16 For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with the whirlwind, to destroy his foes. God is often represented as coming in a chariot-a chariot of the clouds, or of a whirlwind. Ps. civ. 3: Who maketh the clouds his chariot, all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many. had no slight resemblance to a whirlwind. Comp. Notes on ch. xxi. 7, 9. They usually had strong and sharp iron scythes affixed to the extremities of their axles, and were driven into the midst of the army of an enemy, cutting down all before them. Warriors sometimes fought Comp. Ps. xviii. 10. Note ch. xix. 1. standing on them or leaping from them See also Jer. iv. 13: Behold, he shall come up as clouds, Chariots were commonly made with two wheels, though sometimes they had four wheels, to which two horses, fiery and impetuous, were attached; and the rapid movement, the swift revolving wheels, and the dust which they raised, on the enemy. The chariots in the army of Cyrus are said to have been capacious enough to permit twenty men to fight from them. The following cut is a representation of the wooden warchariot of the Parthians, and will give an idea of the general appearance and uses of the chariots of ancient times. To render his anger with fury. Lowth renders this," to breathe forth his anger." Jerome translates it reddere, i. e. to render. The LXX dπodoval, to give, or to render. Lowth proposes, instead of the present text as pointed by the Masorites, lěhâshibh, to read it lěhǎssibh, as if it were derived from nashabh. But there is no necessity of a change. The idea is, that God would recompense his fury; or would cause his hand to turn upon them in fury. With fury. Lowth renders this, "in a burning heat." The word used, n, properly means heat, then anger, wrath; and the Hebrew here might be properly rendered heat of his anger; that is, glowing or burning wrath; wrath that consumes like fire. With flames of fire. His rebuke shall consume like fiery flames; or it shall be manifested amidst such flames. 16. For by fire and by his sword. The sword is an instrument by which punishment is executed. See Notes ch. xxxiv. 5. Comp. Rom. xiii. 4. ¶ Will he plead with all flesh. Or rather he will judge, , that is, he will execute his purposes of vengeance on all the human race. Of course, only that part is intended who ought to be subject to punishment; that is, all his foes. And the slain of the LORD shall be many. The number of those who shall be consigned to woe shall be immense though in the winding up of the great drama at the close of the world there is reason to hope that a large proportion of the race, taken as a whole, will be saved. Of past generations, indeed, there is no just ground of such hope; 17 They "that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens, behind one tree in u ch. 65. 3, 4. 5 or, one after another. of the present generation, there is no such prospect. But brighter and happier times are to come. The true religion is to spread over all the world, and for a long period is to prevail ; and the hope is, that during that long period the multitude of true converts will be so great as to leave the whole number who are lost, compared with those who are saved, much less than is commonly supposed. Still the aggregate of those who are lost the slain of the Lord,' will be vast. This description I regard as having reference to the coming of the Lord to judgment (comp. 2 Thess. i. 8); or if it refer to any other manifestation of JEHOVAH for judgment-like the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans -it has a strong resemblance to the final judgment, and like the description of that by the Saviour (Matt. xxiv.), the language is such as naturally to suggest, and to be applicable to, the final judgment of mankind. 1 17. They that sanctify themselves. That is, who attempt to purify themselves by idolatrous rites; by ablutions and lustrations. The design here is, to describe those who will be exposed to the wrath of God when he shall come to execute vengeance. ¶ And purify themselves in the gardens. See Notes on ch. lxv. 3. Behind one tree in the midst. This passage has not a little exercised the ingenuity of commentators. It is quite evident that our translators were not able to satisfy themselves with regard to its meaning. In the margin they have rendered it, "one after another," supposing that it may mean that the idolaters engaged in their sacrifices in a solemn procession, walking one after another around their groves, their shrines, or their altars. In the translation in the text they seem to have supposed that the religious rites referred to were celebrated behind one particular selected tree in the garden. Lowth renders it," after the rites of Achad." turba post turbam-multitude after multitude. The vexed Hebrew phrase used here, îș áhhăr áhhídh, it is very difficult to explain. The word אחד means properly after; the after part; the extremity; behind-in the sense of following after, or going after The word any one. ahhadh means properly one; some one; any one. Gesenius (Comm. in loc.) says that the phrase may be used in one of the three following senses. (1.) In the sense of one after another. So Sym. and Theo. render it-dniow dλλńλwv. Luther renders it, einer hier, der andere da—'one here, another there.' (2.) The word ahhahd may be understood as the name of a god who was worshipped in Syria, by the name of Adad. This god is that described by Macrobius, Sat. i. 23. "Understand what the Assyrians think about the power of the sun. For to the God whom they worship as Supreme they give the name Adad, and the signification of this name is One." That the passage before us refers to this divinity is the opinion of Lowth, Grotius, Bochart, Vitringa, Dathe, and others. "The image of Adad," Macrobius adds, "was designated by inclined rays, by which it was shown that the power of heaven was in the rays of the sun which were sent down to the earth." The same god is referred to by Pliny (Hist. Nat. xxxvii. § 71), where he mentions three gems which received their names from three parts of the body, and were called "the veins of Adad, the eye of 18 For I know their works and Adad, the finger of Adad," and he adds, their thoughts: it shall come, flesh.. That is, in connexion with their public worship. See Notes on ch. lxv. 4. And the abomination. The thing which is held as abominable or detestable in the law of God. Thus the creeping thing and the reptile were regarded as abominations. Lev. xi. 41, 42. They were not to be eaten; still less were they to be offered in sacrifice. Comp. Ex. viii. 26. Deut. xx. 18, xxix. 17. See Notes on ch. lxv. 3. And the mouse. The Hebrew word here used means the dormouse-a small field mouse. Jerome understands it as meaning the glis, a small mouse that was regarded as a great delicacy by the Romans. They were carefully kept and fattened for food. See Varro de Rust. L. iii. c. 15. Bochart (Hieroz. p. 1. Lib. iii. c. xxxiv.) supposes that the name here used is of Chaldaic origin, and that it denotes a field-mouse. Mice abounded in the East, and were often exceedingly destructive in Syria. See Bochart. Comp. 1 Sam. v. 4. Strabo mentions that so vast a multitude of mice sometimes invaded Spain as to produce a pestilence; and in some parts of Italy the number of field-mice was so great that the inhabitants were forced to abandon the country. It was partly on account of its destructive character that it was held in abomination by the Hebrews. Yet it would seem that it was eaten by idolaters, and was perhaps used either in their sacrifices, or in their incantations. See Notes on ch. lxv. 4. Vitringa supposes that the description in this verse is applicable to the time of Herod, and that it refers to the number of heathen customs and institutions which were introduced under his auspices. But this is by no means certain. It may be possible that it is a general description of idolatry, and of idolaters as the enemies of God, and that the idea is that God would come with vengeance to cut off all his foes. 18. For I know their works. The word "know," says Lowth, is here evidently left out of the Hebrew text, leaving the sense quite imperfect. It is found in the Syriac; the Chaldee evidently had that word in the copy of the that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory. 19 And I will set a sign *among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto ch. 18. 3, 7. Luke 2. 34. b Mal. 1. 11. Matt. 28. 10. Hebrew which was used; and the Aldine and Complutensian editions of the LXX have the word. Its insertion is necessary in order to complete the sense; though the proof is not clear that the word was ever in the Hebrew text. The sense is, that though their abominable rites were celebrated the deepest recesses of the groves, yet they were not concealed from God. That I will gather all nations and tongues. They who speak all languages. Comp. Rev. vii. 9, x. 11, xi. 9. The sense is, that the period would come when JEHOVAH Would collect all nations to witness the execution of his vengeance on his foes. ¶ And see my glory. That is, the manifestation of my perfections in the great events referred to here-the destruction of his enemies, and the deliverance of his people. To what particular period this refers has been a point on which expositors are by no means agreed. Grotius says it means, that such shall be the glory of the Jewish people that all nations shall desire to come and make a covenant with them. The Jewish interpreters, and among them Abarbanel (see Vitringa), suppose that it refers to a hostile and warlike assembling of all nations in the time of the Messiah, who, say they, shall attack Jerusalem with the Messiah in it, and shall be defeated. They mention particularly that the Turks and Christians shall make war on Jerusalem and on the true Messiah, but that they shall be overthrown. Vitringa supposes that it refers to the assembling of the nations when the gospel should be at first proclaimed, and when they should be called into the kingdom of God. Many of the fathers referred it to the final judgment. It is difficult to determine, amidst this variety of opinion, the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; 'and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles. what is the true meaning. Opinions are easily given, and conjectures are easily made; and the opinions referred to above are entitled to little more than the appellation of conjecture. It seems to me, that there is involved here the idea of the judgment or punishment on the enemies of God, and at about the same time a collecting of the nations not only to witness the punishment, but also to become participants of his favour. In some future time, JEHOVAH would manifest himself as the punisher of his enemies, and all the nations also would be permitted to behold his glory, as if they were assembled together. 19. And I will set a sign among them. See Notes on ch. xi. 12, xviii. 3. On the meaning of the word sign, nix, see Notes on ch. vii. 11. What is its meaning here is to be determined by the connexion. That would seem to me to require some such interpretation as this: That when God should come (vs. 17, 18) to take vengeance on his foes, and to manifest his glory, he would establish some mark or memorial; would erect some standard, or give some signal, by which his true friends would escape, and that he would send them to distant nations to proclaim his truth and gather together those who had not seen his glory. What that sign should be, he does not here say. Whether a standard, a secret communication, or some inti mation beforehand, by which they should know the approaching danger and make their escape, is not declared. It is by no means easy to determine with certainty on this passage; and it certainly becomes no one to speak dogmatically or very confidently. But it seems to me that the whole passage may have been intended, by the Holy Matt. | 9, xi. 11, 16. Of that remnant God would send a portion to make his name known to those who had not heard it, and they would lead distant nations to the knowledge of his truth. The whole passage is so accurately descriptive of what occurred in the times when the gospel was first preached to the Pagan world, that there can be little danger of error in referring it to those times. Compare Vitringa on the passage for a more full view of the reasons of this interpretation. The names of the places which follow are designed to specify the principal places where the message would be sent, and stand here as representatives of the whole heathen world. Spirit, to refer to the propagation of the gospel by the apostles. The heavy judgments referred to may have been the impending calamities over Jerusalem. The glory of God referred to, may have been the signal manifestation of his perfections at that period in the approaching destruction of the city, and in the wonders that attended the coming of the Messiah. The gathering of the nations (ver. 18) may possibly refer to the collecting together of numerous people from all parts of the earth about that time; that is, either the assembled people at the time of the Saviour's death, (Acts ii. 8, 11,) or the gathering of the armies of the Romans-a commingled multitude from all nations-to inflict punish-¶ To Tarshish. See Notes on ch. ii. ment on the Jewish nation, and to behold the manifestation of the divine justice in the destruction of the guilty Jewish capital. The "sign" here referred to, may denote the intimations which the Redeemer gave to his disciples to discern these approaching calamities, and to secure their safety by flight when they should be about to appear. xxiv. 15-18. By these warnings and previous intimations they were to be preserved. The sign was "among them" -i. e. in the very midst of the nation; and the object of the intimation was, to secure their safety, and the speedy propagation of the true religion among all nations. Deeply sensible that there is great danger of erring here, and that the above view may be viewed as mere conjecture, I cannot, however, help regarding it as the true exposition. If there is error in it, it may be pardoned; for it will probably be felt by most readers of these Notes that there has not been a too frequent reference in the interpretation proposed to the times of the Christian dispensation. And I will send those that escape of them. According to the interpretation suggested above, this refers to the portion of the Jewish nation that should escape from the tokens of the divine displeasure; that is, to the apostles and the early disciples of the Redeemer. The great mass of the nation would be abandoned and devoted to destruction. But a remnant would be saved. Comp. ch. i. | Ludim are long since extinct, having 16, xxiii. 1, lx. 19. Tarshish was one of the most distant seaports known to the Hebrews; and whether it be regarded as situated in Spain, or in the East Indies, or south of Abyssinia (see Notes above) it equally denotes a distant place, and the passage means that the message would be borne to the most remote regions. ¶ Pul. This is supposed to denote some region in Africa. Jerome renders it, Africa. The LXX, Hovd Phud. Bochart, Phaleg, iv. 26, supposes that it means Philae, a large island in the Nile, between Egypt and Ethiopia; called by the Egyptians Pilak, i. e. the border, or far country. See Champollion l'Egypte, 1. p. 158. There are still on that island remains of some very noble and extensive temples built by the ancient Egyptians. ¶ And Lud. Jerome renders this Lydia. The LXX, Lud. There was a Lydia in Asia Minor-the kingdom of the celebrated Croesus; but it is generally supposed that this place was in Africa. Ludim was a son of Mizraim (Gen. x. 13), and the name Ludim, or Lybians, referring to a people, several times occurs in the Bible. Jer. xlvi. 9. Ezek. xxvii. 10, xxx. 5. These African Lybians are commonly mentioned in connexion with Pul, Ethiopia, and Phut. Bochart supposes that Abyssinia is intended, but it is by no means certain that this is the place referred to. sephus affirms that the descendants of Jo |