Commentary on the Old Testament Volume 2-4, Biblical commentary 7 · Isaiah · Chapter 12 – Chapter 13
CHAP. XII.
AFter deliverance from sin and death by Christ Jesus here it is shewed, how joyful the Church should be for this, and break out into singing to the praise of God, as Moses and the Israelites did, Exod. 15. when they were brought out of Egypt, and through the red sea. I will confesse that thou hast been angry with Vers. 1.me, thy wrath hath been turned away, &c. Such as God is angry with and judgeth for a time, shall have the more cause afterwards to praise God in remembrance of Note. that which they have justly suffered; if they be his people: for his anger is but for a time, and then comes the comfort of his mercy for ever. And the confession is in the singular number, to shew that all the people of God are as one in their sufferings, and being delivered, God proceeds with them alike, first putting them to grievous sufferings, and then comforting them, and they are as one in being like affected to one another, and towards God in praising him.
Behold God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid, that is, saith Jerom, Vers. 2. Hieronym.my Iesus, and made my salvation, that is, by becoming man, against those hereticks, who will have nothing said to be made, but what was not before, hereupon inferring that Jesus was not God and man, but man only: for the Church here first extols him as God, and then saith, he was made. And Calvin referres Calvin.this also especially to Jesus, and Marlorat, bringing in that of old Simeon, Mine eyes have seen thy salvation.
Ye shall draw waters with joy out of the fountains of our Saviour. By waters here Vers. 3.the comfortable doctrine of Christ and the spirit of grace are to be understood, which refresh more then any other waters, and as living waters of the best springs, never fail. Hereof therefore he saith, I would have given thee water of life, and Joh. 4.whoso drinks of it shall never thirst, &c. And again, If any man thirsteth, let him come and drink of the water of life freely. Calvin hereby understands doctrines, Joh. 7. 37. Calvin.and consolations, to partake of which a man comes with joy, when chearfully and with an earnest desire, as the thirsty hart to the rivers of water. Musculus the comforts of the holy Ghost, which are to the troubled soul as waters to the most dry and thirsty, exceeding refreshing.
And in that day ye shall say, Sing unto the Lord, &c. Hereby he sheweth that the praise of God shall be extraordinarily sounded forth not only in Iudea, but also Vers. 4.in all parts of the world, implying the conversion of all nations, and the same is further set forth, ver. 5. and ver. 6. the inhabitant of Zion is stirred up to praise Vers. 5. Vers. 6.God, because great in the midst of thee is the holy One of Israel, that is, being known before only in the streight bounds of Iudea, now the whole earth is filled with the knowledge of him, he being thus made as it were most great by so inlarging his dominion by the propagation of the Gospel.
CHAP. XIII.
AFter the prophecy touching Christ began, Cha. 7. and ending, Cha. 12. Here follows ten particular visions of judgements to come upon divers countreys, which were then most infest enemies to the people of God, as Jerom distinguisheth Hieronym.them, 1. Babylon, chap. 13, 14. 2. Palestine, chap. 14. 28. 3. Moab, cha. 15. 4. Damascus, chap. 17, 18. 5. Egypt, chap. 19, 20. 6. The Desert of the Sea, chap. 21. 7. Idumea, vers. 11, 12. 8. Arabia, vers. 13. 9. The valley of vision, chap. 22. 10. Tyrus, chap. 23. Junius makes chap. 13, 14. to cohere with the 5. Junius.and 6. thus: there judgement is threatned by people of a far countrey, which could not but be understood of the Caldees or Babylonians. Now prophecies touching Christ and his kingdom coming between, chap. 7, 8, 9, 11, 12. here for the comfort of Gods people by these enemies oppressed, the destruction of Babylon is threatned, Chap. 13. and joy and a song of praise and thanksgiving for it promised, chap. 14. But it is to be noted that both chap 7. 8. 9. and 10. contain as manifest prophecies of judgements against Israel and Judah, both by Assyrians and Caldeans, as the 5. and 6. and therefore the present prophecy relates alike to them all. And the Lord having begun by his prophet to threaten Babylon, proceeds in the same kinde of argument, till he hath run through all neighbourcountreys with the like threatnings, and the wicked in Ierusalem also to the end of Chap. 23. But whereas Ierom makes Egypt the 5. and so but 10. in all, Iunius makes Ethiopia the 5. Egypt the 6. But to return to Babylon in particular.
The Burthen of Babylon, &c. the Septuagint improperly the vision, saith Ierom, Vers. 1. Hieronym.because when heavy and sad things only are foretold, the prophecy touching them is commonly called a burthen. Now Babylon here threatned was the Metropolis of the Caldees, as Nineveh of the Assyrians, the Kings whereof Phul, Tiglath Pilesar, Salmanasar, and Sennacherib, reigned as Monarchs of the world before, and destroyed the kingdom of Israel, but their City Nineveh was destroied likewise, and their Empire, by the King of Babylon, and now the city of Babylon is threatned with destruction by the Medes and Persians, when they had first under Nebuchadnezzar destroied Ierusalem and the kingdom of Iudah, in the 11 year of Zedekiah, Now the Lord foretels by his Prophets heavy things to come for grievous sins, that all may know that they come from the Lord, and not by chance, and cals them burthens, yet Ier. 23. 36. he reproves the people for calling prophecies burthen, as who did hereby seek to render them odious, Calv.and consequently all prophesying, because for the most parts by reason of sin abounding prophesying was a terrible threatning against the wicked, such as the far greater part alwaies were, yet forsomuch as they tended to move to repentance, and so to prevent those judgements, they ought willingly to have heard them.
Lift up a sign upon the high mountain, &c. Junius, super montem eminentem, Jerom, super montem caliginosum, a dark mountain according to the most proper Vers. 2. Junius. Hieronym.signification of the word foreign here used, for it signifyeth the twilight, and Babylon is so called for the judgements to come upon her, which should make her as obscure, as now she was for her power and wealth glorious. This was not, saith Oecolampadius, the Babylon that now is, but that which was first built by Queen Semiramis, of the greatnesse whereof see in my Exposition upon Ezra, Oecolamp.which was destroied by the Medes and Persians, lying ever since in obscurity, and re-built no more. But seeing Babylon stood in a plain, why doth he call it a mountain? Calvin answers well, because it was like a mountain in power, and a state Calvin.which might be thought unmoveable as a mountain. By bidding to lift up a sign, he means a standard, as is used for the gathering together of souldiers, for the destruction of Babylon, so chap. 5. 26. and who were they that should do it but the Medes and Persians, as is shewed plainly vers. 17. In that the Prophet therefore who had no power over them to call them together, saith thus, we must Muscul.look to God, in whose name he doth it, at whose command all hosts are. And he speaks as if it were now in doing for the more assurance to the faithfull, and for their comfort against their sufferings by the Caldees, which should be before. Enter the gates of the munificent; That is, of the Babylonish Princes, who were many inhabiting there, for so our Lord saith, That they who rule amongst the Gentiles are called Benefactours, as having abundance of wealth, wherewith they might well be so. And this implieth, that they were of great might, yet even their gates these enemies should enter and prevail, notwithstanding all their great power and glory. For the title given to Babylon, A dark mountain; there may be other reasons also given, as that the high buildings and many Towers made it seem like a Mountain, though it stood upon a Plain, and by reason of Fens about it, from whence fogs arose, it was dark. But specially for an admirable Garden, the ground whereof was raised so high, that it darkned the City. Of this Josephus saith, Nebuchadnezzar hung heaps of stones upon iron-arches like Mountains, being above set with many kindes of Joseph. Antiq. l. 10. c. 13.trees for his wives sake, who was a Mede, that she might behold some resemblance of her own Countrey therein.
I have commanded my sanctified ones, &c. The Septuagint, saith Jerom, have Vers. 3. Hieronym.it, Princes and Giants. Eusebius, Angelical Powers, because they thought it strange, that the Heathen Medes should be called sanctified ones, but why not as well as Nebuchadnezzar his servant, and done by Jeremy. Calvin renders it, My prepared ones, as the word foreign sometime signifieth; the Syriack, my sanctification. It is nothing absurd to call the men whom God set apart to this holy warre, to punish a wicked people, his sanctified ones; and Cyrus the chief of them seemed to have some sanctifying grace in him, by whom haply more of his Army were drawn to worship and acknowledge the true God. And he calleth the same his valiant ones rejoycing in his glory, because their strength, whereby they gat them such glory by subduing Babylon, was the strength of the Allmighty, and not their own.
A voice of a multitude in the Mountains, &c. The Lord commanded to destroy Vers. 4. Hieron.the whole earth. Here he sheweth, That the Persian Army should consist of very many of divers Nations; But by the whole earth he meaneth nothing else, but the Babylonian Countrey, according to the Scripture phrase, whereby any Countrey is commonly so spoken of. So Jerom. Calvin addeth, That Calvin.the Babylonian Dominion is so singularly called for the amplitude thereof. And the voice is said to be on the mountains, saith Musculus, because the Medes Musculus.Countrey was mountainous.
Howl, because the day of the Lord is at hand, &c: Here and ver. 7, 8. the Babylonians Vers. 6.misery is further described, by shewing, how they should lament and be stricken with sorrow, which should appear in their faces, for which, he saith, Their faces are the faces of flames, alluding, as Musculus hath it, to the face of a Smith at dark night, when he stands blowing his fire, for his face appears, as if it had no bloud in it, most wan and pale.
Behold the cruel day of the Lord shall come, and indignation, &c. From the Vers. 9.people that should suffer, now the Prophet turns to another rhetorical way of aggravating the calamity of that time, as if then they should have no comfort of the light, but all horrour through darknesse, in this and vers. 10. And he cals it a cruel day, saith Jerom, because execution should then be done upon Hieron.on the cruel, who should think it cruelty, as the thief who is lead to hanging, thinks the Judge cruel that condemned him.
The Stars and Sun shall not give their light, &c. This is spoken hyperbolically, Vers. 10.the meaning being nothing else, but that the light of these heavenly bodies should be nothing to them for their anguish and sorrow, accounting the light from heaven, which commonly is comfortable to the inhabitants of the earth, no light or comfort to them, because in their minds there was no light of comfort, but darkness of sorrow. For, as Calvin hath it, by the Sun God shews his comfortable face unto us, when it shineth upon the earth to make it fructifie, Calvin.for which it is said, He makes his Sun to shine upon the good and bad. The Prophet therefore in saying, The Sun shall be darkned, &c. means, that when the Babylonians shall suffer this judgement by the Medes, they shall have no comfort from God to ease their grief, but if they look up to Heaven, more sorrow added to their sorrow, there being not one spark of heavenly light appearing to them, set forth by the stars also losing their light. For stars, as Jerom saith, the Septuagint have Orion, and the Hebrew, who was his master, Arcturus, looking at the word Chesile. But where he found that word, I know not, Hebr. it being Cocabai, Stars.
And I will visit upon the world their iniquity, &c. Some, saith Ierom, think Vers. 11. Hieron.that the general destruction of the world is here prophesied of, but by the world he understands the Kingdom of Babylon, which for the amplitude thereof, being the greatest part of the world then known is thus termed, and the rather to shew, that if all the world agreed together to sinne, God can as easily destroy them, as he did once the old world, that none may be hardened in sin, although it may be most common, and millions fear not to commit Calvin.it. Whereas he further addeth, And upon the wicked their sins; Hereby the greater and prouder ones are set forth, who sin by pride and tyranny, as the next words do shew, And I will cast down the iniquity of the proud, and haughtinesse of tyrants. And then by the world before threatned, understand the common people in all places; so Calvin.
And a man shall be more precious then gold, &c. Hereby the general destruction of Vers. 12. Hieron.the Babylonians is intimated, there should be so few left alive, that a man should be a rare sight there, where formerly they abounded so, that Babylon alone seemed to be a little world, for that which is rare is said to be precious, as in the days of Eli, the word of God is said to be precious, that is, rare. Note here that the word man is twice used, the first being Hebr. foreign the second foreign, betwixt which if we will distinguish, the first sets forth the common sort of men, the second men of more eminency. But how was this verified, whenas at the destruction of Babylon by the Medes, the greatest part were spared, as the History sheweth, and the City stood full of stately buildings and inhabitants after this, till the time of Alexander the Great? Oecolampadius answers, that it is Oecolamp.meant here, that the destruction should then begin, but in process of time be perfected, and not brought to such desolation upon the sudden. For so the event answers the History, after the destruction of the Babylonish by the Medes and Persians begun, Chesiphon a goodly City was built not far off, that by this means Babylon might be left, and after this in Seleucus his time Seleucia another fair City, after which that Babylon came to utter ruine.
And I will shake the heaven and the earth. Some, saith Musculus, understand Vers. 13. Muscul. Hieronym.this properly, as if it should then thunder and be a great earthquake, but it is better to take it siguratively, as ver. 10. So likewise Ierom.
And it shall be as a young Doe, and a sheep. That is, so fearfull shall the Vers. 14.Babylonians be, as these creatures before the Lion or the Wolf having shepherd or keeper, when the Medes shall break into their City, as they did, in the night, they being for the most part drunken, and because of the great strength of their wals, nothing suspecting the irruption of enemies.
The Prophet proceeds to aggravate their misery, for none shall be spared Vers. 15. 16.from the sword of the men, that they can come by, or of the children from being dasht against the stones; see a like passage, Psal. 137.
He shews by whom all this shall be done, viz. the Medes; and if any shall Vers. 17. 18. 19.think by their wealth to ransom themselves, that they may be spared, or their children, they shall be deceived, because gold or silver shall not by them be regarded. So Babylon the glory of Kingdoms shall be overthrown as Sodom, Chap. 1. he saith, If the Lord had not left us a remnant, we had been as Sodom. The destruction of Sodom was the greatest and most stupendious, that ever we read of, being with fire from the Lord from Heaven, and all both edifices and people being burnt to ashes, and so remaining to this day. But in Oecolamp.comparing Babels destruction to this, he means not, that it shall likewise be consumed with fire from Heaven, or burnt down at all: for the event shewed the contrary, as was touched before. But that as Sodom was manifestly destroyed by Gods hand, so all shall acknowledge that Babel was, because otherwise no adverse power could have done it, not only for its own strength, but the mighty Kingdoms unto it belonging, which were two and twenty, and as Sodom destroyed was never re-built again, no more should Babel. Lastly, not one of Sodom escaped destruction (whereas Ierusalem being destroyed a remnant escaped) no more should any of Babel, not one being since the utter ruine thereof left to dwell there. For this is the difference, which God puts betwixt the wicked world and his Church, they all perish into one; but the Church, though most perish, yet some are saved in all places everlastingly; and here the hottest persecutions have not been able to prevail so far, as to destroy all Christians, as neither the tyranny of wicked Kings of old to destroy all the Jews.
To shew the greatness of Babels desolation after the utter ruining of it, he Vers. 20.saith, That it shall not be inhabited any more from generation to generation, no not so much as by an Arabian pitching his Tent there, or a shepherd, it being altogether possessed by wilde beasts and terrible spectraes, fraying all men away from thence for ever. To shew the accomplishment of this Prophecie, Jerom saith, that a certain Frier an Elamite told him, that within all the ground Hieronym.inclosed by those huge wals of Babylon, inhabited none but wilde beasts, to hunt which the King oft resorted thither. For the Arabian here named, they were a kinde of people thus called, who applied themselves to nothing else, but to keep cattel, living in Tents, and removing from time to time to other places, as they fed up the ground where they came. In saying therefore, that an Arabian should not pitch his Tent there, he meaneth, That there should be such a desolation as was not of any Countrey, but only of Sodom. Calvin saith, That by the Arabians those of Arabia deserta are to be understood, who leaving Calvin.their Countrey, because it is barren, wandered about and pitcht their Tents wheresoever they could finde pasture; but to Babylon the Prophet sheweth, that they should not come after the destruction thereof, either because of the great slaughters of men made there, which terrified them from coming, or because of the curse of God upon the ground, making it barren ever after. But the words following ver. 21, 22. shew another cause, viz. the terrible things appearing there, as Zijm and Jim, Dragons and Devils, and Ohim. By Zijm, some understand all sorts of terrible wilde bersts, by Ohim Apes with tails, or Wolves, Foxes and such like; by Benoth Jagnanah, young Ostriches; by Segnarim, some Satyrs, some Devils appearing in such shapes. Jim are by some rendred Owls, by some Cats; but the word from which it cometh, signifieth to terrifie. The Septuagint render Ohim, clamours and sounds; the Hebrews themselves, saith Calvin, are uncertain how to expound these words, onelyonly all agree, That devils who delight in desert places shall haunt Babylon thus brought to desolation, so that men shall not dare to come and abide any more there. Jerom applieth this to spiritual Babylon, prophesied of in the Revelation, which shall likewise, after she hath long flourished, come also to ruine and desolation. But he sheweth not, which City now extant this is, but others long ago have not doubted, but that it is Rome, whose fatal time is yet to come. Munster in his Cosmography speaks of two Babylons more besides this, which was the seat of the Caldees Empire, viz. Seleucia, afterwards called Babylon, three hundred and twenty furlongs from this; and another in Egypt, called also Cair, being a most mighty and populous City.