Глава 11

1–5. The Messiah as a branch from the root of Jesse, His endowment of the gifts of the Spirit of God and His righteous management. 6–9. The Kingdom of the Messiah: Its Character. 10–14. Participants in the Kingdom of the Messiah. 15–16. And its arrangement. Isa.11:1–5. The prophet sees in his prophetic contemplation how, after the destruction of the power of the Assyrian state, a sprout rises from a felled tree - the house of David - and how this sprout becomes a mighty tree - the Lord of the earth and the Founder of the kingdom of God on earth. Being by his bodily origin a descendant of Jesse and David, this Master possesses the fullness of the gifts of the Spirit of God. Because of this, He will be a completely fair Judge - the Ruler of His kingdom, giving everyone their due. Isa.11:1. And a branch shall come forth from the root of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his root; “And” - this union shows that the emergence of a branch from the root of Jesse will follow after the destruction of the power of the Assyrian kingdom, but does not determine the exact date of this appearance. “Industry” – in Hebrew. choter - a rod, a thin, easily bent reed (cf. Proverbs 14:3). The idea contained in this name is the same as that of the term zemach (Isa. 4:2). "From the root of Jesse". Hebrew root geza, i.e. chopped off trunk. The name Jesse is taken instead of David, just as in the book. The name of the judges is taken to replace the name of Manasseh (Judges 5:14). The Prophet wants to indicate by this that by the time of the coming of the Messiah, the royal family of David will be like a tree, the entire upper part of which has been cut down: only one stump remains. (The Orthodox Church directly calls Christ “the rod from the root of Jesse and the flower from it” (irmos of the canon for the Nativity of Christ, hymn 4).) And so it was in reality. Members of the royal family of David, Joseph and the Blessed Virgin Mary, led an extremely modest lifestyle, least of all similar to the splendor of royal life. “Branch” - in Hebrew. nezer. This designation of the Messiah was probably what the Evangelist Matthew had in mind when he said that the Messiah was supposed to be, according to prophecies, a Nazarite (Matthew 2:23). Isa.11:2. and the Spirit of the Lord rests on Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and piety; The Prophet here speaks of a "branch" as an individual. And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him. 16 This is a summary of all the gifts of the Holy Spirit listed below. These gifts are counted in pairs, with the first member of the pair indicating more theoretical talent, the second more practical. “Spirit of God. Spirit of wisdom and understanding. Spirit of knowledge and piety." In particular, “wisdom and understanding” are similar concepts, but wisdom (chochmah) is a broader concept and sometimes appears as a Divine person (Proverbs 8ff.), while reason (binah) is only an element of it (Proverbs 8:14). Wisdom is a concept with a more moral connotation and approaches the concept of a pious disposition, while reason is an ability that contains something negative: it is a practical skill, the ability to distinguish lies from truth, good from evil. “Council and fortress” are the abilities of the Ruler, the King, who needs to have both intelligence and strength to bring his intentions to fruition. “Knowledge and piety” - more precisely from Hebrew. knowledge and fear of God. The fear of God is mentioned by the prophet at the very end, contrary to Proverbs 1:7; Proverbs 9:10, where the fear of God is recognized as the beginning of wisdom. One might think that the prophet, for his part, placed the fear of God at the basis of other gifts, as if the foundation of piety. The presence of the Spirit of God on the Messiah is conceived as permanent (“and rests” cf. 2 Kings 2:9, 15). Isa.11:3. and he will be filled with the fear of the Lord, and will not judge by the sight of his eyes, nor decide matters by the hearing of his ears. “And they will be filled with the fear of the Lord.” The Russian Synodal translation, like the Slavic one, represents here a repetition of the last words of verse 2, but the Hebrew text should be rendered as follows: “and His (the Messiah’s) favor is toward those who have the fear of God.” Thus, with these words the prophet begins to depict the activities of the Messiah. In this regard, the prophet is first of all struck by the difference between the future king - the Messiah and the kings of the Jews, who showed their favor not to pious people, but to wicked blasphemers (Hos. 7:5). “Judge” was the first duty of the king (1 Samuel 8:5). The judgment of the King-Messiah will be carried out not on the basis only of what is accessible to simple observation or on the basis of rumors about a person, which may be untrue, but on penetration into the very essence of the matter. Isa.11:4. He will judge the poor with righteousness, and decide the affairs of the afflicted of the earth with truth; and with the rod of his mouth he will smite the earth, and with the breath of his mouth he will slay the wicked. "He will judge the poor with justice." In the East, bribery has always been developed during trials, and the poor, who did not have anything to give to the judge, were often found guilty in the absence of any serious evidence. Since this made the life of the common people very unhappy, the prophet, first of all, consoles his readers with the fact that even the poor people in the time of the Messiah will find protection for themselves in court. “The rod of the mouth” is the sentence of the Messiah-King, heavy and strong as a rod. "Spirit of the mouth" - breath. This breath will be so menacing and strong that it will kill the wicked. By “earth,” which the Messiah will strike, we can mean the earth in general, and not just one side, because further (vv. 6–8, 10 and 11) the Messiah is portrayed as the king of all nature and all nations. By the wicked we must understand wicked people in general (the singular is put here instead of the plural), scattered throughout the whole earth (cf. Mic. 6:10–11; Joel. 3: 2, 12; Zech. 12). The last words of the verse are repeated by the Apostle Paul to depict the speed with which Christ will destroy the power of the Antichrist (2 Thessalonians 2:8). Isa.11:5. And righteousness will be the girdle of His loins, and truth will be the girdle of His thighs. "By girding the loins." For an Eastern man, with his wide clothes, it was necessary to girdle himself when he took on any work. The Messiah will be girded, that is, prepared for action by the very truth and justice that is always inherent in Him (cf. Hos. 4 et seq.), and the truth. By “truth” (in Hebrew, emunah) is meant the Messiah’s faithfulness to His promises. Isaiah 11:6–9. Depicting the nature of the future kingdom of the Messiah, the prophet first of all draws the attention of his readers to the metamorphosis that will take place in the animal world. Peace will then reign throughout all nature; the most cruel and dangerous animals will lose their cruelty and bloodthirsty instincts and, content with plant food, will live in peace with weaker animals. Then the prophet foreshadows the spread of true knowledge of God throughout the entire earth. Isa.11:6. Then the wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the kid; and the calf, and the young lion, and the ox will be together, and a little child will lead them. Isa.11:7. And the cow will feed with the she-bear, and their cubs will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. Interpreters differ in their understanding of this passage. Some understand here real animals, others (namely the fathers of the Church and some of the newest interpreters, for example, Smend) see in animals a symbolic designation of pagan peoples who acted in relation to the chosen people, like predatory animals in relation to lambs and kids (the so-called allegorical explanation). Which opinion is correct? Most likely, the first one. In fact, where the prophets speak allegorically, this is clear from the context of the speech (see Jer. 5:6), but meanwhile there is no basis for an allegorical change. On the contrary, here the prophet naturally prepares, so to speak, the ground for the subsequent depiction of peace between people, which is possible only when the struggle for existence in external nature ceases. Animals must meet the new man, having themselves been renewed in advance, just as they once met the primordial Adam. And the prophet’s entire image of this world between animals is in complete agreement with the story of the book of Genesis about the state of the primordial world. In fact, animals, before the Fall of man, ate only plant foods (Gen. 1:30), man was “lord” over them - at least over those with whom he communicated in Eden (Gen. 1:26, 28; Gen. 2:19 et seq.), and the prophet Isaiah could obviously talk about the restoration of this entire original state of affairs. The Apostle Paul in the Epistle to the Romans probably had our place in mind when he said that the unreasonable nature will be freed from serving vanity (Rom. 8:20-22), which, by the way, consists in the constant struggle for existence that animals must wage among themselves, so, therefore, the New Testament confirms the idea that Isaiah could have real animals in mind when he spoke about the future world in nature. But when will this metamorphosis occur in the relationship between all living things? The prophet does not clearly indicate the time frame for such a change, and therefore some interpreters attribute the fulfillment of this prophecy to the era when there will be a new heaven and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells (2 Pet. 3:12), while others have found it possible to allow a partial fulfillment of this prophecy already in this present, temporary life. Of these two opinions, the second seems more likely. The context of the speech shows that the prophet generally speaks about the earthly ministry of the Messiah: He will judge, that is, resolve various types of litigation, of course, on earth, and not in heaven, where there will be no need for such service: - He will kill the wicked, etc. In the same way, the end of the chapter (vv. 10-16) clearly depicts the consequences of the earthly activities of the Messiah. It would therefore be strange if the prophet inserted into this whole picture in the middle a moment from a completely different era - from the life of an already glorified world. If defenders of the first opinion point out that living reality does not speak for the possibility of such a metamorphosis in the animal world, then it must be answered that the prophet spoke about the changes that would be introduced into the life of the Christian world... Isa.11:8. And the child will play over the asp's hole, and the child will stretch out his hand into the snake's nest. "Aspid" (paten) is a very poisonous snake. “Snake” (ziphon) – in Greek. denoted by the word κερ α ςτης. It is also a very poisonous snake (cf. Gen. 49:17). Isa.11:9. They will not do evil or harm in all My holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. "He will do no harm." Who is clear here - animals or people? The second half of the 9th verse, which represents the rationale for the first (for) forces us to attribute the words of the first half of the verse to people who alone have knowledge of God, which is spoken of in the 2nd half of the verse. - “On My Mountain.” This, in all likelihood, is Mount Zion, on which the Temple of Solomon was built (cf. Is. 2:2), and then the Church of Christ, of which the Old Testament church served as a prototype. - "Earth" . Here, of course, is the whole earth, all its countries. The prophet here points to the universality of the kingdom of the Messiah, as does the psalmist, who says: their voice has gone through all the earth, and to the ends of the world their words, that is, the preachers of the Gospel (Rom. 10:18; cf. Ps. 18:5). Isa.11:10–14. Participants in the kingdom of the Messiah will first be pagan peoples, and then Jews and Israelis returned from different countries where they were in captivity, who, moreover, will live quite peacefully in this kingdom. Isa.11:10. And it will happen in that day that the Gentiles will turn to the root of Jesse, which will become like a banner for the nations, and its rest will be the glory. "The Root of Jesse". This is what the prophet now calls the Messiah, whom he called above the shoot of the root of Jesse, because the Messiah really constituted the foundation or root on which the welfare of the entire house of Jesse or the dynasty of David rested. “It will become” – with its own, inner, Divine power. "Like a Banner". The Prophet points here to both the royal and prophetic ministry of the Messiah, who in general will be the leader primarily for the pagan peoples (goim - pagan peoples). “His rest” is the place of His dwelling, that is, the Church of Christ (Eph. 1:22–23). “Glory”, that is, it will be glorious (Is. 60:5). And the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Romans says that first the fullness of the pagans must enter the Kingdom of Christ (Rom. 11:25). Isa.11:11. And it will come to pass on that day that the Lord will stretch out His hand again to bring back to Himself the remnant of His people, which will remain in Asshur, and in Egypt, and in Pathros, and in Cush, and in Elam, and in Shinar, and in Hamath, and in the islands of the sea. “He will stretch out his hand again.” The first redemption of Israel from Egypt took place under Moses. Now the prophet says that the Lord will perform the same atonement a second time with His omnipotent hand. The places of captivity of Israel are listed in the following order: 1) Assur, by which we must, of course, mean the Mesopotamian kingdoms in general and mainly the Chaldean kingdom, which took possession of the kingdom of Assyria. 2) Egypt – Mizraim lower Egypt. 3) Patros or Upper Egypt. 4) Hus or Kush, i.e. Ethiopia. 5) Elam is the region beyond the Tigris. 6) Shinar – the southern part of Babylonia, where the biblical city of Ur was located (see Interpretation of the Bible vol. 1). 7) Hamath - west of the Euphrates (cf. Is. 10:9). 8) “Islands of the sea” - of course, the Mediterranean, by which the Jews also meant the coastal countries - Phenicia and Asia Minor, where Jews had previously been taken into captivity and sold into slavery. It is difficult to decide what point the prophet has in mind here. In view of the fact that redemption will extend to almost all the countries in which the Jews are scattered, it can be assumed that the prophet was presented here with the complete and complete redemption of the remnant of the chosen people, which the then expected Messiah was supposed to accomplish - redemption from the power of the devil and death. This entry of the chosen remnant of the Jewish people into the Kingdom of Christ must take place in the last times of the world (Rom. 11:15, 26). Isa.11:12. And he will raise up a standard for the Gentiles, and will gather together the exiles of Israel, and will gather together the scattered Jews from the four corners of the earth. “He will raise the banner” - that is, he will give the command to the pagans to return freedom to the Jews. “Four ends” – more precisely from Hebrew. “four wings”, i.e. four main earthly points. – All returned Jews will also, like the pagans, enter the kingdom of the Messiah. Isa.11:13. And the envy of Ephraim will cease, and those who are hostile to Judah will be destroyed. Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, and Judah will not oppress Ephraim. Jealousy – envy, enmity. "Enemies against Judas". To maintain parallelism of thoughts, the Hebrew phrase: “vezorerei jehuda” should be translated as follows: and those from the kingdom of Judah who are at enmity (against Ephraim) will disappear. The enmity between the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, expressed in formal wars, can be explained by such circumstances. The tribe of Judah was at first the most numerous (Num. 1:27) and therefore played the most prominent role in the Jewish people (Num. 2:3–9; Num. 10:14). In the land of Canaan it received a very large lot. The tribe of Ephraim, for its part, was proud that Moses' successor, Joshua, came from it. In addition, in Shiloh, the city of the tribe of Ephraim, the Ark of the Covenant stood for some time (Josh. 18:1; 1 Sam. 4:3). The Ephraimites, moreover, distinguished themselves by some exploits. The long-standing rivalry between the two tribes was resolved by the death of Solomon by an open rupture. Isa.11:14. And they will fly on the shoulders of the Philistines to the west, and rob all the children of the East; They will lay their hand on Edom and Moab, and the children of Ammon will be their subjects. “They will fly” (the Jews) - like birds of prey, like eagles. "On the shoulders of the Philistines". Here the prophet could be referring to the relief of the Philistine land, similar to shoulders. The Philistines in Isaiah's time were very hostile towards Israel (Isaiah 9:11). “They will rob... the children of the east” - that is, the inhabitants of the eastern regions of Palestine, who themselves constantly robbed Israeli villages (cf. Judges 6:3). Here, undoubtedly, the prophet departs from the picture of the future peaceful Messianic kingdom and depicts the immediate victories of the Jews over their old enemies. To see here a parallel to the chapter of Isaiah 60, which depicts the voluntary submission of the pagans to the Jews (Prof. Yakimov in the interpretation of the 14th art.) - would be a big stretch. Isa.11:15. And the Lord will dry up the gulf of the sea of ​​Egypt, and will stretch out His hand upon the river with His strong wind, and will break it into seven streams, so that they can walk over it in sandals. Isa.11:16. Then there will be a highway for the remnant of His people who will remain with Asshur, just as it was for Israel when they came out of the land of Egypt. The Lord will establish His kingdom in a miraculous way and, in particular, to return the Jews to their native country, He will again dry up the Red Sea and the Euphrates River. “Gulf of the Sea of ​​Egypt” - the western gulf of the Red Sea, called Heroopolis or Hieropolis, River - Euphrates (see Is. 7:20). "Seven Streams". The Euphrates will split into many separate streams. “Assur” is taken here as a common noun to designate the country of captivity in general. Objections of the same kind are raised against the authenticity of the 11th chapter, and mainly its first nine verses, as against the authenticity of Isaiah 9:1-6. They say: 1) the historical situation of this chapter does not resemble the circumstances of the time when Isaiah lived: the captives - Israelites and Jews - seem to be scattered to all four corners of the world (Stade, Kuenen, Duhm, Cheyne, Marti, etc.). But to this, defenders of the authenticity of the 11th chapter (Fvanz, Delitzsch, Dillmann, etc.) object that the political horizon here appears as the horizon of the Assyrian era (cf. Art. 11. 16). The Jews, as shown in the explanation of the 11th article, had previously been taken into captivity to different countries. 2) Verse 10 combines Isaiah’s idea of ​​a national, Israeli Messiah with a broader religious ideal belonging to a later era, when the Messiah began to be portrayed as expected by the nations (this argument also assumes the inauthenticity of chapter 2, verses 2–5). But to this objection, it can be said that these universal features of the Messianic kingdom are also found in the early and contemporary prophets of Isaiah: Amos, Hosea and Micah, and it is necessary, excluding the 11th chapter of Isaiah, to exclude the corresponding passages in the other, now named, prophets. 3) “how to combine the concept of the Messiah as a righteous Judge with the testimony of Art. 9th, stating that no one will harm each other on the holy mountain? (Duhm). To this we can say that complete peace will be the result of the activity of the Messiah as Judge and that, therefore, the second will precede the first. It should be added that in this prophecy about the Messiah there is a characteristic expression of Isaiah - the remnant (schear). Wed. also Is.11 and Is.5:26; Isaiah 11 and Isaiah 19:23; Isaiah 11 and Isaiah 19:16. By stanza, the 11th chapter can be divided as follows: 1st stanza – 1–5 art. (3, 2, 2); 2nd stanza – 6–9 art. (3, 2, 2). Then again (10th verse - transition) 1st stanza - 11-13 art. (2, 2, 2); 2nd stanza-14–16 art. (2, 2, 2). Verses 1–10 of this chapter are read as a proverb for the feast of the Nativity of Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ, who descended in the flesh from David, was at the same time, obviously, a descendant or scion from the line of Jesse, which is discussed at the beginning of the chapter. John Chrysostom asks: “Why is He, God, filled with the Spirit?” and answers, “Being Lord, He does not need this reception of the Spirit, but in order to give the Spirit in abundance to those in need.” You might be interested in: