Isaiah 22:8

And he discovered the covering of Judah,.... Either God himself, who uncloaked them of their hypocrisy, as Dr.

And he discovered the covering of Judah, and thou didst look in that day to the armour of the house of the forest.

He; the enemy, Sennacherib, of whose invasion he seems to speak. The covering of Judah: he took those fenced cities, which were a covering or safeguard both to the people of Judah, who fled to them, and to Jerusalem, which was begirt and defended by them. Thou didst look in that day to the armour; thy hope and trust was wholly or chiefly placed in the arm of flesh. For although Hezekiah was commended for his trust in God, yet the generality of the people were guilty of distrust in God, and confidence in the creature. The house of the forest; more fully called the house of the forest of Lebanon, , not because it was built in Lebanon, for it was in Jerusalem; but either because it was built of the trees of Lebanon, for which cause the temple is called Lebanon, , or for other reasons. See Poole "".

Isaiah 22:8 And he discovered the covering of Judah, and thou didst look in that day to the armour of the house of the forest.Ver. 8. And he discovered the covering of Judah.] That is, he that is the enemy took the city; Hoc enim significat nudari operimentum - i.e., Protectionem Iudae; or, as others sense it, God took away his protection, the rampart and defence of their country; or the enemy destroyed the temple, wherein the Jews so foolishly confided. To the armour of the house.] To anything but whom they should have looked unto. Our hearts are topped full of harlotry, ready to shift and shark in every by corner for comfort; to hang their hopes on every hedge, rather than to roll themselves upon God, "the hope of Israel." Zeged., Diodat., Oecolamp.

(8) And he discovered the covering of Judah—i.e., Jehovah removed the veil which till then had hidden the approaching danger from the eyes of the inhabitants, and laid bare their weakness to those of the invaders. The verbs which in the English version are in the past tense are really in a kind of prophetic present, painting the future as if actually passing before the prophet’s gaze.The armour of the house of the forest.—More fully (as in 1 Kings 7:2; 1 Kings 10:17), “the house of the forest of Lebanon,” which appears to have been used as an arsenal, and to which the people now turn as their chief resource.

Verse 8. The armour - "The arsenal"] Built by Solomon within the city, and called the house of the forest of Lebanon; probably from the great quantity of cedar from Lebanon which was employed in the building. See 2Kg 7:2-3.

Ch. Isaiah 22:1-14. The inexpiable sin of JerusalemThe key to this passage—the most lurid and minatory of all Isaiah’s prophecies—is the irreconcileable antagonism between the mood of the prophet and the state of public feeling around him. In a time of universal mirth and festivity he alone is overwhelmed with grief and refuses to be comforted. In the rejoicings of the populace he reads the evidence of their hopeless impenitence and insensibility, and he concludes his discourse by expressing the conviction that at last they have sinned beyond the possibility of pardon. The circumstances recall our Lord’s lamentation over Jerusalem on the day of His triumphal entry (Luke 19:41 ff.). It may be regarded as certain that the prophecy belongs to the period of Sennacherib’s invasion (701), although it is difficult to select a moment when all the elements of the highly complex situation with which it deals might have been combined. There is just one incident that seems to meet the requirements of the case, viz., the raising of the blockade of Jerusalem, in consequence of Hezekiah’s ignominious submission to the terms of Sennacherib (see General Introd., pp. xxxviii f.) It must be noted that this was not the last episode in that memorable campaign. The real crisis came a little later when the Assyrian king endeavoured by threats to extort the entire surrender of the capital. It was only at that juncture that Hezekiah unreservedly accepted the policy of implicit trust in Jehovah which Isaiah had all along urged on him; and it was then that the prophet stepped to the front with an absolute and unconditional assurance that Jerusalem should not be violated. That the earlier deliverance should have caused an outbreak of popular joy is intelligible enough; as it is also intelligible that Isaiah should have kept his eye fixed on the dangers yet ahead. The allusions to the recent blockade are amply accounted for, and the prophet’s expectation of a terrible disaster yet in store is obviously based on his view of the continued and aggravated impenitence of his countrymen. The following analysis of the prophecy is partly influenced by this reading of the historical setting, and it is right to say that at one or two points the view adopted is somewhat tentative. i. Isaiah 22:1-4. While the city abandons itself to demonstrations of frantic gaiety, in spite of the disgrace that has overtaken the country, Isaiah shuts himself up in solitary and inconsolable anguish. ii. Isaiah 22:5-7. He sees in vision a great day of calamity approaching, when the Assyrian shall again thunder at the gates of Jerusalem; and although the picture is not completed it leaves the impression that the city’s day of doom has arrived. iii. Isaiah 22:8-11. At this point (although the transition is extremely abrupt) the prophet seems to go back to the past, in order to trace the evidence of the people’s unbelief.

And he discovered - Hebrew, ויגל vayegal - ‘He made naked, or bare.’ The expression, ‘He discovered,’ means simply that it “was” uncovered, without designating the agent.

8-11. He discovered the covering of Judah — “He” is indefinite, but from the verses following it is quite evident that it refers to the Jews.