Isaiah 17
DOYLYIsaiah 17:2
- — they shall be for flocks, &c.] See note on chap. vii. 25. A remnant shall forsake idolatry. The woe of Israel’s enemies. lie down, and none shall make them afraid.
Isaiah 17:3
- The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim.] The burden of Damascus naturally brings the Prophet to speak of the subversion of the kingdom of Israel, in those days in alliance with the Syrians, chap. vii. 1, 2, and to be overthrown by the same enemy, at the same time, chap. viii. 4. Bp. Horsley. This chapter treats indeed more largely of the Israelites than of the Syrians; and with regard to them was the prophecy more fully completed, by the conquest of the kingdom, and captivity of the people, effected a few years later by Shalmaneser. Bp. Lowth.
Isaiah 17:5
- — the valley of Rephaim.] The valley of Rephaim near Jerusalem, celebrated for its plentiful harvests, is here used poetically for any fruitful country. Bp. Lowth.
Isaiah 17:6
- — as the shaking of an olive tree.] The former verse was an illustration of Israel’s entire destruction from the ridding of fields in the corn harvest: compare Jer. li. 33; Hos. vi. 11. Here the metaphor is taken from the gathering of the summer fruits, and the remnant compared to the few berries left on an olive tree that has been beaten by its owner, to be shaken off by the poor. See Deut. xxiv. 20. W. Lowth, Harmer.
Agreeably to the promise here made of a remnant, we find that some of the ancient inhabitants of the ten tribes were left after Shalmaneser’s captivity, and even after that of Esar-haddon; and some turned to serve the true God, as predicted ver. 7, 8. See 2 Chron. xxx. 10, 11; xxxv. 18. W. Lowth.
10, 11. — therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plants,
&c.] The pleasant plants, and shoots from a foreign soil, are allegorical expressions for strange and idolatrous worship; vicious and abominable practices connected with it; reliance on human aid, and on alliances entered into with the neighbouring countries, especially Egypt; to all which the Israelites were greatly addicted, and in their expectations from which they should be grievously disappointed. Bp. Lowth.
Isaiah 17:11
- — in the morning shalt thou make] When the Hebrews would signify doing a thing speedily, with care and diligence, they often thus express it. See chap. l. 4; and Ps. xlvi. 5. W. Lowth.
— shall be a heap] “Shall be removed,” namely, by the Assyrians, Parkhurst. See the margin.
12—14. These verses seem to relate to the formidable invasion of the Assyrians upon Judea, and their sudden overthrow; ver. 14, fifty representing the condition of Sennacherib’s army, which caused great consternation over night, but were all destroyed before the next morning, 2 Kings xix. 35. W. Lowth.
- — chaff of the mountains. The Jews used to thresh their corn upon hills, and places exposed to the wind. See chap. xli. 15; 2 Chron. iii. 1. W. Lowth.
Chap. XVIII. This is one of the most obscure prophecies of Isaiah: the end and design of it, the people to whom it is addressed, the person who sends the messengers, and the nation to whom the messengers are sent, are all doubtful. Bp. Lowth. It has been considered as such by the whole succession of interpreters.