Isaiah 29:2
threaten <06693> [I will.]
Ariel ........... altar <0740> [and it shall.]
Or, as Bp. Lowth renders, "and it shall be unto me as the hearth of the great altar;" that is, it shall be the seat of the fire of God, which shall issue from thence to consume his enemies. The hearth of the altar is expressly called {ariel} by Ezekiel, ch. 43:15; which is put, in the former part of the verse, for Jerusalem, the city in which the altar was. The subject of this and the four following chapters, says Bp. Lowth, is the invasion of Sennacherib; the great distress of the Jews while it continued; their sudden and unexpected deliverance by God's immediate and miraculous interposition on their behalf; the subsequent prosperous state of the kingdom under Hezekiah; interspersed with severe reproofs and threats of punishment for their hypocrisy, stupidity, infidelity, their want of trust in God, and their vain reliance on the assistance of Egypt; and with promises of better times, both immediately to succeed, and to be expected in the future age.
Isaiah 17:1
message <04853> [A.M. cir. 3263. B.C. cir. 741. burden.]
Damascus ... Damascus <01834> [Damascus.]
Damascus ... Damascus ... no longer <01834 05493> [Damascus is.]
ruins <04654> [a ruinous.]
Isaiah 34:9
Isaiah 34:13
thorns <05518> [thorns.]
<05116> [an habitation.]
ostriches <01323> [owls. or, ostriches. Heb. daughters of the owl.]
Isaiah 6:13
tenth <06224> [But yet.]
again <07725> [and it shall return, etc. or, when it is returned, and hath been broused. teil-tree.]
The teil-tree is the linden or lime-tree, a species very common in Palestine; the leaf of which resembles that of the laurel, and its flower that of the olive. But the original {ailah,} which our translators render the oak, (but here distinguished from {allon,} the oak,) and Bp. Lowth the {ilex,} in ch. 1:29, 30, probably denotes, as Celsius contends, the {terebinth.} It is an evergreen of moderate size, but having the top and branches large in proportion to the trunk; leaves, like those of the olive, but green intermixed with red and purple; flowers, like those of the vine, growing in bunches, and purple; fruit, of a ruddy purple, the size of a juniper berry, hanging in clusters, very juicy, and containing a single seed of the size of a grape stone; wood, hard and fibrous, from which a resin distils; with an excresence scattered among the leaves, of the size of a chestnut, of a purple colour, variegated with green and white.
sacred pillar .......... sacred pillar <04678> [substance. or, stock, or stem.]
high place <06944> [so the holy.]
Isaiah 9:5
boot <05430> [For every battle, etc. or, When the whole battle of the warrior was, etc. confused noise.]
<08316> [but this shall be. or, and it was, etc. burning.]
fuel <03980> [fuel. Heb. meat.]
Isaiah 11:10
time <03117> [in that day.]
stand <05975> [which shall.]
Nations <01471> [to it shall.]
residence <04496> [his rest.]
majestic <03519> [glorious. Heb. glory.]
Isaiah 11:16
highway <04546> [And there shall.]
Israel <03478> [like as it was.]
Isaiah 13:19
Babylon <0894> [Babylon.]
Babylon, whose destruction and utter ruin are here predicted, was situated in the midst of a large plain, having a very deep and fruitful soil, on the Euphrates, about 252 miles south-east of Palmyra, and the same distance north-west of Susa and the Persian gulf, in lat. 32 degrees 30' N. and long. 44 degrees 20' E. According to Herodotus, it formed a perfect square, each side of which was 120 stadia, and consequently its circumference 480 stadia, or sixty miles; inclosed by a wall 200 cubits high, and fifty wide, on the top of which were small watch towers of one story high, leaving a space between them, through which a chariot and four might pass and turn. On each side were twenty-five gates of solid brass; from each of which proceeded a street, 150 feet broad, making in all fifty streets; which, crossing each other at right angles, intersected the city into 676 squares, extending four stadia and a half on each side, along which stood the houses, all built three or four stories high, and highly decorated towards the street; the interior of these squares being employed as gardens, pleasure grounds, etc. Its principal ornaments were the temple of Belus, having a tower of eight stories, upon a base of a quarter of a mile square; a most magnificent palace; and the famous hanging gardens, or artificial mountains raised upon arches, and planted with large and beautiful trees. Cyrus took it by diverting the waters of the Euphrates, which ran through the midst, and entering by the channel; and the river being never restored to its proper course, overflowed the whole country, and made it a morass. Darius Hystaspes afterwards depopulated the place, lowered the walls, and demolished the gates; Xerxes destroyed the temples; the building of Seleucia nearly exhausted it of its inhabitants; a king of the Parthians carried a number of them into slavery, and destroyed the most beautiful parts; so that modern travellers describe it as a mass of shapeless ruins, the habitation of wild beasts.
God <0430> [when God overthrow. Heb. the overthrowing of.]
Isaiah 17:9
Isaiah 19:17
land <0127> [the land.]
<06440> [because.]
Isaiah 28:4
withering <05034> [shall be.]
early fig <01061> [the hasty.]
"No sooner," says Dr. Shaw, "doth the {boccore} (or early fig) draw near to perfection in the middle or latter end of June, than the {kermez,} or summer fig, begins to be formed, though it rarely ripens before August; about which time the same tree frequently throws out a third crop, or winter fig, as we may call it. This is usually of a much longer shape and darker complexion than the {kermez,} hanging and ripening upon the tree, even after the leaves are shed; and, provided the winter proves mild and temperate, is gathered as a delicious morsel in the spring."
swallows <01104> [eateth. Heb. swalloweth.]
