Isaiah 11

11:1 AND there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots shall bear fruit: and the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; and his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: but with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the basilisk’s den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. 10 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the root of Jesse, which standeth for an ensign of the peoples, unto him shall the nations seek; and his resting place shall be glorious. 11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall remain, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and they that vex Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim. And they shall fly down upon the shoulder of the Philistines on the west; together shall they spoil the children of the east: they shall put forth their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them. And the LORD shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his scorching wind shall he shake his hand over the River, and shall smite it into seven streams, and cause men to march over dryshod. And there shall be an high way for the remnant of his people, which shall remain, from Assyria; like as there was for Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt. 12:1 And in that day thou shalt say, I will give thanks unto thee, O LORD; for though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortest me. Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid: for the LORD JENOVAH is my strength and song; and he is become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. And in that day shall ye say, Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the peoples, make mention that his name is exalted. Sing unto the LORD; for he hath done excellent things: let this be known in all the earth. Cry aloud and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.

Chap. 11. The glorious truth which links this chapter to the preceding one is well expressed under this figure. God’s enemies fall like forest trees, never to rise again; but God’s people, cut down, spring up again with new vigor and a more heavenly growth. Assyria’s proud cedars fall with a fearful and final crash; but the tree of David, though cut back to the stump of Jesse, starts again for a nobler life. A Divine vitality is in it. The cause of God can never die! Such is the law of contrast which engrafts this chapter so beautifully upon the closing sentence of the last. A rod out of the stem (stump) of Jesse springs up; it proves to be a most extraordinary personage, none other than the oft and long-promised Messiah. We have His intrinsic qualities of wisdom, knowledge and piety; His intuitive discernment and appreciation of character; the perfect justice of His administration; the fraternal peace and love which consequently ensue; the knowledge of the Lord pervading the earth and excluding sin and evil from His realm. This rod of Jesse becomes a rallying point for the nations; they come to Messiah’s feet; His resting-place and home in this wide earth become all glorious. The people of God wander in captivity no more. His dispersed ones are regathered; they live in mutual love, and no more in jealous rivalry; they combine against their common foes; the Lord is with them in glorious help for victory as of old in His miracles of power, and Zion, everywhere triumphant, reposes under the sheltering wing of her Redeemer. There can be no doubt that this description sets forth the great Messiah’s reign; that the rod from the stem of Jesse is Jesus the son of David. Every attempt to interpret the passage otherwise must needs confront the whole array of Messianic prophecies, explaining them all away, or denying their validity and inspiration; must make the great points affirmed here nugatory and ignore their apt and perfect fulfilment in Jesus of Nazareth. In other words, the Messianic interpretation of this chapter is fully sustained by the tenor of all other Messianic prophecies. The points made here apply to no one else—never have been or can be fulfilled in any other than the Messiah. H. C.

This chapter is occupied with promises of restoration and deliverance, external safety and internal peace, to God’s own people, as contrasted with the ruin previously threatened to their enemies. Borrowing his imagery from the fall of the Assyrian forest, just before predicted (10:34), the prophet represents a shoot as springing from the prostrate trunk of Jesse, and invested by the Spirit of Jehovah with all the necessary attributes of a righteous judge and ruler (verses 1-4). The pacific effect of the Messiah’s reign is then described by the beautiful figure of wild and domestic animals dwelling and feeding together, and of children unhurt by the most venomous reptiles; to which is added an express prediction that all mutual injuries shall cease in consequence of the universal prevalence of the knowledge of Jehovah (verses 5-9). To these figures borrowed from the animal creation, the prophet now adds others from the history of Israel, but intended to express the same idea. The Messiah is here represented as a signal set up to the nations, gathering the outcasts of His people from all quarters, and uniting them again into one undivided body, free from all sectional and party animosities (verses 10-13). Under figures of the same kind, the triumph of the Church is then represented as a conquest over the old enemies of Israel, especially those nearest to the Holy Land; while the interposition of God’s power to effect this and the preceding promises is vividly described as a division of the Red Sea and Euphrates, and a deliverance from Egypt and Assyria (verses 14-16). The evidently figurative character of some parts of this chapter seems to furnish a sufficient key to the interpretation of those parts which in themselves would be more doubtful. A.

1-10. So much of this prediction as relates to the personal character and qualities of the promised Prince found its counterpart in the just, the meek, the wise, the gracious, the loving, the holy Jesus of Nazareth. So much as relates to the principles that through the Messiah should transform society and rule the world was met in the doctrines and precepts of Christ. The conversion of the Roman Empire to Christianity gave promise of the early realization of the whole of this glorious picture; and, though that promise is yet delayed, all things are moving toward its consummation. With the growth of Christ’s kingdom, the most hostile and noxious things shall be subdued; the most incongruous elements of human society shall be harmonized; bloody men, in disposition like the wolf, the leopard, the lion, the bear, deceitful men like the asp and the cockatrice, shall be changed in their nature to the spirit of a little child. There is no reformer like the Gospel; it is the kingdom of Christ, filling the earth, that will bring peace and good-will to men. J. P. T.

It was not by chance that the Messiah appeared, not in Egypt in the days of Pharaoh, nor in Nineveh, or Babylon, or Greece, or Rome, but among the Jewish people, who alone were prepared for His advent. Admit the historic reality of the Divine revelations recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures, and we see at once how the way for the Saviour’s advent was prepared, and why He was of the seed of Abraham according to the flesh. Deny the historic reality of these preparatory revelations, and we have a mystery, but not one of Divine origin. It is simply a man-made mystery, created in the interest of those who have decided beforehand that the true supernatural is an impossibility, and that, accordingly, its existence anywhere in the line of human history must be stoutly denied in the face of all possible evidence. But the impossibility of the attempt to dissever the revelations of the New Testament from the preparatory revelations of the Old appears most clearly when we consider the explicit declarations of our Saviour, and, after Him, of His apostles, on this point. If we know anything whatever concerning the teachings of our Lord, we know that He constantly affirmed that He had come in accordance with the prophecies of the Old Testament. E. P. Barrows.

1. The figure of the preceding verse is continued, but applied to the downfall of the house of David and the Jewish State, which is contrasted with the downfall of Assyria. The Assyrian forest was to fall forever, but that of Judah was to sprout again. And there shall come forth a twig (or shoot) from the stock (or stump) of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall grow. The only application of the passage that can be sustained is that to Jesus Christ, who sprang from the family of Jesse when reduced to its lowest estate, and to whom alone the subsequent description is literally applicable. It is enough to know that the fact of Christ’s descent from David is not only repeatedly affirmed, but constantly presupposed in the New Testament, as a fact too notorious to be called in question or to call for proof. A.

A rod out of the stem of Jesse. We shall lose much of the force of the expression unless we refer to the verses immediately preceding. The prophet has just been speaking of the fall of the mighty trees of Lebanon. These trees, which symbolize Assyria, are to be cut down. They are cedars, the grandest of all the daughters of the forest. But the cedar, when once cut down, never springs up again. It belongs to the Conifera, the cone-bearing family, including all the pines and firs; and none of these (with the exception of one or two species, like the canary pine, unknown in Europe or Asia) are capable of sending up shoots, when once they have been hewn down to the ground. Hence “to cut down like a cedar” signifies to destroy without hope of resurrection. Here, in contrast with the monarch of Lebanon, cut down never to rise again, is contrasted, in the first verse, the lowly vine of Judah, from which, though now pruned down to the very root, shall spring a vigorous branch. No plants can offer a greater contrast in appearance and treatment than the cedar and the vine. The vine, low and inconspicuous, scarcely lifting itself above the ground, unlike the towering cedar, dependent upon external support to rise at all. But its whole value depends upon its being systematically cut back, “pruned that it may bear more fruit.” In the Holy Land, the vine is not even trellised, as in Italy. Every year the whole of the young wood is cut back to the stump, which alone remains, and is said to remain and to throw out vigorous branches for successive centuries, without any renewing of the plant. Thus from the vine-plant of Jesse, now by captivity cut down to the very root, a

Branch shall spring. The word is not that usually translated “branch,” but has a special force, meaning a brilliant or shining bough, as though to imply it surpassed all others in beauty, while the passage should be translated more literally, as in the Revised Version, “A branch out of his roots shall bear fruit;” the Hebrew word being that from which Ephra-thah, the title of Bethlehem, is formed—that is, “the fruitful.” Tristram.

2. The person whose origin and descent are metaphorically described in the preceding verse is here described by his personal qualities as one endowed with the highest intellectual and moral gifts by the direct influences of the Holy Spirit. And upon him shall rest the Spirit of Jehovah, a Spirit of wisdom and understanding, a Spirit of counsel and strength, a Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Jehovah. The only person in whom the terms of this prediction have been verified is Jesus Christ, whose wisdom displayed itself in early life and is expressly ascribed to a special Divine influence; who proved Himself a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart; whose ministry was not only characterized by fortitude and boldness, but attested by miracles and mighty deeds; whose knowledge of Divine things far surpassed that of all other men; and who was Himself a living model of all piety. A.

The precise thought here is that the Spirit of the Lord, resting upon Jesus the Messiah, will cause Him to have wisdom and understanding, counsel and might, knowledge and piety. His perfect endowments for ruling well are to be ascribed to the Spirit of God, which dwelt in Him without measure. That the Divine Spirit was thus given to Jesus Christ is the doctrine both of Old Testament prophecy and of New Testament history. In Isa. 61:1 the Messiah Himself says (prophetically), “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,” etc., which prophecy Jesus read publicly in the synagogue and applied it, saying, “This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears” (Luke 4:17-21). Of this fact John the Baptist also is a special witness (John 1:32 and 3:34), testifying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon Him.” “For God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto Him.” H. C.—The resulting character of the Messiah is a fair picture of one who realizes the very ideal of a strong and righteous ruler of men. “Wisdom and understanding” refer mainly to the clearness of intellectual and moral insight; “counsel and might,” to the qualities which give sound practical direction and vigor to follow, and carry through, the decisions of practical wisdom; while “the knowledge and fear of the Lord” define religion by its two parts of acquaintance with God founded on love, and reverential awe which prompts to obedience. The fulfilment, and far more than fulfilment, of this ideal, is in Jesus, in whom were “hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,” to whom no circumstances of difficulty ever brought the shadow of perplexity, who always saw clearly before Him the path to tread, and had always “might” to tread it, however rough, who lived all His days in unbroken fellowship with the Father and in lowly obedience. The prophet saw not all the wonders of perfect human character which that indwelling spirit would bring to realization in Him; but what he saw was indispensable to a perfect king, and was, at all events, an arc of the mighty circle of perfection which has now been revealed in the life of Jesus. The possibilities of humanity under the influence of the Divine Spirit are revealed here no less than the actuality of the Messiah’s character. What Jesus is, He gives it to His subjects to become by the dwelling in them of the Spirit of Life which was in Him. A. M.

3-5. The glory of this kingdom is conspicuous in the principles by which it is administered. Of this Prince it is truly said, “Righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins, and faithfulness the girdle of His reins.” The sceptre of His dominion is grace; grace displayed in the Gospel, grace communicated by the Spirit, is the grand instrument of maintaining His empire. He reveals His glory and imparts His benefits, and thereby attaches His subjects by ties at once the most forcible and the most engaging. A lovely assemblage of qualities characterizes the spirit and genius of His Divine administration; an incomparable majesty, united to a most endearing condescension—a spirit of benignity, joined to impartial justice, distinguishes His conduct. Though the subjects of this kingdom are admitted to it on no other condition than the cordial approbation of the character of the Prince, they are not left lawless or uncontrolled; the revelation of the Divine will is imparted; the most perfect measure of holiness and rules of conduct are enjoined on the conscience and impressed on the heart. This administration exhibits throughout a beautiful model of the moral government of God, attempted to the state of creatures who have fallen from their original rectitude, but are under a dispensation of mercy. R. Hall.

4. The Messiah, as a righteous judge, is now exhibited in contrast with the unjust magistrates of Judah, as described in chaps. 1:23; 10:2; 5:23. A.—Here, as elsewhere, the glory of Messiah’s reign lies, not in its external pomp and splendor, not in its parade and display, not in the magnificence of its surroundings, nor in any of those arts that minister to beauty and taste, but in its intrinsic and perfect justice; in protecting the defenceless; in fulfilling the sublime ends of all good government, human or Divine—viz., to secure the highest possible well-being by putting down injustice and oppression, and by guarding sacredly the equal rights of all. H. C.

6,7. Here, as in chaps. 2:4 and 9:5, 6, universal peace is represented as a consequence of the Messiah’s reign, but under a new and striking figure. A.—The entire drift of thought both before and after these verses (6-8) is of moral and not of physical changes; pertaining to the influence of wise and righteous government over moral agents (verses 3-5), and to the renewing influence of knowing God (verse 9). Hence, if we construe this passage (verses 6-8) in harmony with the context, we shall make it figurative, representing a moral change in the hearts of men, somewhat analogous to the supposed change (understood literally) in the wolf, the lion, and the asp. Yet, again, these verses stand here to account for what immediately follows: “They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord.” But the logical connection here, the reason why men no longer work evil in the earth, is not that lions eat straw; is not that wolves dwell with lambs literally; but is that the savage and ferocious spirit in man’s bosom has turned to love, and that human selfishness is slain by the Gospel of Jesus. The true knowledge of God fills all the earth, and therefore man, made by creation intelligent and moral, and now by His second birth brought under the legitimate influence of knowing God, lives lovingly with all of human kind, even as the animal races might live harmlessly together, supposing them to have lost not only the instincts and the necessities of a carnivorous life, but even the power of subsisting upon animal flesh. But no amount of diffusion of the knowledge of God can literally change the digestive organs of the lion to live on straw. The logical connection of thought, therefore, and the nature of the case demand the figurative construction and forbid the literal. H. C.

9. The strong figures of the foregoing context are now resolved into literal expressions. They (indefinitely, men in general) shall not

hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, because the land is full of the knowledge of Jehovah (literally, of knowing Him), like the waters covering the sea. The first clause clearly shows that the foregoing description is to be figuratively understood. That the wolf and the lamb should lie down together means, in other words, that none should hurt or destroy in the Messiah’s kingdom. This passage is descriptive of the reign of the Messiah, not at any one period, but as a whole. An historian, as Vitringa well observes, in giving a general description of the reign of David, would not use language applicable only to its beginning. The prophecy is therefore one of gradual fulfilment. So far as the cause operates, the effect follows, and when the cause shall operate without restraint, the effect will be complete and universal. It is not till the land has been filled with that knowledge, that men will cease to injure and destroy. A.—And since this description relates to the Gospel age and to the reign and manifestations of King Messiah, we must assume that the knowledge of God here contemplated is precisely that which comes to our world through Christ, revealing God. The idea, therefore, is that when they come under the power of such manifested love as shines forth in the Son of God living and dying, their hearts, moved and melted by such manifestations, will cease to love sin. They will no more hurt or destroy one another. H. C.

The wars and conquests of kings, the ambitious schemes of politicians, have all been overruled by Him who maketh the very wrath of man to praise Him, for the wider extension and the more efficient establishment of His own Church. The very colossal power of the Roman Empire itself was made subservient to the process by which it was to be broken up, and the efficacy of its laws manifested in favor of the religion to which it was inveterately and specially hostile. Little did the Emperor Titus imagine that, while laying waste the Jewish kingdom, he was raising up from its very ruins a kingdom destined speedily to overshadow and overthrow his own empire, and lay his proud religion in the dust. The Roman sword, intent only on self-glorification and the pride of conquest, was wielded by the Almighty Arm to clear the way for the triumphant march of Christianity over every nation and kingdom; and though that sword was frequently turned against the Church, and wrought sad havoc among its members, yet each pruning, each shoot that it cut off, became a separate living vine, extending to other regions the blessings of the Gospel. And in this way the Church grew and spread until now its range extends from sea to sea, and from the river even unto the ends of the earth. Macmillan.

10. The word rendered “root” means here a shoot springing up from the root. The same usage appears in Rev. 22:16, “I am the root, even the offspring of David.” Both passages refer to the Messiah as born in the line of Jesse and David. An “ensign,” properly a flag-pole or signal to be seen from far, is here supposed to be lifted up for a rallying-point and a trumpet-call to the nations to gather to this standard. The Gentiles come, not “seek” only, but come to it. “Seek unto it” implies an actual coming. The place of Messiah’s home and throne where He rests is all glorious. The Hebrew puts it strongly—is glory. H. C.

Other landmarks sink below the horizon as the tribes of men pursue their solemn march through the centuries, but the cross on Calvary “shall stand for an ensign of the people, and to it shall the Gentiles seek.” To proclaim that accomplished salvation, once for all lodged in the heart of the world’s history, and henceforth forever valid, is our unalterable duty. The message carries in itself its own immortal strength. A living Saviour in the present, who works with us, confirming the word with signs following, is the source of our power. Not till He is impotent shall we be weak. The unmeasurable measure of the gift of Christ defines the degree, and the unending duration of His life who continueth forever sets the period, of our possession of the grace which is given to every one of us. He is ever bestowing. He never withdraws what He once gives. The fountain sinks not a hair’s breadth, though eighteen centuries have drawn from it. Modern astronomy begins to believe that the sun itself by long expense of light will be shorn of its beams and wander darkling in space, circled no more by its daughter planets. But this Sun of our souls rays out forever the energies of life and light and love, and after all communication possesses the infinite fulness of them all. “His name shall be continued as long as the sun, all nations shall call Him blessed.” Here then are the perpetual elements of our constant power, an eternal Word, an abiding Spirit, an unchanging Lord. A. M.

The day here is the future times of Messiah. He is called the root of Jesse, as one growing up from the roots of David’s family, when cut down and deprived of its royal grandeur. The peoples or nations are the Gentiles, as 2:4; 8:9; 10:13, 14. The ensign is the standard of a captain or military leader. Paul (Rom. 15 : 12) quotes the words as predicting the call of the Gentiles. They shall “seek unto Christ,” consult Him as their oracle, and resort to Him as their heavenly Guide. The resting-place is often referred to the Church, where Christ dwells by His Spirit. But 1 Tim. 3 : 16 supplies a simpler and more emphatic meaning. Immanuel, God manifest in the flesh, would first be “preached unto the Gentiles,” set up before their eyes as the standard whereto they should resort ; then “believed on in the world,” or widely accepted as their Oracle and Teacher ; and lastly, “received up into glory.” His resting-place would thus indeed be glorious, “the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Heb. 1 : 3 ; 8 : 1). Birks.

The seat of His dominion is also the seat of His repose. The beneficent activity just described is wielded from a calm, central palace, and does not break the King’s tranquillity. That is a paradox, except to those who know that Jesus Christ, sitting in undisturbed rest at the right hand of God, thence works with and for His servants. His repose is full of active energy ; His active energy is full of repose. And that place of calm abode is “glorious,” or, more emphatically and literally, “glory.” He shall dwell in the blaze of the uncreated glory of God—a prediction which is only fulfilled in its true meaning by Christ’s ascension and session at the right hand of God, in the glory which He had with the Father before the world was, and into which He has borne that lowly manhood which He drew from the cut-down stem of Jesse. A. M.

11. As the gathering of the Gentiles to Christ is prominent in verse 10, so is that of the Jews in this verse 11, and both in verse 12. Thought of as scattered in their dispersions as of old over Egypt, Assyria, Chaldea, and other remote regions, the Lord restores them a second time as at the first from their captivity in Babylon, only that here the restoration and gathering are specially unto Christ. Both the case of the Gentiles and the whole drift of the chapter require this view of their restoration. In this list of countries, Egypt and Assyria come first as being the greatest hostile kingdoms known to the Jews of Isaiah’s time. At the dispersion many Jews went to Egypt ; the whole kingdom of the Ten Tribes were borne to Assyria. Pathros is the southern part of Egypt ; Cush, mainly Ethiopia, including perhaps the Arabian Cush from which the African family of that name descended and emigrated. Elam was the largest province of ancient Persia. Shinar inincluded Babylon. Hamath lay on the north of Palestine, here comprehending Damascene Syria. “The islands of the sea” were the lands reached by crossing the Mediterranean, whether insular or continental. This enumeration of all the great countries known to the Jews of that age involves the idea of universality. Wherever they may be, the Gospel of the grace of God will find and restore them. H. C.

13. The envy of Ephraim revealed itself in two stages : first, as an internal feud in the nation of Israel, and next as bitter and open hostility against the Zion of God. Under David and Solomon we see the first, but under Pekah and Hoshea this second and worse stage. The first half of the verse predicts the end of foreign hostility and hatred ; the second, that of internal strife and discord. Ephraim and Judah were guilty alike, and both needed a moral conversion. Ephraim, restored to the covenant of God, “shall not envy Judah,” as it had done in the times of Gideon, David, and Solomon ; and Judah, humbled by afflictions, “shall not vex Ephraim.” The prominence here doubly given to the cure of Ephraim’s jealousy refers us back to chap. 7 : 1-18, and shows the striking moral unity of these later messages in the time of Ahaz. Birks.

14. These were the nations nearest to the Israelites and most frequently in war against them during the ages of the judges and kings, even down to the times of Isaiah. But they are all long since extinct, and hence, if for no other reason, we are forbidden to think of a literal sense in this language. And this being of necessity figurative, the rest of the passage (verses 11-16) must be figurative also. H. C.

15. To the destruction of the enemies of Israel is added a prediction that all obstacles, even the most formidable, to the restoration of God’s people, shall be overcome or taken away by His almighty power. This idea is naturally expressed by the dividing of the Red Sea and Euphrates, because Egypt and Assyria are the two great powers from which Israel had suffered and was yet to be delivered. A.

Chap. 12. Nothing could be more appropriate than to follow such a prophecy with a song of praise. Every impulse of the Christian inspires him to break forth in outbursts of song, ascribing glory, honor and praise to the blessed God for such deliverance to Zion, such triumphs to the kingdom of Christ, and such salvation to this lost world ! Fifty and beautifully God’s people are not only exhorted to sing and give praise, but the very words for their song are provided. In verses 1, 2, 6 Zion is personified

as if one person, of one heart and voice; while in verses 4, 5, the plural number suggests that Christians do not lose their individuality, however much they blend their hearts and voices in the unison of praise. H. C.—The prophecy closes fitly with a song of praise, the utterance of restored Israel. And this links itself with the fivefold burden of the previous vision (chaps. 5 : 25 ; 9 : 12, 17, 21 ; 10 : 4) in a most impressive contrast. The hand of God, once stretched out in judgment, is now extended in mercy. His anger, once sore and heavy, is now turned away. The ceremony of drawing water from the pool of Siloam on the last great day of the Feast of Tabernacles would now receive a glorious antitype. Birks.