Isa 2:2-5, 19:24-25, 25:6 | Clarke | e4.org | Verse 2. In the last days -"In the latter days"] "Wherever the latter times are mentioned in Scripture, the days of the Messiah are always meant," says Kimchi on this place: and, in regard to this place, nothing can be more clear and certain. And the mountain of the Lord's house , says the same author, is Mount Moriah , on which the temple was built. The prophet Micah, , has repeated this prophecy of the establishment of the kingdom of Christ, and of its progress to universality and perfection, in the same words, with little and hardly any material variation: for as he did not begin to prophesy till Jotham's time, and this seems to be one of the first of Isaiah's prophecies, I suppose Micah to have taken it from hence. The variations, as I said, are of no great importance. Ver. 2. hu , after venissa , a word of some emphasis, may be supplied from Micah, if dropped in Isaiah. An ancient MS. has it here in the margin. It has in like manner been lost in , (see note on the place, ) and in , where it is supplied by the Syriac , and Septuagint . Instead of col haggoyim, all the nations , Micah has only ammim, peoples ; where the Syriac has col ammim, all peoples , as probably it ought to be. Ver. 3. For the second el , read veel , seventeen MSS., one of my own, ancient, two editions, the Septuagint, Vulgate, Syriac, Chaldee , and so Micah, . Ver. 4. Micah adds ad rachok, afar off , which the Syriac also reads in this parallel place of Isaiah. It is also to be observed that Micah has improved the passage by adding a verse, or sentence, for imagery and expression worthy even of the elegance of Isaiah:- "And they shall sit every man under his vine, And under his fig tree, and none shall affright them: For the mouth of JEHOVAH, God of hosts, hath spoken it." The description of well established peace, by the image of "beating their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks," is very poetical. The Roman poets have employed the same image, Martial , xiv. 34. "Falx ex ense." "Pax me certa ducis placidos curvavit in usus: Agricolae nunc sum; militis ante fui." "Sweet peace has transformed me. I was once the property of the soldier, and am now the property of the husbandman." The prophet Joel, , hath reversed it, and applied it to war prevailing over peace:- "Beat your ploughshares into swords, And your pruning-hooks into spears." And so likewise the Roman poets:- ________________Non ullus aratro Dignus honos: squalent abductis arva colonis, Et curvae rigidum falces conflantur in ensem. Virg ., Georg. i. 506. "Agriculture has now no honour: the husbandmen being taken away to the wars, the fields are overgrown with weeds, and the crooked sickles are straightened into swords." Bella diu tenuere viros: erat aptior ensis Vomere: cedebat taurus arator equo Sarcula cessabant; versique in pila ligones; Factaque de rastri pondere cassis erat. Ovid, Fast. i. 697. "War has lasted long, and the sword is preferred to the plough. The bull has given place to the war-horse; the weeding-hooks to pikes; and the harrow-pins have been manufactured into helmets." The prophet Ezekiel, , has presignified the same great event with equal clearness, though in a more abstruse form, in an allegory; from an image, suggested by the former part of the prophecy, happily introduced, and well pursued:- "Thus saith the Lord JEHOVAH: I myself will take from the shoot of the lofty cedar, Even a tender scion from the top of his scions will I pluck off: And I myself will plant it on a mountain high and eminent. On the lofty mountain of Israel will I plant it; And it shall exalt its branch, and bring forth fruit, And it shall become a majestic cedar: And under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing; In the shadow of its branches shall they dwell: And all the trees of the field shall know, That I JEHOVAH have brought low the high tree; Have exalted the low tree; Have dried up the green tree; And have made the dry tree to flourish: I JEHOVAH have spoken it, and will do it." The word venathatti , in this passage, , as the sentence now stands, appears incapable of being reduced to any proper construction or sense. None of the ancient versions acknowledge it, except Theodotion , and the Vulgate ; and all but the latter vary very much from the present reading of this clause. Houbigant's correction of the passage, by reading instead of venathatti , veyoneketh, and a tender scion -which is not very unlike it, perhaps better veyonek , with which the adjective rach will agree without alteration-is ingenious and probable; and I have adopted it in the above translation.-L.

‏ Isaiah 2:2-5

Verse 2. In the last days-"In the latter days"] "Wherever the latter times are mentioned in Scripture, the days of the Messiah are always meant," says Kimchi on this place: and, in regard to this place, nothing can be more clear and certain. And the mountain of the Lord's house, says the same author, is Mount Moriah, on which the temple was built. The prophet Micah, Mic 4:1-4, has repeated this prophecy of the establishment of the kingdom of Christ, and of its progress to universality and perfection, in the same words, with little and hardly any material variation: for as he did not begin to prophesy till Jotham's time, and this seems to be one of the first of Isaiah's prophecies, I suppose Micah to have taken it from hence. The variations, as I said, are of no great importance. Ver. 2. hu, after venissa, a word of some emphasis, may be supplied from Micah, if dropped in Isaiah. An ancient MS. has it here in the margin. It has in like manner been lost in Isa 53:4, (see note on the place, See Clarke on Isa 53:4) and in Ps 22:29, where it is supplied by the Syriac, and Septuagint. Instead of col haggoyim, all the nations, Micah has only ammim, peoples; where the Syriac has col ammim, all peoples, as probably it ought to be. Ver. 3. For the second el, read veel, seventeen MSS., one of my own, ancient, two editions, the Septuagint, Vulgate, Syriac, Chaldee, and so Micah, Mic 4:2. Ver. 4. Micah adds ad rachok, afar off, which the Syriac also reads in this parallel place of Isaiah. It is also to be observed that Micah has improved the passage by adding a verse, or sentence, for imagery and expression worthy even of the elegance of Isaiah:-

"And they shall sit every man under his vine,

And under his fig tree, and none shall affright them:

For the mouth of JEHOVAH, God of hosts, hath spoken it."

The description of well established peace, by the image of "beating their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks," is very poetical. The Roman poets have employed the same image, Martial, xiv. 34. "Falx ex ense."

"Pax me certa ducis placidos curvavit in usus:

Agricolae nunc sum; militis ante fui."

"Sweet peace has transformed me. I was once the property of the soldier, and am now the property of the husbandman."

The prophet Joel, Joe 3:10, hath reversed it, and applied it to war prevailing over peace:-

"Beat your ploughshares into swords,

And your pruning-hooks into spears."

And so likewise the Roman poets:-

________________Non ullus aratro

Dignus honos: squalent abductis arva colonis,

Et curvae rigidum falces conflantur in ensem.

Virg., Georg. i. 506.

"Agriculture has now no honour: the husbandmen being taken away to the wars, the fields are overgrown with weeds, and the crooked sickles are straightened into swords."

Bella diu tenuere viros: erat aptior ensis

Vomere: cedebat taurus arator equo

Sarcula cessabant; versique in pila ligones;

Factaque de rastri pondere cassis erat.

Ovid, Fast. i. 697.

"War has lasted long, and the sword is preferred to the plough. The bull has given place to the war-horse; the weeding-hooks to pikes; and the harrow-pins have been manufactured into helmets."

The prophet Ezekiel, Eze 17:22-24, has presignified the same great event with equal clearness, though in a more abstruse form, in an allegory; from an image, suggested by the former part of the prophecy, happily introduced, and well pursued:-

"Thus saith the Lord JEHOVAH:

I myself will take from the shoot of the lofty cedar,

Even a tender scion from the top of his scions will I

pluck off:

And I myself will plant it on a mountain high and

eminent.

On the lofty mountain of Israel will I plant it;

And it shall exalt its branch, and bring forth fruit,

And it shall become a majestic cedar:

And under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing;

In the shadow of its branches shall they dwell:

And all the trees of the field shall know,

That I JEHOVAH have brought low the high tree;

Have exalted the low tree;

Have dried up the green tree;

And have made the dry tree to flourish:

I JEHOVAH have spoken it, and will do it."

The word venathatti, in this passage, Eze 17:22, as the sentence now stands, appears incapable of being reduced to any proper construction or sense. None of the ancient versions acknowledge it, except Theodotion, and the Vulgate; and all but the latter vary very much from the present reading of this clause. Houbigant's correction of the passage, by reading instead of venathatti, veyoneketh, and a tender scion-which is not very unlike it, perhaps better veyonek, with which the adjective rach will agree without alteration-is ingenious and probable; and I have adopted it in the above translation.-L.

Verse 3. To the house] The conjunction vau is added by nineteen of Kennicott's, thirteen of De Rossi's MSS., one of my own, and two editions, the Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate, Arabic, and some copies of the Targum; AND to the house. It makes the sentence more emphatic.

He will teach us of his ways] Unless God grant a revelation of his will, what can we know?

We will walk in his paths] Unless we purpose to walk in the light, of what use can that light be to us?

For out of Zion shall go forth the law] In the house of God, and in his ordinances only, can we expect to hear the pure doctrines of revelation preached. 1. God alone can give a revelation of his own will. 2. We must use the proper means in order to know this will. 3. We should know it in order to do it. 4. We should do it in order to profit by it. 5. He who will not walk in the light when God vouchsafes it, shall be shut up in everlasting darkness. 6. Every man should help his neighbour to attain that light, life, and felicity: "Come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord."

Verse 4. Neither shall they learn war any more.] If wars are necessary, how deep must that fall be that renders them so! But what a reproach to humanity is the trade of war! Men are regularly instructed in it, as in any of the necessary arts.

"How to dislodge most souls from their frail shrines

By bomb, sword, ball, and bayonet, is the art

Which some call great and glorious!"

And is this a necessary part of a finished education in civilized society? O Earth! Earth! Earth!

‏ Isaiah 19:24-25

Verse 25. Blessed be Egypt-Assyria-and Israel] All these countries shall be converted to the Lord. Concerning Egypt, it was said, Isa 18:7, that it should bring gifts to the Lord at Jerusalem. Here it is predicted, Isa 19:19, that there shall be an altar to the Lord in Egypt itself; and that they, with the Assyrians shall become the people of God with the Israelites. This remains partly to be fulfilled. These countries shall be all, and perhaps at no very distant time from this, converted to the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ.

‏ Isaiah 25:6

Verse 6. In this mountain] Zion, at Jerusalem. In his Church.

Shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast] Salvation by Jesus Christ. A feast is a proper and usual expression of joy in consequence of victory, or any other great success. The feast here spoken of is to be celebrated on Mount Sion; and all people, without distinction, are to be invited to it. This can be no other than the celebration of the establishment of Christ's kingdom, which is frequently represented in the Gospel under the image of a feast; "where many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven;" Mt 8:11. See also Lu 14:16; 24:29, 30. This sense is fully confirmed by the concomitants of this feast expressed in the next verse, the removing of the veil from the face of the nations, and the abolition of death: the first of which is obviously and clearly explained of the preaching of the Gospel; and the second must mean the blessing of immortality procured for us by Christ, "who hath abolished death, and through death hath destroyed him that had the power of death."

Of wines on the lees-"Of old wines"] Heb. lees; that is, of wines kept long on the lees. The word used to express the lees in the original signifies the preservers; because they preserve the strength and flavour of the wine. "All recent wines, after the fermentation has ceased, ought to be kept on their lees for a certain time, which greatly contributes to increase their strength and flavour. Whenever this first fermentation has been deficient, they will retain a more rich and sweet taste than is natural to them in a recent true vinous state; and unless farther fermentation is promoted by their lying longer on their own lees, they will never attain their genuine strength and flavour, but run into repeated and ineffectual fermentations, and soon degenerate into a liquor of an acetous kind. All wines of a light and austere kind, by a fermentation too great, or too long continued, certainly degenerate into a weak sort of vinegar; while the stronger not only require, but will safely bear a stronger and often-repeated fermentation; and are more apt to degenerate from a defect than excess of fermentation into a vapid, ropy, and at length into a putrescent state." Sir Edward Barry, Observations on the Wines of the Ancients, p. 9, 10.

Thevenot observes particularly of the Shiras wine, that, after it is refined from the lees, it is apt to grow sour. "Il a beaucoup de lie; c'est pourquoi il donne puissemment dans la teste; et pour le rendre plus traitable on le passe par un chausse d'hypocras; apres quoi il est fort clair, et moins fumeux. Ils mettent ce vin dans des grandes jarres de terres qui tiennent dix ou douze jusqu'a quatorze carabas: mais quand l'on a entame une jarre, il faut la vuider au plutost, et mettre le vin qu'on en tire dans des bouteilles ou carabas; car si l'on y manque en le laissant quelque tems apres que la jarre est entamee il se gate et s'aigrit." Voyages, Tom. ii. p. 245.-"It has much sediment, and therefore is intoxicating. In order to make it more mellow, they strain it through a hypocrates' sleeve, after which it is very clear and less heady. They lay up this wine in great earthen jars, which hold from ten to fourteen carabas: but when a jar is unstopped, it is necessary to empty it immediately, and put the wine into bottles, or carabas; for if it be left thus in the jar, it will spoil and become acid."

The caraba, or girba, is a goat's skin drawn off from the animal, having no apertures but those occasioned by the tail, the feet, and the neck. One opening is left, to pour in and draw off the liquor. This skin goes through a sort of tanning process, and is often beautifully ornamented, as is the case with one of these girbas now lying before me.

This clearly explains the very elegant comparison, or rather allegory, of Jeremiah, Jer 48:11; where the reader will find a remarkable example of the mixture of the proper with the allegorical, not uncommon with the Hebrew poets:-

"Moab hath been at ease from his youth,

And he hath settled upon his lees;

Nor hath he been drawn off from vessel to vessel,

Neither hath he gone into captivity:

Wherefore his taste remaineth in him,

And his flavour is not changed."

Sir John Chardin's MS. note on this place of Jeremiah is as follows: "On change ainsi le vin de coupe en coupe en Orient; et quand on en entame une, il faut la vuider en petites coupes ou bouteilles, sans quoy il s'aigrit. "They change the wine from vessel to vessel in the east; and when they unstop a large one, it is necessary to empty it into small vessels, as otherwise it will grow sour."