Isaiah 29

Chap. XIX. Ver. 1—24. The invasion of Judah by Sennacherib announced.—‘The subject of this, and the four following chapters, is the invasion of Sennacherib: the great distress of the Jews while it continued; their sudden and unexpected deliverance by God’s immediate interposition in their favour: 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; with promises of better times, both immediately to succeed, and to be expected in the future age (of the Messiah;) the whole making, not one continued discourse, but rather a collection of different discourses upon the same subject; which is treated with great elegance and variety.”

Bishop Lowth. The chapters are not divided, but it may be proper to mark the transitions from one topic to another as we proceed. Ariel is here certainly Jerusalem; and the opening of the chapter represents the distress of the city on Sennacherib’s invasion, with their recourse to necromancers; then follows the defeat of the haughty monarch by divine Providence, without human aid, and the utter destruction of his army. Finally, the Prophet describes and bewails the perverseness of

Notes on the verses

Chap. XXIX. Ver. 1. Wo to Ariel.—Ariel, according to s E “the lion of God;” according to others, and to which Lowth inclines, “the fire of God,” which interpretation seems countenanced by ver. 2.—The city where David dwelt—i.e. Jerusalem.—Add ye year to year.—Spoken ironipele apeontioe ta Loti: A oy on, = after year, keep your solemn feasts: ye ow that God will punish you for your hypocriticé 7 i isti ofunere fon, noni By re bier en your hypocritical worship, consisting er, 2. As Ariel.—Either as “the lion of God,” i.e. a strong li ee fire of God,” the sacred fire: but why so called, is still a hope gga 6 i dern Persians say that their capital was called Shiraz, ‘a lion,” for the great quantity of provisions it consumed.

See Orient. Cust. No. 1074. So might Jerusalem be called ‘‘the lion of God,” or a strong lion, for the vast quantity of flesh it consumed, the sacrifices included; or, “the fire of God,” from its being the residence of the sacred fire. As Ariel may therefore mean, “fierce as a lion,” as Boothroyd explains it,—[or, as Bishop 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 bird pends: of - leon is mxpreasiy called ariel by Ezekiel, Chap. xiii 15; which is put, in the former part of the verse, for Jerusalem: ity i hic the altar was. |Basster iz r Jerusalem, the city in which er.

4. t speak out of the ground.—It was a popular notion heathen, that ghosts uttered, “hollow sepulchral sound as which ee alluded to. The Necromancers were, many of them, Ventriloquists, and whispered “as out of the dust.” Lowth. ° Ver. 5, The multitude of thy strangers.—Here as elsewhere, (see note on xxv. 2.) Bishop Lowth exchanges the term strangers for “the proud,” as we conceive, without necessity. The ‘‘multitude of strangers” here, we consider as **the multitude of all nations;” ver. 7.; 5 Ver. 9. Cry ye out and cry.—See margin. The cry is here, not perhaps either that of distress or revelry, but the noise of faction, quarrelling among themselves. It might therefore be rendered, ‘‘Amuse yourselves with your own noise.””

But Gesenius renders it, ‘‘Be ye dazzled and blinded;” which agrees very well with the context.; Ver. 11. A book that is sealed.—That is, the Lord had given them up to the blindness of their own hearts, (see (Ephesians 4:18).) so that God’s word had become to them utterly unintelligible., A Ver. 13. Their fear toward me, &c.—The Evangelist Matthew ((Isaiah 8:9).) quotes this from the Septuagint, “But in vain do they worship me, teaching (for) doctrines the commandments of men.” passage is thus ren- Ver. 16. Surely your turning, &c.—This very obscure e esteemed as the dered by Lowth, Perverse as ye are! shall the potter clay?” and Boothroyd to the same effect. Ver. 17. Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field.—Lowth, “Shall become like Carmel, and Carmel,”

&c. i.e. great changes must be expected; which some think may refer to the rejection of the Jews, and calling of the Gentiles. See Lowth. r ‘: Ver. 18, In that day.—That is, under the gospel dispensation. See (Isaiah 2:11, 17).; xii. 15 xix. 21.; xxvi. 1, &c. _ Ver. 21. That make a man an offender, &c.—Lowth and Boothroyd continue the sentence; ‘‘Who made a man offender,” &c.; or, as Dr. B. turns it, “Who accounted a man guilty for a word, and laid snares,” &c. Bishop Stock refers this to judicial proceedings, and renders the clause, “‘That cause the poor man to be cast in the process.”