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Isaiah 17:7 King James Version with Strong's Concordance (STRONG)

7 At that day H3117 shall a man H120 look H8159 to his Maker, H6213 and his eyes H5869 shall have respect H7200 to the Holy H6918 One of Israel. H3478

Cross Reference

Isaiah 29:18-19 STRONG

And in that day H3117 shall the deaf H2795 hear H8085 the words H1697 of the book, H5612 and the eyes H5869 of the blind H5787 shall see H7200 out of obscurity, H652 and out of darkness. H2822 The meek H6035 also shall increase H3254 their joy H8057 in the LORD, H3068 and the poor H34 among men H120 shall rejoice H1523 in the Holy One H6918 of Israel. H3478

Hosea 14:1-3 STRONG

O Israel, H3478 return H7725 unto the LORD H3068 thy God; H430 for thou hast fallen H3782 by thine iniquity. H5771 Take H3947 with you words, H1697 and turn H7725 to the LORD: H3068 say H559 unto him, Take away H5375 all iniquity, H5771 and receive H3947 us graciously: H2896 so will we render H7999 the calves H6499 of our lips. H8193 Asshur H804 shall not save H3467 us; we will not ride H7392 upon horses: H5483 neither will we say H559 any more to the work H4639 of our hands, H3027 Ye are our gods: H430 for in thee the fatherless H3490 findeth mercy. H7355

Jeremiah 31:4-10 STRONG

Again I will build H1129 thee, and thou shalt be built, H1129 O virgin H1330 of Israel: H3478 thou shalt again be adorned H5710 with thy tabrets, H8596 and shalt go forth H3318 in the dances H4234 of them that make merry. H7832 Thou shalt yet plant H5193 vines H3754 upon the mountains H2022 of Samaria: H8111 the planters H5193 shall plant, H5193 and shall eat them as common things. H2490 For there shall be H3426 a day, H3117 that the watchmen H5341 upon the mount H2022 Ephraim H669 shall cry, H7121 Arise H6965 ye, and let us go up H5927 to Zion H6726 unto the LORD H3068 our God. H430 For thus saith H559 the LORD; H3068 Sing H7442 with gladness H8057 for Jacob, H3290 and shout H6670 among the chief H7218 of the nations: H1471 publish H8085 ye, praise H1984 ye, and say, H559 O LORD, H3068 save H3467 thy people, H5971 the remnant H7611 of Israel. H3478 Behold, I will bring H935 them from the north H6828 country, H776 and gather H6908 them from the coasts H3411 of the earth, H776 and with them the blind H5787 and the lame, H6455 the woman with child H2030 and her that travaileth with child H3205 together: H3162 a great H1419 company H6951 shall return H7725 thither. They shall come H935 with weeping, H1065 and with supplications H8469 will I lead H2986 them: I will cause them to walk H3212 by the rivers H5158 of waters H4325 in a straight H3477 way, H1870 wherein they shall not stumble: H3782 for I am a father H1 to Israel, H3478 and Ephraim H669 is my firstborn. H1060 Hear H8085 the word H1697 of the LORD, H3068 O ye nations, H1471 and declare H5046 it in the isles H339 afar off, H4801 and say, H559 He that scattered H2219 Israel H3478 will gather H6908 him, and keep H8104 him, as a shepherd H7462 doth his flock. H5739

Jeremiah 3:18-23 STRONG

In those days H3117 the house H1004 of Judah H3063 shall walk H3212 with the house H1004 of Israel, H3478 and they shall come H935 together H3162 out of the land H776 of the north H6828 to the land H776 that I have given for an inheritance H5157 unto your fathers. H1 But I said, H559 How shall I put H7896 thee among the children, H1121 and give H5414 thee a pleasant H2532 land, H776 a goodly H6643 heritage H5159 of the hosts H6635 of nations? H1471 and I said, H559 Thou shalt call H7121 me, My father; H1 and shalt not turn away H7725 from me. H310 Surely H403 as a wife H802 treacherously H898 departeth from her husband, H7453 so have ye dealt treacherously H898 with me, O house H1004 of Israel, H3478 saith H5002 the LORD. H3068 A voice H6963 was heard H8085 upon the high places, H8205 weeping H1065 and supplications H8469 of the children H1121 of Israel: H3478 for they have perverted H5753 their way, H1870 and they have forgotten H7911 the LORD H3068 their God. H430 Return, H7725 ye backsliding H7726 children, H1121 and I will heal H7495 your backslidings. H4878 Behold, we come H857 unto thee; for thou art the LORD H3068 our God. H430 Truly H403 in vain H8267 is salvation hoped for from the hills, H1389 and from the multitude H1995 of mountains: H2022 truly H403 in the LORD H3068 our God H430 is the salvation H8668 of Israel. H3478

Jeremiah 3:12-14 STRONG

Go H1980 and proclaim H7121 these words H1697 toward the north, H6828 and say, H559 Return, H7725 thou backsliding H4878 Israel, H3478 saith H5002 the LORD; H3068 and I will not cause mine anger H6440 to fall H5307 upon you: for I am merciful, H2623 saith H5002 the LORD, H3068 and I will not keep H5201 anger for ever. H5769 Only acknowledge H3045 thine iniquity, H5771 that thou hast transgressed H6586 against the LORD H3068 thy God, H430 and hast scattered H6340 thy ways H1870 to the strangers H2114 under every green H7488 tree, H6086 and ye have not obeyed H8085 my voice, H6963 saith H5002 the LORD. H3068 Turn, H7725 O backsliding H7726 children, H1121 saith H5002 the LORD; H3068 for I am married H1166 unto you: and I will take H3947 you one H259 of a city, H5892 and two H8147 of a family, H4940 and I will bring H935 you to Zion: H6726

Judges 10:15-16 STRONG

And the children H1121 of Israel H3478 said H559 unto the LORD, H3068 We have sinned: H2398 do H6213 thou unto us whatsoever seemeth H5869 good H2896 unto thee; deliver H5337 us only, we pray thee, this day. H3117 And they put away H5493 the strange H5236 gods H430 from among H7130 them, and served H5647 the LORD: H3068 and his soul H5315 was grieved H7114 for the misery H5999 of Israel. H3478

Isaiah 24:14-15 STRONG

They shall lift up H5375 their voice, H6963 they shall sing H7442 for the majesty H1347 of the LORD, H3068 they shall cry aloud H6670 from the sea. H3220 Wherefore glorify H3513 ye the LORD H3068 in the fires, H217 even the name H8034 of the LORD H3068 God H430 of Israel H3478 in the isles H339 of the sea. H3220

Isaiah 10:20-21 STRONG

And it shall come to pass in that day, H3117 that the remnant H7605 of Israel, H3478 and such as are escaped H6413 of the house H1004 of Jacob, H3290 shall no more again H3254 stay H8172 upon him that smote H5221 them; but shall stay H8172 upon the LORD, H3068 the Holy One H6918 of Israel, H3478 in truth. H571 The remnant H7605 shall return, H7725 even the remnant H7605 of Jacob, H3290 unto the mighty H1368 God. H410

2 Chronicles 35:17-18 STRONG

And the children H1121 of Israel H3478 that were present H4672 kept H6213 the passover H6453 at that time, H6256 and the feast H2282 of unleavened bread H4682 seven H7651 days. H3117 And there was no passover H6453 like H3644 to that kept H6213 in Israel H3478 from the days H3117 of Samuel H8050 the prophet; H5030 neither did H6213 all the kings H4428 of Israel H3478 keep H6213 such a passover H6453 as Josiah H2977 kept, H6213 and the priests, H3548 and the Levites, H3881 and all Judah H3063 and Israel H3478 that were present, H4672 and the inhabitants H3427 of Jerusalem. H3389

2 Chronicles 30:18-20 STRONG

For a multitude H4768 of the people, H5971 even many H7227 of Ephraim, H669 and Manasseh, H4519 Issachar, H3485 and Zebulun, H2074 had not H3808 cleansed H2891 themselves, yet did they eat H398 the passover H6453 otherwise than it was written. H3789 But Hezekiah H3169 prayed H6419 for them, saying, H559 The good H2896 LORD H3068 pardon H3722 every one That prepareth H3559 his heart H3824 to seek H1875 God, H430 the LORD H3068 God H430 of his fathers, H1 though he be not cleansed according to the purification H2893 of the sanctuary. H6944 And the LORD H3068 hearkened H8085 to Hezekiah, H3169 and healed H7495 the people. H5971

2 Chronicles 30:10-11 STRONG

So the posts H7323 passed H5674 from city H5892 to city H5892 through the country H776 of Ephraim H669 and Manasseh H4519 even unto Zebulun: H2074 but they laughed them to scorn, H7832 and mocked H3932 them. Nevertheless divers H582 of Asher H836 and Manasseh H4519 and of Zebulun H2074 humbled H3665 themselves, and came H935 to Jerusalem. H3389

Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Isaiah 17

Commentary on Isaiah 17 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary


Introduction

The Oracle Concerning Damascus and Israel - Isaiah 17:1-14

From the Philistines on the west, and the Moabites on the east, the prophecy relating to the neighbouring nations now turns, without any chronological order, to the people of Damascene Syria on the north. The curse pronounced on them, however, falls upon the kingdom of Israel also, because it has allied itself with heathen Damascus, in opposition to its own brother tribe to the south, as well as to the Davidic government; and by this unnatural alliance with a zâr , or stranger, had become a zâr itself. From the period of Hezekiah's reign, to which the massa Moab belongs, at least so far as its epilogue is concerned, we are here carried back to the reign of Ahaz, and indeed far beyond “the year that Ahaz died” (Isaiah 14:28), to the very border of the reigns of Jotham and Ahaz - namely, to the time when the league for the destruction of Judah had only just been concluded. At the time when Isaiah incorporated this oracle in his collection, the threats against the kingdoms of Damascus and Israel had long been fulfilled. Assyria had punished both of them. And Assyria itself had also been punished, as the fourth turn in the oracle indicates. Consequently the oracle stands here as a memorial of the truthfulness of the prophecy; and it answers a further purpose still, viz., to furnish a rich prophetic consolation for the church of all times, when persecuted by the world, and sighing under the oppression of the kingdom of the world.


Verses 1-3

The first turn: “Behold, Damascus must ( be taken ) away out of the number of the cities, and will be a heap of fallen ruins. The cities of Aroer are forsaken, they are given up to flocks, they lie there without any one scaring them away. And the fortress of Ephraim is abolished, and the kingdom of Damascus; and it happens to those that are left of Aram as to the glory of the sons of Israel, saith Jehovah of hosts.” Behold ,” etc.: hinnēh followed by a participle indicates here, as it does everywhere else, something very near at hand. Damascus is removed מעיר (= עיר מהיות , cf., 1 Kings 15:13), i.e., out of the sphere of existence as a city. It becomes מעי , a heap of ruins. The word is used intentionally instead of עי , to sound as much as possible like מעיר : a mutilated city, so to speak. It is just the same with Israel, which has made itself an appendage of Damascus. The “cities of Aroer” ( gen. appos. Ges. §114, 3) represent the land to the east of the Jordan: there the judgment upon Israel (executed by Tiglath-pileser) first began. There were two Aroers : an old Amoritish city allotted to the tribe of Reuben, viz., “Aroer on the Arnon” (Deuteronomy 2:36; Deuteronomy 3:12, etc.); and an old Ammonitish one, allotted to the tribe of Gad, viz., “Aroer before Rabbah” (Rabbath, Ammon, Joshua 13:25). The ruins of the former are Arair , on the lofty northern bank of the Mugib ; but the situation of the latter has not yet been determined with certainty (see Comm. on Joshua 13:25). The “cities of Aroer” are these two Aroers, and the rest of the cities similar to it on the east of the Jordan; just as “the Orions” in Isaiah 13:10 are Orion and other similar stars. We meet here again with a significant play upon the sound in the expression ‛ ârē ‛Aro‛ēr (cities of Aroer): the name of Aroer was ominous, and what its name indicated would happen to the cities in its circuit. ערער means “to lay bare,” to pull down (Jeremiah 51:58); and ערער , ערירי signifies a stark-naked condition, a state of desolation and solitude. After Isaiah 17:1 has threatened Damascus in particular, and Isaiah 17:2 has done the same to Israel, Isaiah 17:3 comprehends them both. Ephraim loses the fortified cities which once served it as defences, and Damascus loses its rank as a kingdom. Those that are left of Aram, who do not fall in the war, become like the proud citizens of the kingdom of Israel, i.e., they are carried away into captivity. All this was fulfilled under Tiglath-pileser. The accentuation connects ארם שׁאר (the remnant of Aram) with the first half of the verse; but the meaning remains the same, as the subject to יהיוּ is in any case the Aramaeans.


Verses 4-8

Second turn: “And it comes to pass in that day, the glory of Jacob wastes away, and the fat of his flesh grows thin. And it will be as when a reaper grasps the stalks of wheat, and his arm mows off the ears; and it will be as with one who gathers together ears in the valley of Rephaim. Yet a gleaning remains from it, as at the olive-beating: two, three berries high up at the top; four, five in its, the fruit tree's, branches, saith Jehovah the God of Israel. At that day will man look up to his Creator, and his eyes will look to the Holy One of Israel. And he will not look to the altars, the work of his hands; and what his fingers have made he will not regard, neither the Astartes nor the sun-gods.” This second turn does not speak of Damascus, but simply of Israel, and in fact of all Israel, the range of vision widening out from Israel in the more restricted sense, so as to embrace the whole. It will all disappear, with the exception of a small remnant; but the latter will return. Thus “a remnant will return,” the law of Israel's history, which is here shown first of all in its threatening aspect, and then in its more promising one. The reputation and prosperity to which the two kingdoms were raised by Jeroboam II and Uzziah would pass away. Israel was ripe for judgment, like a field of corn for the harvest; and it would be as when a reaper grasps the stalks that have shot up, and cuts off the ears. קציר is not used elliptically for קציר אישׁ (Gesenius), nor is it a definition of time (Luzzatto), nor an accusative of the object (Knobel), but a noun formed like נביא , פליל , פריץ , and used in the sense of reaper ( kōtzēr in other cases).

(Note: Instead of kâtzar (to cut off, or shorten), they now say kâratz in the whole of the land to the east of the Jordan, which gives the idea of sawing off - a much more suitable one where the Syrian sickle is used.)

The figure suggested here is more fully expanded in John 4 and Rev 14. Hardly a single one will escape the judgment: just as in the broad plain of Rephaim, which slopes off to the south-west of Jerusalem as far as Bethlehem, where it is covered with rich fields of wheat, the collectors of ears leave only one or two ears lying scattered here and there.

Nevertheless a gleaning of Israel (“in it,” viz., in Jacob, Isaiah 17:4; Isaiah 10:22) will be left, just as when the branches of the olive tree, which have been already cleared with the hand, are still further shaken with a stick, there still remain a few olives upon the highest branch (two, three; cf., 2 Kings 9:32), or concealed under the foliage of the branches. “ Its , the fruit tree's , branches :” this is an elegant expression, as, for example, in Proverbs 14:13; the carrying over of the ה to the second word is very natural in both passages (see Ges. §121, b ). This small remnant will turn with stedfast gaze to the living God, as is becoming in man as such ( hâ'âdâm ), and not regard the idols as worthy of any look at all, at least of any reverential look. As hammânim are here images of the sun-god חמן בעל , which is well known from the Phoenician monuments,

(Note: See Levy, Phönizisches Wörterbuch (1864), p. 19; and Otto Strauss on Nahum , p. xxii. ss.)

'ashērim (for which we find, though more rarely, 'ashēroth ) apparently signifies images of the moon-goddess. And the combination of “Baal, Asherah, and all the host of heaven” in 2 Kings 23:4, as well as the surname “queen of heaven” in Jeremiah 7:18; Jeremiah 44:18-19, appears to require this (Knobel). But the latest researches have proved that ' Ashērâh is rather the Semitic Aphrodite, and therefore the planet Venus, which was called the “little luck” ( es - sa‛d el - as'gar )

(Note: See Krehl, Religion der vorislamischen Araber (1863), p. 11.)

by the Arabs, in distinction from Musteri (Jupiter),

(Note: This was the tutelar deity of Damascus; see Comm. on Job , Appendix.)

or “the great luck.” And with this the name 'Asherah the “lucky” (i.e., the source of luck or prosperity) and the similar surname given to the Assyrian Istar agree;

(Note: “ Ishtar ,” says Rawlinson in his Five Great Monarchies of the Ancient Eastern World , - a work which challenges criticism through its dazzling results - ” Ishtar is the goddess who rejoices mankind, and her most common epithet is Amra, 'the fortunate' or 'the happy.' But otherwise her epithets are vague and general, insomuch that she is often scarcely distinguishable from Beltis (the wife of Bel-Nimrod).” Vid., vol. i. p. 175 (1862).)

for 'Asherah is the very same goddess as 'Ashtoreth , whose name is thoroughly Arian, and apparently signifies the star (Ved. stir = star ; Zend. stare ; Neo-Pers. sitâre , used chiefly for the morning star), although Rawlinson (without being able to suggest any more acceptable interpretation) speaks of this view as “not worthy of much attention.”

(Note: The planet Venus, according to a Midrash relating to Genesis 6:1-2, is 'Istehar transferred to the sky; and this is the same as Zuhare (see Geiger, Was hat Muhammed , etc. 1833, pp. 107-109).)

Thus Asherim is used to signify the bosquets (shrubberies) or trees dedicated to the Semitic Aphrodite (Deuteronomy 16:21; compare the verbs used to signify their removal, גדע , כרת , נתשׁ ); but here it probably refers to her statues or images

(Note: The plural Ashtaroth , Hathors , which occurs upon Assyrian and Egyptian monuments, has a different meaning.)

(2 Kings 21:7; compare the m iphletzeth in 1 Kings 15:13, which is used to denote an obscene exhibition). For these images of the sun-god and of the goddess of the morning star, the remnant of Israel, that has been purified by the smelting furnace of judgment, has no longer any eye. Its looks are exclusively directed to the one true God of man. The promise, which here begins to dawn at the close of the second turn, is hidden again in the third, though only to break forth again in the fourth with double or triple intensity.


Verses 9-11

Third turn: “In that day will his fortified cities be like the ruins of the forest and of the mountain top, which they cleared before the sons of Israel: and there arises a waste place. For thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not thought of the Rock of thy stronghold, therefore thou plantedst charming plantations, and didst set them with strange vines. In the day that thou plantedst, thou didst make a fence; and with the morning dawn thou madest thy sowing to blossom: a harvest heap in the day of deep wounds and deadly sorrow of heart.” The statement in Isaiah 17:3, “The fortress of Ephraim is abolished,” is repeated in Isaiah 17:9 in a more descriptive manner. The fate of the strongly fortified cities of Ephraim would be the same as that of the old Canaanitish castles, which were still to be discerned in their antiquated remains, either in the depths of forests or high up on the mountains. The word ‛ azubâh , which the early translators quite misunderstood, signifies, both here and in Isaiah 6:12, desolate places that have gone to ruin. They also misunderstood והאמיר הסהרשׁ . The Septuagint renders it, by a bold conjecture, οἱ Αμοῤῥηαῖοι καὶ οὶ Εὐαῖοι ; but this is at once proved to be false by the inversion of the names of the two peoples, which was very properly thought to be necessary. האמיר undoubtedly signifies the top of a tree, which is quite unsuitable here. But as even this meaning points back to אמר , extollere , efferre (see at Psalms 94:4), it may also mean the mountain-top. The name hâ'emori (the Amorites: those who dwell high up in the mountains) proves the possibility of this; and the prophet had this name in his mind, and was guided by it in his choice of a word. The subject of עזבוּ is self-evident. And the reason why only the ruins in forests and on mountains are mentioned is, that other places, which were situated on the different lines of traffic, merely changed their inhabitants when the land was taken by Israel. The reason why the fate of Ephraim's fortified castles was the same as that of the Amoritish castles, which were then lying in ruins, was that Ephraim, as stated in Isaiah 17:10, had turned away from its true rocky stronghold, namely from Jehovah. It was a consequence of this estrangement from God, that Ephraim planted נעמנים נטעי , plantations of the nature of pleasant things, or pleasant plantations (compare on Psalms 78:49, and Ewald, §287, ab ), i.e., cultivated all kinds of sensual accompaniments to its worship, in accordance with its heathen propensities; and sowed, or rather (as zemōrâh is the layer of a vine) “set,” this garden-ground, to which the suffix ennu refers, with strange grapes, by forming an alliance with a zâr (a stranger), namely the king of Damascus. On the very day of the planting, Ephraim fenced it carefully (this is the meaning of the pilpel , sigsēg from שׂוּג = סוּג , not “to raise,” as no such verb as שׂוּג = שׂגה , סגא , can be shown to exist), that is to say, he ensured the perpetuity of these sensuous modes of worship as a state religion, with all the shrewdness of a Jeroboam (see Amos 7:13). And the very next morning he had brought into blossom what he had sown: the foreign layer had shot up like a hot-house plant, i.e., the alliance had speedily grown into a hearty agreement, and had already produced one blossom at any rate, viz., the plan of a joint attack upon Judah. But this plantation, which was so flattering and promising for Israel, and which had succeeded so rapidly, and to all appearance so happily, was a harvest heap for the day of the judgment. Nearly all modern expositors have taken nēd as the third person (after the form mēth , Ges. §72, Anm. 1), and render it “the harvest flees;” but the third person of נוּד would be נד , like the participle in Genesis 4:12; whereas the meaning cumulus (a heap), which it has elsewhere as a substantive, is quite appropriate, and the statement of the prophet resembles that of the apostle in Romans 2:5. The day of the judgment is called “the day of נחלה ” (or, according to another reading, נחלה ), not, however, as equivalent to nachal , a stream (Luzzatto, in giorno di fiumana ), as in Psalms 124:4 (the tone upon the last syllable proves this), nor in the sense of “in the day of possession,” as Rosenmüller and others suppose, since this necessarily gives to נד the former objectionable and (by the side of קציר ) improbable verbal sense; but as the feminine of nachleh , written briefly for maccâh nachlâh (Jeremiah 14:17), i.e., inasmuch as it inflicts grievous and mortal wounds. Ephraim's plantation is a harvest heap for that day (compare kâtzir , the harvest of punishment, in Hosea 6:11 and Jeremiah 51:33); and the hope set upon this plantation is changed into אנוּשׁ כּאב , a desperate and incurable heartfelt sorrow (Jeremiah 30:15). The organic connection between Isaiah 17:12-14, which follow, and the oracle concerning Damascus and Israel, has also been either entirely misunderstood, or not thoroughly appreciated. The connection is the following: As the prophet sets before himself the manner in which the sin of Ephraim is punished by Asshur, as the latter sweeps over the Holy Land, the promise which already began to dawn in the second turn bursts completely through: the world-power is the instrument of punishment in the hands of Jehovah, but not for ever.


Verses 12-14

Fourth turn: “Woe to the raoring of many nations: like the roaring of seas they roar; and to the rumbling of nations, like the rumbling of mighty waters they rumble! Nations, like the rumbling of many waters they rumble; and He threatens it: then it flies far away, and is chased like chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a cloud of dust before the gale. At eventide, behold consternation; and before the morning dawn it is destroyed: this the portion of our plunderers, and the lot of our robbers.” It is the destruction of Asshur that the prophet is predicting here (as in Isaiah 14:24-27; Isaiah 29:5-8, etc.), though not of Asshur as Asshur, but of Asshur as the imperial kingdom, which embraced a multitude of nations (Isaiah 22:6; Isaiah 8:9, Isaiah 8:10; Isaiah 14:26; Isaiah 29:7, Isaiah 29:8) all gathered together under the rule of one will, to make a common attack upon the church of God. The connection between this fourth turn and the third is precisely the same as between Isaiah 8:9, Isaiah 8:10, and Isaiah 8:6-8. The exclamation of woe ( hoi ) is an expression of pain, as in Isaiah 10:1; and this is followed by a proclamation of the judgment of wrath. The description of the rolling wave of nations is as pictorial as the well-known illi inter sese , etc., of the Cyclops in Virgil. “It spreads and stretches out, as if it would never cease to roll, and roar, and surge, and sweep onward in its course” (Drechsler). In the expression “it” ( bo ) in Isaiah 17:13, the many surging nations are kneaded together, as it were, into one mass. It costs God simply a threatening word; and this mass all flies apart ( mimmerchâk like mērâchōk , Isaiah 23:7), and falls into dust, and whirls about in all directions, like the chaff of threshing-floors in high situations, or like dust whirled up by the storm. The judgment commences in the evening, and rages through the night; and before the morning dawns, the army of nations raised by the imperial power is all destroyed (compare Isaiah 29:7, Isaiah 29:8, and the fulfilment in Isaiah 37:36). The fact that the oracle concerning Damascus in its fourth stage takes so comprehensive and, so far as Israel is concerned, so promising a form, may be explained on the ground that Syria was the forerunner of Asshur in the attack upon Israel, and that the alliance between Israel and Syria became the occasion of the complications with Asshur. If the substance of the massâ Dammesek (the oracle concerning Damascus) had been restricted to the prophecy contained in the name Mahershalal, the element of promise so characteristic of the prophecies against the nations of the world would be entirely wanting. But the shout of triumph, “This is the portion,” etc., supplied a terminal point, beyond which the massa could not go without the sacrifice of its unity. We are therefore warranted in regarding Isaiah 18:1-7 as an independent prophecy, notwithstanding its commencement, which apparently forms a continuation of the fourth strophe of Isaiah 17:1-14.