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Text -- Isaiah 2:15 (NET)

Strongs On/Off
Context
2:15 for every high tower, for every fortified wall,
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Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics

Dictionary Themes and Topics: Pride | PETER, SIMON | Judgments | Isaiah | Idolatry | more
Table of Contents

Word/Phrase Notes
Wesley , JFB , Clarke , Calvin

Word/Phrase Notes
Barnes , Poole , Gill

Verse Notes / Footnotes


Verse Range Notes
TSK Synopsis , MHCC , Matthew Henry , Keil-Delitzsch , Constable , Guzik

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Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Wesley: Isa 2:15 - -- To which you trusted for your defence.

To which you trusted for your defence.

JFB: Isa 2:15 - -- Towers were often made on the walls of cities.

Towers were often made on the walls of cities.

JFB: Isa 2:15 - -- Strongly fortified.

Strongly fortified.

Clarke: Isa 2:13-16 - -- And upon all the cedars "Even against all the cedars"- Princes, potentates, rulers, captains, rich men, etc. - So Kimchi. These verses afford us a s...

And upon all the cedars "Even against all the cedars"- Princes, potentates, rulers, captains, rich men, etc. - So Kimchi. These verses afford us a striking example of that peculiar way of writing, which makes a principal characteristic of the parabolical or poetical style of the Hebrews, and in which the prophets deal so largely, namely, their manner of exhibiting things Divine, spiritual, moral, and political, by a set of images taken from things natural, artificial, religious, historical, in the way of metaphor or allegory. Of these nature furnishes much the largest and the most pleasing share; and all poetry has chiefly recourse to natural images, as the richest and most powerful source of illustration. But it may be observed of the Hebrew poetry in particular, that in the use of such images, and in the application of them in the way of illustration and ornament, it is more regular and constant than any other poetry whatever; that it has for the most part a set of images appropriated in a manner to the explication of certain subjects. Thus you will find, in many other places besides this before us, that cedars of Lebanon and oaks of Bashan, are used in the way of metaphor and allegory for kings, princes, potentates of the highest rank; high mountains and lofty hills, for kingdoms, republics, states, cities; towers and fortresses, for defenders and protectors, whether by counsel or strength, in peace or war; ships of Tarshish and works of art, and invention employed in adorning them, for merchants, men enriched by commerce, and abounding in all the luxuries and elegances of life, such as those of Tyre and Sidon; for it appears from the course of the whole passage, and from the train of ideas, that the fortresses and the ships are to be taken metaphorically, as well as the high trees and the lofty mountains

Ships of Tarshish - Are in Scripture frequently used by a metonymy for ships in general, especially such as are employed in carrying on traffic between distant countries, as Tarshish was the most celebrated mart of those times, frequented of old by the Phoenicians, and the principal source of wealth to Judea and the neighboring countries. The learned seem now to be perfectly well agreed that Tarshish is Tartessus, a city of Spain, at the mouth of the river Baetis, whence the Phoenicians, who first opened this trade, brought silver and gold, (Jer 10:9; Eze 27:12), in which that country then abounded; and, pursuing their voyage still farther to the Cassiterides, (Bogart, Canaan, 1 c. 39; Huet, Hist. de Commerce, p. 194), the islands of Scilly and Cornwall, they brought from thence lead and tin

Tarshish is celebrated in Scripture, 2Ch 8:17, 2Ch 8:18; 2Ch 9:21, for the trade which Solomon carried on thither, in conjunction with the Tyrians. Jehoshaphat, 1Ki 22:48;2Ch 20:36, attempted afterwards to renew their trade. And from the account given of his attempt it appears that his fleet was to sail to Ezion-geber on the Red Sea; they must therefore have designed to sail round Africa, as Solomon’ s fleet had done before, (see Huet, Histoire de Commerce, p. 32), for it was a three years’ voyage, (2Ch 9:21), and they brought gold from Ophir, probably on the coast of Arabia; silver from Tartessus; and ivory, apes, and peacocks, from Africa." אופרי Afri , Africa, the Roman termination, Africa terra. תרשיש Tarshish , some city or country in Africa. So the Chaldee on 1Ki 22:49, where it renders תרשיש Tarshish by אפריקה Aphricah ; and compare 2Ch 20:36, from whence it appears, to go to Ophir and to Tarshish is one and the same thing."- Dr. Jubb

It is certain that under Pharaoh Necho, about two hundred years afterwards, this voyage was made by the Egyptians; Herodot. 4:42. They sailed from the Red Sea, and returned by the Mediterranean, and they performed it in three years, just the same time that the voyage under Solomon had taken up. It appears likewise from Pliny, Nat. Hist., 2:67, that the passage round the Cape of Good Hope was known and frequently practiced before his time, by Hanno, the Carthaginian, when Carthage was in its glory; by one Eudoxus, in the time of Ptolemy Lathyrus, king of Egypt; and Coelus Antipater, a historian of good credit, somewhat earlier than Pliny, testifies that he had seen a merchant who had made the voyage from Gades to Ethiopia. The Portuguese under Vasco de Gama, near three hundred years ago, recovered this navigation, after it had been intermitted and lost for many centuries. - L.

Calvin: Isa 2:15 - -- 15.And upon every lofty tower What he adds about towers and walls is not figurative or metaphorical. We know how men, when they think that they a...

15.And upon every lofty tower What he adds about towers and walls is not figurative or metaphorical. We know how men, when they think that they are well defended, congratulate themselves that they no longer need the assistance of God. Accordingly, under the name of towers and walls Isaiah mentions the object of false confidence; for if any place seem to be impregnable, there do irreligious men build their nest, that they may look down from it on heaven and earth; for they imagine that they are placed beyond all the uncertainties of fortune. Isaiah therefore threatens that, when it shall please God to humble men, he will throw down all the defenses on which they place a false confidence. And although those things are not in themselves evil, yet because they receive too large a share of our attention, it is with great propriety that Isaiah sharpens his pen against them.

To the same purpose is what he says about horses and chariots; for, as we are told by Micah, because men have improperly relied on earthly riches, they must be altogether deprived of them, that they may owe this preservation entirely to the hand of God. (Mic 5:10.) A little before, he had reproved them for the abundance of their horses (verse 7); he now addresses them about the judgment of God, and warns them that, as the only possible way of gaining the favor of God, he must take from the Jews all their horsemen, that they may no longer place sinful reliance on earthly support.

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Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: Isa 2:15 - -- Every high tower - Towers, or fortresses, were erected for defense and protection. They were made on the walls of cities, for places of observa...

Every high tower - Towers, or fortresses, were erected for defense and protection. They were made on the walls of cities, for places of observation (compare the note at Isa 21:5), or in places of strength, to be a refuge for an army, and to be a point from which they might sally out to attack their enemies. They were "high"to afford a defense against being scaled by an enemy, and also that from the top they might look abroad for observation; and also to annoy an enemy from the top, when the foe approached the walls of a city.

Every fenced wall - הומה בצוּרה betsûrâh hômâh . The word "fenced," בצוּרה betsûrâh , is from בצר bâtsar , to make inaccessible, and hence, to fortify. It denotes a wall that is inaccessible, or strongly fortified. Cities were commonly surrounded by high and strong walls to defend them from enemies. The sense is, God would overturn all their strong places of refuge and defense.

Poole: Isa 2:15 - -- To which you resorted and trusted for your defence.

To which you resorted and trusted for your defence.

Gill: Isa 2:15 - -- And upon every high tower, and upon every fenced wall. Which may signify everything that serves to support and defend the antichristian hierarchy, par...

And upon every high tower, and upon every fenced wall. Which may signify everything that serves to support and defend the antichristian hierarchy, particularly the secular powers. The Targum paraphrases it,

"and upon all that dwell in a high tower, and upon all that reside by a fortified wall.''

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Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

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Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: Isa 2:1-22 - --1 Isaiah prophesies the coming of Christ's kingdom.6 Wickedness is the cause of God's forsaking.10 He exhorts to fear, because of the powerful effects...

MHCC: Isa 2:10-22 - --The taking of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans seems first meant here, when idolatry among the Jews was done away; but our thoughts are led forward to the d...

Matthew Henry: Isa 2:10-22 - -- The prophet here goes on to show what a desolation would be brought upon their land when God should have forsaken them. This may refer particularly ...

Keil-Delitzsch: Isa 2:15-16 - -- The glory of nature is followed by what is lofty and glorious in the world of men, such as magnificent fortifications, grand commercial buildings, a...

Constable: Isa 1:1--5:30 - --I. introduction chs. 1--5 The relationship of chapters 1-5 to Isaiah's call in chapter 6 is problematic. Do the ...

Constable: Isa 2:1--4:6 - --B. The problem with Israel chs. 2-4 This second major segment of the introduction to the book (chs. 1-5)...

Constable: Isa 2:5--4:2 - --2. God's discipline of Israel 2:5-4:1 In contrast to the hopeful tone of the sections that prece...

Constable: Isa 2:10-21 - --The effect of the problem: humiliation 2:10-21 Verses 10-21 are a poem on the nature and results of divine judgment. Note the repetition of key words ...

Guzik: Isa 2:1-22 - --Isaiah 2 - Hope And Fear A. The hope of the Messiah's reign. 1. (1) A word concerning Judah and Jerusalem. The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz sa...

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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 deg...

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 posses...

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 a...

TSK: Isaiah 2 (Chapter Introduction) Overview Isa 2:1, Isaiah prophesies the coming of Christ’s kingdom; Isa 2:6, Wickedness is the cause of God’s forsaking; Isa 2:10, He exhorts ...

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 we...

Poole: Isaiah 2 (Chapter Introduction) CHAPTER 2 A prophecy of Christ’ s kingdom, and the calling of the Gentiles, Isa 2:1-5 ; and rejection of the Jews for their idolatry and pride...

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...

MHCC: Isaiah 2 (Chapter Introduction) (Isa 2:1-9) The conversion of the Gentiles, Description of the sinfulness of Israel. (Isa 2:10-22) The awful punishment of unbelievers.

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, t...

Matthew Henry: Isaiah 2 (Chapter Introduction) With this chapter begins a new sermon, which is continued in the two following chapters. The subject of this discourse is Judah and Jerusalem (Isa ...

Constable: Isaiah (Book Introduction) Introduction Title and writer The title of this book of the Bible, as is true of the o...

Constable: Isaiah (Outline) Outline I. Introduction chs. 1-5 A. Israel's condition and God's solution ch. 1 ...

Constable: Isaiah Isaiah Bibliography Alexander, Joseph Addison. Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah. 1846, 1847. Revised ed. ...

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 t...

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 t...

Gill: Isaiah 2 (Chapter Introduction) INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 2 This chapter contains a vision or prophecy of the enlargement of Christ's kingdom and interest, and of the glory of his ch...

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