SHALL SURVIVE THE GENERAL JUDGMENTS OF THE NATION, AND BE RESTORED BY HIM WHO CREATES PEACE. (Isa. 57:1-21)
• REPROOF OF THE JEWS FOR THEIR DEPENDENCE ON MERE OUTWARD FORMS OF WORSHIP. (Isa 58:1-14)
• THE PEOPLE'S SIN THE CAUSE OF JUDGMENTS: THEY AT LAST OWN IT THEMSELVES: THE REDEEMER'S FUTURE INTERPOSITION IN THEIR EXTREMITY. (Isa. 59:1-21)
• ISRAEL'S GLORY AFTER HER AFFLICTION. (Isa. 60:1-22)
• MESSIAH'S OFFICES: RESTORATION OF ISRAEL. (Isa 61:1-11)
• INTERCESSORY PRAYERS FOR ZION'S RESTORATION, ACCOMPANYING GOD'S PROMISES OF IT, AS THE APPOINTED MEANS OF ACCOMPLISHING IT. (Isa 62:1-12)
• MESSIAH COMING AS THE AVENGER, IN ANSWER TO HIS PEOPLE'S PRAYERS. (Isa. 63:1-19)
• TRANSITION FROM COMPLAINT TO PRAYER. (Isa 64:1-12)
• GOD'S REPLY IN JUSTIFICATION OF HIS DEALINGS WITH ISRAEL. (Isa. 65:1-25)
• THE HUMBLE COMFORTED, THE UNGODLY CONDEMNED, AT THE LORD'S APPEARING: JERUSALEM MADE A JOY ON EARTH. (Isa. 66:1-24)

TSK: Isaiah (Book Introduction)

Isaiah has, with singular propriety, been denominated the Evangelical Prophet, on account of the number and variety of his prophecies concerning the advent and character, the ministry and preaching, the sufferings and death, and the extensive and permanent kingdom of the Messiah. So explicit and determinate are his predictions, as well as so numerous, that he seems to speak rather of things past than of events yet future; and he may be rather called an evangelist than a prophet. Though later critics, especially those on the continent, have expended much labour and learning in order to rob the prophet of his title; yet no one, whose mind is unprejudiced, can be at a loss in applying select portions of these prophecies to the mission and character of Jesus Christ, and to the events in his history which they are cited to illustrate by the sacred writers of the New Testament. In fact, his prophecies concerning the Messiah seem almost to anticipate the Gospel history; so clearly do they predict his Divine character. (Compare Isa 7:14 with Mat 1:18-23, and Luk 1:27-35; see Isa 6:1-13; Isa 9:6; Isa 35:4; Isa 40:5, Isa 40:9, Isa 40:19; Isa 42:6-8; compare Isa 61:1, with Luk 4:18; see Isa 62:11; Isa 63:1-4); his miracles (Isa 35:5, Isa 35:6); his peculiar character and virtues (Isa 11:2, Isa 11:3; Isa 40:11; Isa 43:1-3); his rejection (Compare Isa 6:9-12 with Mar 13:14; see Isa 7:14, Isa 7:15; Isa 53:3); his sufferings for our sins (Isa 50:6; Isa 53:4-11); his death and burial (Isa 53:8, Isa 53:9); his victory over death (Isa 25:8; Isa 53:10, Isa 53:12); his final glory (Isa 49:7, Isa 49:22, 33; Isa 52:13-15; Isa 53:4, Isa 53:5); and the establishment, increase, and perfection of his kingdom (Isa 2:2-4; Isa 9:2, Isa 9:7; Isa 11:4-10; Isa 16:5; Isa 29:18-24; Isa 32:1; Isa 40:4, Isa 40:5; Isa 42:4; Isa 46:13; Isa 49:9-13; Isa 51:3-6; Isa 53:6-10; Isa 55:1-3; Isa 59:16-21; 60; Isa 61:1-5; Isa 65:25); each specifically pointed out, and pourtrayed with the most striking and discriminating characters. It is impossible, indeed, to reflect on these, and on the whole chain of his illustrious prophecies, and not be sensible that they furnish the most incontestable evidence in support of Christianity. The style of Isaiah has been universally admired as the most perfect model of elegance and sublimity; and as distinguished for all the magnificence, and for all the sweetness of the Hebrew language.

TSK: Isaiah 23 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

Isa 23:1, The miserable overthrow of Tyre; Isa 23:15, Her restoration and whoredoms.

Poole: Isaiah (Book Introduction)

THE ARGUMENT

THE teachers of the ancient church were of two sorts:

1. Ordinary, the priests and Levites.

2. Extraordinary, the prophets. These were immediately called by God, and inspired, as with other singular gifts and graces, so particularly with a supernatural knowledge of Divine mysteries, and of future things, and invested by God with an authority superior not only to the ordinary teachers of the church, but in some sort even to the civil powers of the nation. These holy prophets, whose writings are contained in the sacred Scripture, are sixteen. Of these Isaiah is first in place, and, as may seem probable, in time also. But undoubtedly he was contemporary with Hosea, whom others suppose to have been before him. Compare Isa 1:1 , with Hos 1:1 . The Jews tell us that he was of the blood royal of Judah, which is uncertain. But undoubtedly he was the prince of all the prophets, whether we consider the great extent and variety of his prophecies, the excellency and sublimity of those mysteries which were revealed to him and by him, the majesty and elegancy of his style, or the incomparable liveliness and power of his sermons. He doth so evidently and fully describe the person, and offices, and sufferings, and kingdom of Christ, that some of the ancients called him the fifth evangelist. And it is observed, that there are more testimonies and quotations in the New Testament taken out of Isaiah than out of all the other prophets.

Poole: Isaiah 23 (Chapter Introduction)

CHAPTER 23

The destruction of Tyre, from God, for their pride, Isa 23:1-14 . The time of her rising again, Isa 23:15-17 , and conversion to God, Isa 23:18 .

MHCC: Isaiah (Book Introduction)

Isaiah prophesied in the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. He has been well called the evangelical prophet, on account of his numerous and full prophesies concerning the coming and character, the ministry and preaching, the sufferings and death of the Messiah, and the extent and continuance of his kingdom. Under the veil of the deliverance from Babylon, Isaiah points to a much greater deliverance, which was to be effected by the Messiah; and seldom does he mention the one, without alluding at the same time to the other; nay, he is often so much enraptured with the prospect of the more distant deliverance, as to lose sight of that which was nearer, and to dwell on the Messiah's person, office, character, and kingdom.

MHCC: Isaiah 23 (Chapter Introduction)

(Isa 23:1-14) The overthrow of Tyre.

(Isa 23:15-18) It is established again.

Matthew Henry: Isaiah (Book Introduction)

An Exposition, With Practical Observations, of The Book of the Prophet Isaiah

Prophet is a title that sounds very great to those that understand it, though, in the eye of the world, many of those that were dignified with it appeared very mean. A prophet is one that has a great intimacy with Heaven and a great interest there, and consequently a commanding authority upon earth. Prophecy is put for all divine revelation (2Pe 1:20, 2Pe 1:21), because that was most commonly by dreams, voices, or visions, communicated to prophets first, and by them to the children of men, Num 12:6. Once indeed God himself spoke to all the thousands of Israel from the top of Mount Sinai; but the effect was so intolerably dreadful that they entreated God would for the future speak to them as he had done before, by men like themselves, whose terror should not make them afraid, nor their hands be heavy upon them, Job 33:7. God approved the motion ( they have well said, says he, Deu 5:27, Deu 5:28), and the matter was then settled by consent of parties, that we must never expect to hear from God any more in that way, but by prophets, who received their instructions immediately from God, with a charge to deliver them to his church. Before the sacred canon of the Old Testament began to be written there were prophets, who were instead of Bibles to the church. Our Saviour seems to reckon Abel among the prophets, Mat 23:31, Mat 23:35. Enoch was a prophet; and by him that was first in prediction which is to be last in execution - the judgment of the great day. Jud 1:14, Behold, the Lord comes with his holy myriads. Noah was a preacher of righteousness. God said of Abraham, He is a prophet, Gen 20:7. Jacob foretold things to come, Gen 49:1. Nay, all the patriarchs are called prophets. Psa 105:15, Do my prophets no harm. Moses was, beyond all comparison, the most illustrious of all the Old Testament prophets, for with him the Lord spoke face to face, Deu 34:10. He was the first writing prophet, and by his hand the first foundations of holy writ were laid. Even those that were called to be his assistants in the government had the spirit of prophecy, such a plentiful effusion was there of that spirit at that time, Num 11:25. But after the death of Moses, for some ages, the Spirit of the Lord appeared and acted in the church of Israel more as a martial spirit than as a spirit of prophecy, and inspired men more for acting than speaking. I mean in the time of the judges. We find the Spirit of the Lord coming upon Othniel, Gideon, Samson, and others, for the service of their country, with their swords, not with their pens. Messages were then sent from heaven by angels, as to Gideon and Manoah, and to the people, Jdg 2:1. In all the book of judges there is never once mention of a prophet, only Deborah is called a prophetess. Then the word of the Lord was precious; there was no open vision, 1Sa 3:1. They had the law of Moses, recently written; let them study that. But in Samuel prophecy revived, and in him a famous epocha, or period of the church began, a time of great light in a constant uninterrupted succession of prophets, till some time after the captivity, when the canon of the Old Testament was completed in Malachi, and then prophecy ceased for nearly 400 years, till the coming of the great prophet and his forerunner. Some prophets were divinely inspired to write the histories of the church. But they did not put their names to their writings; they only referred for proof to the authentic records of those times, which were known to be drawn up by prophets, as Gad, Iddo, etc. David and others were prophets, to write sacred songs for the use of the church. After them we often read of prophets sent on particular errands, and raised up for special public services, among whom the most famous were Elijah and Elisha in the kingdom of Israel. But none of these put their prophecies in writing, nor have we any remains of them but some fragments in the histories of their times; there was nothing of their own writing (that I remember) but one epistle of Elijah's, 2Ch 21:12. But towards the latter end of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, it pleased God to direct his servants the prophets to write and publish some of their sermons, or abstracts of them. The dates of many of their prophecies are uncertain, but the earliest of them was in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and Jeroboam the second, his contemporary, king of Israel, about 200 years before the captivity, and not long after Joash had slain Zechariah the son of Jehoiada in the courts of the temple. If they begin to murder the prophets, yet they shall not murder their prophecies; these shall remain as witnesses against them. Hosea was the first of the writing prophets; and Joel, Amos, and Obadiah, published their prophecies about the same time. Isaiah began some time after, and not long; but his prophecy is placed first, because it is the largest of them all, and has most in it of him to whom all the prophets bore witness; and indeed so much of Christ that he is justly styled the Evangelical Prophet, and, by some of the ancients, a fifth Evangelist. We shall have the general title of this book (Isa 1:1) and therefore shall here only observe some things,

I. Concerning the prophet himself. He was (if we may believe the tradition of the Jews) of the royal family, his father being (they say) brother to king Uzziah. He was certainly much at court, especially in Hezekiah's time, as we find in his story, to which many think it is owing that his style is more curious and polite than that of some other of the prophets, and, in some places, exceedingly lofty and soaring. The Spirit of God sometimes served his own purpose by the particular genius of the prophet; for prophets were not speaking trumpets, through which the Spirit spoke, but speaking men, by whom the Spirit spoke, making use of their natural powers, in respect both of light and flame, and advancing them above themselves.

II. Concerning the prophecy. It is transcendently excellent and useful; it was so to the church of God then, serving for conviction of sin, direction in duty, and consolation in trouble. Two great distresses of the church are here referred to, and comfort prescribed in reference to them, that by Sennacherib's invasion, which happened in his own time, and that of the captivity in Babylon, which happened long after; and in the supports and encouragements laid up for each of these times of need we find abundance of the grace of the gospel. There are not so many quotations in the gospels out of any, perhaps not out of all, the prophecies of the Old Testament, as out of this; nor such express testimonies concerning Christ, witness that of his being born of a virgin (ch. 7) and that of his sufferings, Isa 53:1-12. The beginning of this book abounds most with reproofs for sin and threatenings of judgment; the latter end of it is full of wood words and comfortable words. This method the Spirit of Christ took formerly in the prophets and does still, first to convince and then to comfort; and those that would be blessed with the comforts must submit to the convictions. Doubtless Isaiah preached many sermons, and delivered many messages to the people, which are not written in this book, as Christ did; and probably these sermons were delivered more largely and fully than they are here related, but so much is left on record as Infinite Wisdom thought fit to convey to us on whom the ends of the world have come; and these prophecies, as well as the histories of Christ, are written that we might believe on the name of the Son of God, and that, believing, we might have life through his name; for to us is the gospel here preached as well as unto those that lived then, and more clearly. O that it may be mixed with faith!

Matthew Henry: Isaiah 23 (Chapter Introduction)

This chapter is concerning Tyre, an ancient wealthy city, situated upon the sea, and for many ages one of the most celebrated cities for trade and merchandise in those parts of the world. The lot of the tribe of Asher bordered upon it. See Jos 19:29, where it is called " the strong city Tyre." We seldom find it a dangerous enemy to Israel, but sometimes their faithful ally, as in the reigns of David and Solomon; for trading cities maintain their grandeur, not by the conquest of their neighbours, but by commerce with them. In this chapter is foretold, I. The lamentable desolation of Tyre, which was performed by Nebuchadnezzar and the Chaldean army, about the time that they destroyed Jerusalem; and a hard task they had of it, as appears Eze 29:18, where they are said to have " served a hard service against Tyre," and yet to have no wages (Isa 23:1-14). II. The restoration of Tyre after seventy years, and the return of the Tyrians out of their captivity to their trade again (Isa 23:15-18).

Constable: Isaiah (Book Introduction)

Introduction

Title and writer

The title of this book of the Bible, as is true of the other prophetical books, comes from its writer. The book claims to have come from Isaiah (1:1; 2:1; 7:3; 13:1; 20:2; 37:2, 6, 21; 38:1, 4, 21; 39:3, 5, 8), and Jesus Christ and the apostles quoted him as being the writer at least 21 times, more often than they quoted all the other writing prophets combined.¹ The name of Isaiah, the son of Amoz, is the only one connected with the book in any of the Hebrew manuscripts or ancient versions. Josephus, the Jewish historian who wrote at the end of the first century A.D., believed that Isaiah wrote this book. He said that Cyrus read the prophecies that Isaiah had written about him and wished to fulfill them.²

There is no record of any serious scholar doubting the Isaianic authorship of the entire book before the twelfth century when Ibn Ezra, a Jewish commentator, did so. With the rise of rationalism, however, some German scholars took the lead in questioning it in the late eighteenth century. They claimed that the basis for their new view was the differences in style, content, and emphases in the various parts of the prophecy. Many scholars have noted that it is not really the text itself that argues for multiple authorship as much as the presence of predictive prophecy in chapters 40-66, which antisupernaturalistic critics try to explain away.³ At first, there seemed to these critics to have been two writers whose respective emphases on judgment in chapters 1-39 and consolation in chapters 40-66 pointed to two separate writers, Isaiah and "Deutero-Isaiah." With further study, a theory of three writers ("Trito-Isaiah") emerged because of the differences between chapters 40-55 and 56-66. These critics sensed addresses to three different historical settings in these three parts of the book: Isaiah's lifetime (ca. 739-701 B.C.; chs. 1-39), the Babylonian exile (ca. 605-539 B.C.; chs. 40-55), and the return (ca. 539-400 B.C.; chs. 56-66).⁴

"Along with what is known as the JEDP theory of the origins of the Pentateuch, the belief in the multiple authorship of the book of Isaiah is one of the most generally accepted dogmas of biblical higher criticism today."⁵

However, internal and external evidence points to the unity of authorship. The title for God, "holy one of Israel," which reflects the deep impression that Isaiah's vision in chapter 6 made on him, occurs 12 times in chapters 1-39 and 14 times in chapters 40-66 but only seven times elsewhere in the entire Old Testament. Other key phrases, passages, words, themes, and motifs likewise appear in both parts of the book. Jewish tradition uniformly attributed the entire book to Isaiah as did Christian tradition until the eighteenth century. The Isaiah Dead Sea Scroll, the oldest copy of Isaiah that we have, dating from the second century B.C., has chapter 40 beginning in the same column in which chapter 39 ends.⁶

Isaiah was arguably the greatest of four prophets who lived and wrote toward the end of the eighth century. Amos and Hosea ministered in the northern kingdom of Israel at this time, and Micah and Isaiah served in Judah.⁷ Isaiah's name, "The Lord (Yahweh) is salvation," meaning the Lord is the source of salvation, symbolized his message.

". . . in that one name is compressed the whole contents of the book!"⁸

Isaiah lived in Jerusalem, and that capital city features prominently in his prophecies. His easy access to the court and Judah's kings, revealed in his book, suggests that he ministered to the kings of Judah and may have had royal blood in his veins. Jewish tradition made him the cousin of King Uzziah. His communication gifts and his political connections, whatever those may have been, gave him an opportunity to reach the whole nation of Judah. The prophet was married and had at least two sons to whom he gave names that also summarized major themes of his prophecies (8:18): Shearjashub (a remnant shall return, 7:3), and Maher-shalal-hash-baz (hastening to the spoil, 8:3).

Isaiah received his call to prophetic ministry in the year that King Uzziah died (740 B.C.; ch. 6). He responded enthusiastically to this privilege even though he knew from the outset that his ministry would be fruitless and discouraging (6:9-13). His wife was a prophetess (8:3) probably in the sense that she was married to a prophet; we have no record that she prophesied herself. Isaiah also trained a group of disciples who gathered around him (8:16). His vision of God, which he received at the beginning of his ministry, profoundly influenced Isaiah's whole view of life as well as his prophecies, as is clear from what he wrote.⁹

The prophet had a very broad appreciation of the political situation in which he lived. He demonstrated awareness of all the nations around his homeland. Judah and Jerusalem were the focal points of his prophecies, but he saw God's will for them down the corridors of time as well as in his own day. He saw that the kingdom that God would establish through His Messiah would include all people. He was a true patriot who denounced evils in his land as well as giving credit where that was due. He condemned religious cults yet remained neutral politically. His understanding of theology was profound. He set forth the wonder and grandeur of Yahweh more ably than any other biblical writer. As a writer, Isaiah is without a peer among the Old Testament prophets. He was a poetic artist who employed a large vocabulary and many literary devices to express his thoughts beautifully and powerfully. Most of his prophecies appear to have been messages that he delivered, which means that he was probably also a powerful orator.

There is no historical record of Isaiah's death. Jewish tradition held that he suffered martyrdom under King Manasseh (697-642 B.C.) because of his prophesying. The early church father Justin Martyr (ca. A.D. 150) wrote that the Jews sawed him to death with a wooden saw (cf. Heb. 11:37).¹⁰ Another ancient source says he took refuge in a hollow tree, but his persecutors discovered and extracted him. This may account for the unusual method of his execution.

Historical Background and Date

Isaiah ministered during the reigns of four Judean kings (1:1): Uzziah (792-740 B.C.), Jotham (750-732 B.C.), Ahaz (735-715 B.C.), and Hezekiah (715-686 B.C.).¹¹ The prophet began his ministry in the year that King Uzziah (or Azariah) died, namely, 740 or 739 B.C. (6:1).

During Uzziah's reign Judah enjoyed peace because of her surrounding nations' lack of antagonism and hostility. However, in 745 B.C. Tiglath-pileser III mounted the throne of Assyria and began to expand his empire. His three successors (Shalmaneser V, Sargon II, and Sennacherib) proved equally ambitious. Aram (Syria) and Israel (Ephraim) felt the pressure of Assyrian expansion before Judah did, but in King Ahaz's reign Judah had to make a crucial decision regarding her relationship to Assyria. Isaiah played a major role in that decision.

A second major crisis arose during the reign of King Hezekiah. By this time Babylon had defeated Assyria, and it was also expanding aggressively in Judah's direction. Again Isaiah played a major part in the decision about how Judah would respond to this threat.

". . . Isaiah exercised his prophetic ministry at a time of unique significance, a time in which it was of utmost importance to realize that salvation could not be obtained by reliance upon man but only from God Himself. For Israel it was the central or pivotal point of history between Moses and Christ. The old world was passing and an entirely new order of things was beginning to make its appearance. Where would Israel stand in that new world? Would she be the true theocracy, the light to lighten the Gentiles, or would she fall into the shadow by turning for help to the nations which were about her?"¹²

Sennacherib outlived Hezekiah, who died in 686 B.C., and Isaiah recorded the death of Sennacherib in 681 B.C. (37:38). Just how long the prophet ministered after that event is impossible to determine, but he must have prophesied for at least 60 years. However the bulk of the material in his book derives from the first 50 of those years (ca. 740-690 B.C.).

Important dates for Isaiah
Years	Events
745	Tiglath-pileser III of Assyria begins his reign
740	Uzziah of Judah dies; Isaiah begins his ministry
735	Ahaz of Judah begins his co-regency with Jotham; Pekah of Israel and Rezin of Aramea ally against Assyria
733-32	Tiglath-pileser invades Aramea and Israel
732	Damascus falls; Pekah and Rezin die; Jotham dies
727	Tiglath-pileser dies
722	Samaria falls; Shalmaneser V of Assyria dies and Sargon II begins to reign
715	Ahaz dies and Hezekiah begins his reign
711	Sargon attacks Ashdod and returns to Assyria
710	Sargon attacks Babylon
705	Sargon dies
701	Sennacherib of Assyria defeats Egypt at Eltekah and departs from Jerusalem; Merodach-baladan of Babylon sends messengers to visit Hezekiah
697	Manasseh of Judah begins his co-regency
690	Tirhakah of Egypt begins his reign
689	Sennacherib of Assyria defeats Babylon
686	Hezekiah dies
681	Sennacherib of Assyria dies and Esarhaddon begins to reign
671	Esarhaddon imports foreigners into Israel and defeats Egypt
612	Nineveh falls to Babylon
609	Nabopolassar of Babylon defeats Assyria and Assyria falls
605	Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon defeats Egypt at Carchemish; first deportation of Judahites to Babylon
597	Second deportation of Judahites to Babylon
586	Jerusalem falls to Nebuchadnezzar
559	Cyrus II of Persia begins to reign
539	Cyrus overthrows Babylon
538	Cyrus issues his decree allowing Jews to return to Palestine
530	Cyrus dies
518	Darius Hystaspes of Persia destroys Babylon

Audience and purpose

Isaiah ministered and wrote to the people of Jerusalem and Judah. His task was to explain to these chosen people that the old world order was passing away and that the new order, controlled by Gentile world empires that sought to swallow Judah up, required a new commitment to trust and obey Yahweh as His servant. The Assyrian threat called for this new dedication. This was a theological even more than a historical and political crisis for Judah. It raised many questions that Isaiah addressed.

"Is God truly the Sovereign of history if the godless nations are stronger than God's nation? Does might make right? What is the role of God's people in the world? Does divine judgment mean divine rejection? What is the nature of trust? What is the future of the Davidic monarchy? Are not the idols stronger than God and therefore superior to him?"¹³

The far-reaching nature of these questions called for reference to the future, which Isaiah revealed from the Lord. The Northern Kingdom had made the wrong commitment, which Amos announced, but the Southern Kingdom still had an opportunity to trust Yahweh and live.

"Stated briefly, the purpose of Isaiah is to display God's glory and holiness through His judgment of sin and His deliverance and blessing of a righteous remnant."¹⁴

Theology

The Book of Isaiah, the third longest book in the Bible after Psalms and Jeremiah, deals with as broad a range of theology as any book in the Old Testament. In this respect it is similar to Romans. However, there are four primary doctrines, all arising out of the prophet's personal experience with God in his call (ch. 6), that receive the most emphasis. These are God, man and the world, sin, and redemption.

Isaiah presented God as great, transcendently separate, authoritative, omnipotent, majestic, holy, and morally and ethically perfect. In contrast, he described sarcastically the stupidity of idolatry. God creates history as well as the cosmos, and He has a special relationship with Israel among the nations. The adjective "holy" (Heb. qadosh) describes God 33 times in Isaiah and only 26 times in the rest of the Old Testament. It is the primary attribute of God that this prophet stressed.

Isaiah showed the tremendous value that God places on humanity and the world but also the folly of pride and unbelief. Assuming pretensions to significance leads to insignificance for the creation, but giving true significance to God results in glory for humanity and the world. As all the other eighth-century prophets, Isaiah condemned injustice.

Sin is rebellion for Isaiah that springs from pride. The book begins and ends on this note (1:2; 66:24). All the evil in the world results from man's refusal to accept Yahweh's lordship. The prophet repeatedly showed how foolish such rebellion is. It not only affects man himself but also his environment. God's response to sin is judgment if people continue to rebel against Him, but He responds with redemption if they abandon self-trust and depend on Him. Sin calls for repentance, and forgiveness for the penitent is available.

God's judgment, the outworking of the personal rage of offended deity, takes many forms: natural disaster, military defeat, and disease being a few, but they all come from God's hand ultimately. The means of salvation can only be through God's activity. Substitutionary atonement makes possible God's announcement of pardon and redemption. This redemption comes through the promised Messiah ultimately, the Lord's anointed king. The goal of redemption is not just deliverance from sin's guilt but the sharing of God's character and fellowship. Salvation could only come to God's people as they accepted the role of servant. Deliverance cannot come to man through his own effort, but he must look to God alone for it. His emphasis on salvation has earned Isaiah the title of evangelist of the Old Testament.

Isaiah is strongly eschatological. In many passages the prophet dealt with the future destiny of Israel and the Gentiles. He wrote more than any other prophet of the great kingdom into which the Israelites would enter under Messiah's rule.

"We stand precisely on 56:1, looking back to the work of the Servant (now fulfilled in the person, life, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus) and looking forward to the coming of the Anointed Conqueror."¹⁵

Isaiah's emphasis on the coming Messiah is second only to the Psalms in the Old Testament in terms of its fullness and variety. God revealed more about the coming Messiah to Isaiah than He did to any other Old Testament character. Messianic themes in Isaiah include the branch, the stone (refuge), light, child, king, and especially servant. In some of the passages in Isaiah, Israel is the servant of the Lord that is in view, in others the faithful remnant in Israel is the servant, and in still others a future individual, the Messiah, must be in view. As Matthew clarified, Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of what God intended the Israelites to be (Matt. 2:15; cf. Hos. 11:1-2).

"What is the overarching theme of OT theology? Perhaps it is the covenant. Here in Isaiah, God's special relationship with Israel is presupposed throughout. Perhaps it is the kingdom of God. The whole structure of the book brings out the implications of God's sovereign control of things in the interests of his kingdom. Perhaps it is promise and fulfillment. Here we see time and again the word of divine authority being fulfilled and further fulfillment thereby pledged. Perhaps it is simply God himself, Israel's Holy One. This book is one long exposition of the implications--for Israel and the world--of who and what he is. So this great prophecy--its whole structure unified by its teaching about the Holy One of Israel, who is true to his word, faithful to his covenant, and pursues the establishment of his kingdom--is a classic disclosure of the very heart of the OT faith."¹⁶

"The theological message of the book may be summarized as follows: The Lord will fulfill His ideal for Israel by purifying His people through judgment and then restoring them to a renewed covenantal relationship. He will establish Jerusalem (Zion) as the center of His worldwide kingdom and reconcile once hostile nations to Himself."¹⁷

Genre and interpretation

The book is a compilation of the visions that Isaiah received from the Lord. He presented this revelation as messages and compiled them into their present form. His disciples may have put finishing touches on the collection under divine inspiration. Most of the book is poetic in form, the prophet having been lifted up in his spirit as he beheld and recorded what God revealed to him. Much of the content is eschatological and therefore prophetic, though most of the ministry of the prophets, including Isaiah, was forth telling rather than foretelling. Much of what is eschatological is also apocalyptic, dealing with the final climax of history in the future. These portions bear the marks of that type of literature: symbols, analogies, and various figures of speech.¹⁸

Students of Isaiah have difficulty understanding the eschatological portions of the book. Some believe that we should look for a literal fulfillment of everything predicted. Others believe that when Isaiah spoke of Israel and Jerusalem he was referring to the church. More literal interpretation results in a premillennial understanding of prophecy whereas spiritualization results in an amillennial or postmillennial understanding. The problem with taking every prophecy literally is that in many places the prophet used metaphors and other figures of speech to describe his meaning; what he wrote does not describe exactly what he meant. The problem with spiritualizing all the prophecies is that the New Testament teaches that Israel will have a future in God's plans as Israel (Rom. 11:26-27). The church will not replace Israel though the church does participate in some of the blessing promised to Israel. The most satisfying position, for me, is to interpret Isaiah as literally as seems legitimate in view of other divine revelation while at the same time remembering that some of what appears to be literal description may in fact be metaphorical. This is the approach taken by most premillennialists.

"Surely God may be expected to have one basic meaning in what he says. This is true, but just as human speech, especially when it is poetical, may suggest further levels of significance beyond the meaning conveyed by the passage in its context, so may the Word of God."¹⁹

Structure

Occasional time references scattered throughout the book indicate that Isaiah arranged his prophecies in a basically chronological order (cf. 6:1; 7:1; 14:28; 20:1; 36:1; 37:38). However, they are not completely chronological. More fundamentally, Isaiah arranged his prophecies as an anthology in harmony with a unifying principle. That organizing principle seems to be that God's people should view all of life in the light of God's reality and should therefore orient themselves to Him appropriately, namely, as His servants.

Isaiah built a huge mosaic out of his prophecies and used pre-exilic material to serve pre-exilic, exilic, post-exilic, and eschatological ends. It is not unreasonable to assume that after Isaiah had completed what we now have in chapters 1-39 he received new revelations from God along a different line that led him to adopt the somewhat different style that is characteristic of the last part of the book. The first part deals primarily with the threat of Assyria and the second (chs. 40-66) with that of Babylonia, with chapters 36-39 forming a transition. Chapters 1-5 are an introduction to the whole collection of messages. Chapters 6 and 53 are the key chapters because they provide the most concise answers to the great questions raised in the book. The book contains many extended doublets: repetition of the same truth in the same consecutive steps.

Message²⁰

In contrast to the New Testament prophets, Isaiah had very little to say about an individual's relationship with God. His concern was more the relationship of God's people as a whole to the Lord, specifically the nation of Israel's relationship to God. This is true of most of the Old Testament writing prophets. Isaiah focused on Israel's past, her present, her near future, and her distant future. He also gave considerable attention to the fate of the Gentile nations.

In the first section of the book, Isaiah insists that judgment is necessary before there can be peace. He was not referring to judgment beyond this life, judgment when we die. He was dealing with judgment here and now, repentance and divine intervention. Peace on earth requires repentance and divine intervention.

In the last section of the book, Isaiah also stressed the importance of righteousness before there can be peace, righteousness here and now before there can be peace on earth in the future. Thus this emphasis on righteousness and peace acts as bookends and frames the content of Isaiah's prophecies.

The great value of Isaiah is its revelation of the throne of God. This book clarifies the principles by which God rules the universe. In chapter six, Isaiah saw the Lord sitting on His throne. This vision of God impacted the rest of Isaiah's ministry and the rest of his book. In chapter 53, the prophet revealed the Servant of the Lord in whom and through whom God reigns. Isaiah balanced the transcendence of God with the immanence of God. These great revelations of Isaiah come together in the Revelation of John, 5:6: "And I saw between the throne and the elders a Lamb standing." Revelation gives more revelation along the same lines that Isaiah gave earlier. God reigns through people, especially one crucial person. Isaiah had much to say about the coming Messiah throughout this book.

Isaiah lived the early part of his life under the reign of King Uzziah. Uzziah was a good king, and he provided stability for the kingdom of Judah. But when Uzziah died, everyone had questions about the direction Judah would go. It was in the year that King Uzziah died that Isaiah saw his vision of the throne in heaven (6:1). He realized in a deeper way than ever before that the true king of Judah was Yahweh and that Yahweh was still firmly on His throne.

There are two things that mark God's throne: government and grace. Isaiah's contemporaries needed a deeper appreciation of God's government and His grace, and so do all the readers of this book. The fact that Yahweh rules and that He rules graciously were truths that were very familiar to God's people in Isaiah's time. In fact, when Isaiah spoke of God's government and His grace the Israelites mocked him for presenting such a simple message. Their taste ran to the more esoteric, and Isaiah's repetition of basic truth bored them. God told his prophet to expect rejection, and that proved to be Israel's characteristic response to Isaiah's ministry.

We also need a reminder of the basic principles of God's government and His grace. It is not because they are unknown to us but because people do not heed these truths that they are so needful today.

Let's consider first what Isaiah revealed about the government of God.

There are three principles by which God governs. These are holiness, righteousness, and justice. Holiness is the inspiration, righteousness the activity, and justice the result of God's government.

The most outstanding characteristic of God that this book reveals is His holiness. The title "the Holy One of Israel" was Isaiah's hallmark. The angelic beings that Isaiah saw assembled around God's heavenly throne ascribed perfect holiness to Him: "Holy, holy, holy is Yahweh of Hosts" (6:3). The holiness of God describes His "otherliness" from all His creation. God is different in His essence; He is spirit, whereas the creation is material. He is also different in His morality; He is absolutely upright, in contrast to the creation that has suffered from the Fall and its contacts with sin. When Isaiah saw the Lord, in chapter 6, what impressed him was his own uncleanness and the uncleanness of his people. All of God's government, how He governs, derives from His holiness. His holiness inspires all His government.

Because God is holy, He always does what is right. Conduct issues from and reflects character. Because God is holy in His character, He conducts Himself in righteousness. He always does what is right. There is a strong emphasis on righteousness in Isaiah, God's righteousness and the need for human righteousness. Isaiah's emphasis on righteousness is one of the reasons his book has been called the Romans of the Old Testament.

The result of righteous conduct is justice. God deals with His own people and all other people in justice. A holy God can do nothing else. He will do what is fair, what is straight, what is proper. We can see the justice of God in God's call to His people to reason with Him (1:18). Because God is just, sin inevitably brings punishment. Much of this prophecy is designed to help the people of God know how to avoid sin and its punishment and how to manage sin and its punishment. Justice in interpersonal and international affairs is an important motif in Isaiah.

Whereas the principles of God's government are holiness, righteousness, and justice, the methods by which He governs are revelation, explanation, and prediction.

According to Isaiah, the outstanding characteristic of God that distinguishes Him from all false gods (idols) is that He has revealed Himself; He has spoken. Isaiah referred to three primary revelations of God to humankind: general revelation, special revelation, and incarnate revelation. God has built a revelation of Himself into His creation so that everyone can see that a true God does exist (cf. Rom. 1). Second, He revealed His will as well as His existence. The revelation of His will came to the Israelites through what God taught them, the Torah (instruction). This revelation is what we have in Scripture, and it came to Israel for Israel to share with the world for the world's blessing, not to hoard to herself for her own blessing. Third, God revealed Himself through a person: the Messiah, the Servant of the Lord, the Divine Warrior. The revelation of how God would deal with the sin problem came through this person. Isaiah reveals that God would deliver Israel from destruction, from captivity, and from sin. He would make her in the future the servant of His that He always intended her to be but which she failed to become because of her sin.

God went beyond just giving revelations, however. He also provided explanations. This was one of the major ministries of the prophets in general and of Isaiah in particular. God explained through Isaiah why the Israelites and their neighbor nations were experiencing what they were going through. He gave these explanations so they could learn from their past, walk in His ways in the present, and enjoy His blessings in the future. God explained that He not only had the ability to save Israel, but He also had the desire to do so.

Not only did God explain the past, He also predicted the future. He did this to prove that He is the only true God. In order to predict the future accurately, one must be able to control the future. Yahweh is the only true God. He is the only God who can create history in time as well as creating the material world in space. His ability to predict the future is the great testimony to His unique sovereignty. The outstanding predictions in this book concern those whom God would anoint for special ministries in the future. These individuals were Cyrus, who would be Israel's redeemer from Babylon's captivity, and the Servant, who would be Israel's redeemer from sin's captivity. The exodus motif is strong throughout Isaiah looking back to the Exodus from Egypt and forward to future exoduses.

The characteristics of God's government as revealed in Isaiah are also three: patience, persistence, and power.

God deals with people patiently. He allows them the opportunity to repent and to return to Himself. There is much emphasis in this book on the importance of returning to God. God had been very patient with Judah, but the day of His patience would end, so she needed to repent while there was still opportunity. The day of salvation would not last forever.

Second, God deals with people persistently. He does not disregard people's sin after a time, but He always deals with it righteously. Likewise He persists in blessing those who faithfully follow Him even though they live among a nation of apostates. God has a plan for Israel as a nation, and He also had a plan for the faithful among the apostates in the nation. His faithfulness to His promises is the mainspring that keeps the hands of His providence moving persistently.

Third, God ever demonstrates His supernatural power. What is natural does not bind Him. He can and does intervene to provide power that overcomes His sinful people and holds them in captivity. The expectation of more exoduses is strong throughout this book. Isaiah's audience looked forward to captivity in Babylon, but beyond that there was the promise of liberation, and beyond that there was the promise of liberation from sin. Fire is a fitting symbol of all these characteristics of God's government. It consumes patiently, it persists until it has run its full course, and it has great power. Isaiah pictured Yahweh as a consuming fire in relation to His people as well as in relation to unbelieving nations.

Parallel to these emphases on the government of God is an equally strong emphasis on the grace of God in Isaiah.

Along with the holiness, righteousness, and justice of God, we have an equally strong emphasis on the love, mercy, and goodness of God. Isaiah wrote that God's children had rebelled against Him. His wife had been unfaithful to Him. Those He had chosen to bless uniquely among all the nations of the earth had grieved His Holy Spirit. The breaking heart of God is as clear a revelation in Isaiah as are the broken commandments of God.

Similarly, God's revelations, His explanations, and His predictions arise out of His mercy. God has revealed Himself in nature so everyone can enter into relationship with a gracious God. He has explained Himself so His people can understand His dealings with them as being gracious. He has predicted the future so everyone will appreciate that His plans for humanity are gracious plans involving redemption from captivity and sin.

God's grace is the reason He is patient with people. His grace is the inspiration for His persistence with people. And His grace is the passion of His power on behalf of people. In short, all the outstanding characteristics of God in Isaiah trace back to His goodness. The Servant Songs, particularly the third one (52:13-53:12), overflow with the grace of God for His helpless and hopeless people. He is the key to their justification, sanctification, and glorification. Note again the similarity with Romans.

The living message of this book is that acknowledgment of God's sovereign rule is the key to successful human life on every level: individually, nationally, and historically. The only hope for human failure caused by enslavement to sin is divine redemption that a God of grace provides. God is not only able but also willing to save.

To enjoy the benefits of God's grace, people must submit to His government. To submit to His government, they must receive the benefits of His grace. Israel failed to enjoy the benefits of God's grace because she failed to submit to His rule. She failed to submit to His rule because she failed to trust His grace. God brings us into right relationship with His government through His grace. In order to enjoy the benefits of His grace, we must submit to His government. Both government and grace find their source in Yahweh and their expression in Jesus Christ.

Constable: Isaiah (Outline)

Outline

I. Introduction chs. 1-5

A. Israel's condition and God's solution ch. 1

1. The title of the book 1:1

2. Israel's condition 1:2-9

3. God's solution 1:10-20

4. Israel's response 1:21-31

B. The problem with Israel chs. 2-4

1. God's desire for Israel 2:1-4

2. God's discipline of Israel 2:5-4:1

3. God's determination for Israel 4:2-6

C. The analogy of wild grapes ch. 5

1. The song of the vineyard 5:1-7

2. The wildness of the grapes 5:8-25

3. The coming destruction 5:26-30

II. Isaiah's vision of God ch. 6

A. The prophet's vision 6:1-8

B. The prophet's commission 6:9-13

III. Israel's crisis of faith chs. 7-39

A. The choice between trusting God or Assyria chs. 7-12

1. Signs of God's presence 7:1-9:7

2. Measurement by God's standards 9:8-10:4

3. Hope of God's deliverance 10:5-11:16

4. Trust in God's favor ch. 12

B. God's sovereignty over the nations chs. 13-35

1. Divine judgments on the nations chs. 13-23

2. Divine victory over the nations chs. 24-27

3. The folly of trusting the nations chs. 28-33

4. The consequences of Israel's trust chs. 34-35

C. Tests of Israel's trust chs. 36-39

1. The Assyrian threat chs. 36-37

2. The Babylonian threat chs. 38-39

IV. Israel's calling in the world chs. 40-55

A. God's grace to Israel chs. 40-48

1. The Lord of the servant ch. 40

2. The servant of the Lord chs. 41:1-44:22

3. The Lord's redemption of His servant chs. 44:23-47:15

4. The servant's attention to her Lord ch. 48

B. God's atonement for Israel chs. 49-55

1. Anticipation of salvation 49:1-52:12

2. Announcement of salvation 52:13-53:12

3. Invitation to salvation chs. 54-55

V. Israel's future transformation chs. 56-66

A. Recognition of human inability chs. 56-59

1. The need for humility and holiness chs. 56-57

2. The relationship of righteousness and ritual chs. 58-59

B. Revelation of future glory chs. 60-62

1. Israel among the nations ch. 60

2. Israel under the Lord chs. 61-62

C. Recognition of divine ability chs. 63-66

1. God's faithfulness in spite of Israel's unfaithfulness 63:1-65:16

2. The culmination of Israel's future 65:17-66:24

Constable: Isaiah

Isaiah

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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

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Haydock: Isaiah (Book Introduction)

THE PROPHECY OF ISAIAS.

INTRODUCTION.

This inspired writer is called by the Holy Ghost, (Ecclesiasticus xlviii. 25.) the great prophet; from the greatness of his prophetic spirit, by which he hath foretold, so long before, and in so clear a manner, the coming of Christ, the mysteries of our redemption, the calling of the Gentiles, and the glorious establishment, and perpeutal flourishing of the Church of Christ: insomuch that he seems to have been rather an evangelist than a prophet. His very name is not without mystery: for Isaias in Hebrew signifies the salvation of the Lord, or, Jesus is the Lord. He was, according to the tradition of the Hebrews, of the blood royal of the kings of Juda; an after a most holy life, ended his days by a glorious martyrdom; being sawed in two, at the command of his wicked son-in-law, king Manasses, for reproving his evil ways. (Challoner) --- He began to prophesy ten years before the foundation of Rome, and the ruin of Ninive. His style is suitable to his high birth. He may be called the prophet of the mercies of the Lord. Under the figure of the return from captivity, he foretells the redemption of mankind (Calmet) with such perspicuity, that he might seem to be an evangelist. (St. Jerome)

Gill: Isaiah (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH

This book is called, in the New Testament, sometimes "the Book of the Words of the Prophet Esaias", Luk 3:4 sometimes only the "Prophet Esaias", Act 8:28 and sometimes, as here, the "Book of the Prophet Esaias", Luk 4:17. In the Syriac version the title is, "the Prophecy of Isaiah the Son of Amos": and in the Arabic version, "the Beginning of the Prophecy of Isaiah the Prophet". It stands first of all the prophets; though the order of the prophets, according to the Jews ^a, is, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah, and the twelve. But it is here placed first, not because Isaiah prophesied before the other prophets; for Joel, Jonah, Hosea, and Amos, begun before him, namely, in or before the days of Jeroboam the Second; but because of the excellency of the matter contained in it. Isaiah is called by Ben Syra ^b the great prophet, and by Eusebius ^c the greatest of the prophets; and Jerom ^d a says, he should rather be called an evangelist than a prophet, since he seems rather to write a history of things past, than to prophesy of things to come; yea, he styles him an apostle, as well as an evangelist ^e: and certain it is that no one writes so fully and clearly of the person, offices, grace, and kingdom of Christ; of his incarnation and birth of a virgin; of his sufferings and death, and the glory that should follow, as he does. John, the forerunner of Christ, began his ministry with a passage out of him concerning himself, Mat 3:3. Our Lord preached his first sermon at Nazareth out of this book, Luk 4:17 and it was in this the eunuch was reading when Philip came up to him, who from the same Scripture preached to him Christ, Act 8:28. And there are more citations in the New Testament made out of this prophecy than any other book, excepting the book of Psalms, as Musculus observes. To which may be added, as another reason, the elegance and sublimity of his style in which he exceeds the greatest of orators, Demosthenes among the Greeks, and Tully among the Romans; and this is observed both by Jews and Christians. Abarbinel ^f says, that the purity, and elegance of his diction is like that of kings and counsellors, who speak more purely and elegantly than other men: hence their Rabbins, he says, compare Isaiah to a citizen, and Ezekiel to a countryman. And Jerom ^g observes, that Isaiah is so eloquent and polite, that there is nothing of rusticity in his language; and that his style is so florid, that a translation cannot preserve it. Moreover, another reason of this book being placed first may be the bulk of it; it being larger, and containing more chapters, than any of the greater prophets, and almost as many as all the lesser prophets put together. That Isaiah was the writer of this book is not to be questioned; many of the prophecies in it are by name ascribed to him, Mat 13:14 though some others might be the compilers of it, collect his prophecies, and digest them in order: so the Jews say ^h, that Hezekiah and his company wrote Isaiah, &c. At what time, and in whose days he prophesied, may be learnt from Isa 1:1 by which it appears that he prophesied long, and lived to a good old age. He began to prophesy about A. M. 3236, and about seven hundred and seventy years before Christ. Abulpharagius, an Arabic writer, says ⁱ, he lived an hundred and twenty years, eighty five of which he prophesied. It is a generally received tradition with the Jews, that he lived to the time of Manasseh, and that he was sawn asunder by him; and which has been embraced by the ancient Christian writers, and is thought to be referred to in Heb 11:37. See Gill on Heb 11:37. But Aben Ezra on Isa 1:1 observes, that had he lived to the time of Manasseh, it would have been written, and is of opinion that he died in Hezekiah's time. According to the Cippi Hebraici ^k, he was buried at Tekoah, over whose grave a beautiful monument was erected; though Epiphanius ^l, or the author of the Lives of the Prophets that go by his name, says he was buried under the oak of Rogel, near the fountain of Siloam; and it is a tradition with the Syriac writers, that his body lay hid in the waters of Siloah; See Gill on Joh 5:4 but these are things not to be depended on; and alike fabulous are all other writings ascribed to him, besides this prophecy; as what are called the ascension of Isaiah, the vision of Isaiah, and the conference of Isaiah. This book contains some things historical, but chiefly prophetic; of which some relate to the punishment of the Jews, and other nations; but for the most part are evangelical, and concern the kingdom and grace of Christ; of which some are delivered out more clearly and perspicuously, and others more obscurely, under the type of the deliverance of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity.

Gill: Isaiah 23 (Chapter Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 23

This chapter gives an account both of the desolation and restoration of Tyre, an ancient city of Phoenicia. Its desolation is described as so complete, that a house was not left in it, Isa 23:1 and by the fewness and stillness of the inhabitants of it, with which it had been replenished, it having been a mart of nations, Isa 23:2 and by the shame and pain Zidon, a neighbouring city, was put into, on account of it, Isa 23:4 and by the removal of its inhabitants to other places, Isa 23:6 all which is attributed to the counsel, purpose, and commandment of God, to destroy it; whose view was to stain their pride, and bring them into contempt, Isa 23:8 the means and instruments made use of to this purpose were the Assyrians or Chaldeans, Isa 23:13 and its desolation is further aggravated by the loss of its trade; hence the merchants of other countries are called to mourning, Isa 23:1 the date and duration of this desolation were seventy years, Isa 23:15 after which it should be restored, and its merchandise and commerce with all the nations of the earth be revived again, Isa 23:15.