Глава 22

1–14. Prophecy about Jerusalem. 15–25. Prophecy about the courtiers Shebna and Eliakim. Isaiah 22:1–14. The prophet announces to Jerusalem the terrible judgment of God. There is no one to guard the city - the Jewish army is defeated and enemies are already threatening the capital of the Kingdom of Judah. The residents of Jerusalem, however, organize the defense of the city, not wanting to turn to the Almighty for help, who, in fact, sent this terrible test to them. Others have completely despaired of any salvation and spend their time in crazy feasts. This bitterness of the Jews will not be forgiven by the Lord! Isa.22:1. Prophecy of the Valley of Vision. “What’s wrong with you that you’re all up on the rooftops?” "Valley of Vision". As can be seen from v. 9 and 10, here the prophet means Jerusalem. It is called a valley (more precisely: a basin) because it is surrounded by high mountains (Ps. 124:2; cf. Jer. 21:13). "Visions". This word designates Jerusalem as the place where the prophet had visions or revelations from God. "Climbed onto the rooftops". Obviously, at the time that the prophet is referring to, detachments of enemy troops (Assyrian) were already appearing on the mountains closest to Jerusalem, heading for southern Judea (2 Kings 18:13, 14). Isa.22:2. The city is noisy, exciting, the city is jubilant! Those slain by you were not slain by the sword, nor did they die in battle; Isa.22:3. all your leaders fled together, but were tied by arrows; all those found in you are tied together, no matter how far they fled. “Rejoicing” - translated from Hebrew. "full of mad screaming." This indicates the panic that gripped the inhabitants of Jerusalem. “They did not die in battle,” that is, they did not lie down with honor on the battlefield, but, as can be seen from verse 3, they fled from the battlefield and were captured by enemies, who put them to cruel execution. “Arrows” - translated from Hebrew. “without the help of a bow,” that is, the enemies did not even have to use weapons when capturing the fleeing Jews - so they were struck with horror! “Found” is more correctly translated, as in LXX, “your warriors.” 22 Isa.22:4. Therefore I say: leave me, I will cry bitterly; do not try to console me for the ruin of the daughter of my people. Isa.22:5. For it is a day of confusion and trampling and confusion in the valley of vision from the Lord, the God of hosts. They break down the wall and the cry goes up to the mountains. “The daughter of my people,” that is, my compatriots, residents of different cities of Judea. “They are breaking down the wall” - in all likelihood, the residents of Jerusalem themselves, in order to, in some places, build new walls to replace the dilapidated ones. “To the mountains” – according to Condamin’s reading – to the mountain. The Wall of Jerusalem stretched under the mountain on which the church stood. Now the screams of the workers below the city are so loud that they reach the top of Mount Zion and interfere with the worship in the church. Isa.22:6. And Elam carries a quiver; men in chariots and horsemen, and Cyrus draws his shield. “Elam” - inhabitants of the Assyrian region, see Is. 21:3. “Cyrus” is also a region that belonged to the Assyrian kingdom (cf. Am.1:5; Am.9:7), and not the Armenian region on the river. Kira, because the Caucasus and Armenia were not subject to Assyria. “Draws the shield” - takes it out of a special case (cf. Caesar de bello gall. II, 21). Isa.22:7. And behold, your best valleys are full of chariots, and the horsemen are arrayed against the gates, Isa.22:8. and they remove the veil from Judah; and on that day you turn your attention to the store of weapons in the house of cedar. “Protection of Judea” - covers, fences that protected Jerusalem, fortresses in which Jewish garrisons were located (2 Chronicles 17:12; 2 Chronicles 27:4). “The house of cedar” is a workshop or arsenal where weapons have been stored since the time of David (1 Kings 2 et seq. 1 Kings 10:17). Isa.22:9. But you see that there are many breaches in the wall of the city of David, and you collect water in the lower pool; Isa.22:10. and you mark the houses of Jerusalem, and destroy the houses to strengthen the wall; Isa.22:11. and build a storage facility between the two walls for the waters of the old pond. But you do not look at the One who does this, and do not look at the One who determined this long ago. “You see” - that is, you pay special attention to the problems in the security of the city, whereas - the prophet further says - this is not what should concern you most of all, but something else - namely, asking for forgiveness and protection from the Lord. “City of David” is the Zion Fortress, located on the southern slope of the eastern hill of Mount Zion. "Lower Pond". The position of Jerusalem was very favorable in general, but the lack of water was a great inconvenience. Currently, there is only one spring near Jerusalem - Geon (1 Kings 1:33), called the spring of Mary, but it is located in the Kidron Valley, outside the walls of the city. Its water had long been carried through an underground channel inside the walls, into the Pond of Siloam (cf. John 9). Otherwise, the city would have to use only rainwater, which was constantly stored in special pools. In addition to this pond, which, due to its location, was called the upper one (Is. 7:3), there was also a pond in Jerusalem, now called the Sultan pond. This pond is now a huge reservoir, 245 lb. width at its top and 275 lb. - at the bottom. Its length is 592 feet, and its depth is about 40 feet. In summer, the bottom of the pond serves as an excellent threshing floor, since the grass that covers its rocky surface in the spring is completely scorched by the sun. There is almost never any water in it, but in ancient times it undoubtedly contained about a million buckets of water. This Sultan's pond is located outside the city wall. Some (for example, Robinson) consider this pond to be the lower pond, about which in Art. 9. says Isaiah, but this is hardly probable. According to Isaiah, the besieged Jerusalemites collect water for themselves, therefore, in a place that was located within the city walls, while the Sultan's pond is located outside the wall of Jerusalem. Therefore, it is more correct to understand the lower pond as the so-called pond of Hezekiah, lying between the first and second walls. In this pond, which in the 11th century. The prophet calls the old pond a repository for the waters; the water actually flowed from the upper or old pond of Siloam. This pond is located on the western side of Jerusalem, while the upper one is on the eastern side. “Mark...destroy” – to obtain bricks and stones needed to repair walls. Isa.22:12. And the Lord, the Lord of hosts, calls you on this day to weep and lament, and to cut your hair and gird yourself with sackcloth. Isa.22:13. But behold, fun and joy! They kill oxen and slaughter sheep; They eat meat and drink wine: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we will die!” Isa.22:14. And the Lord of hosts opened it in my ears: This wickedness will not be forgiven you until you die, said the Lord, the Lord of hosts. "Cry" . For the customs observed by penitents, see Isaiah 3:25. “We will eat” are words full of despair and impossible in the mouth of a person, although he still retains some faith in the Lord. If the Jews, however, say this, then it means that they have completely lost faith in God (cf. 1 Cor. 15:32) and are certainly subject to execution at the hands of the Almighty. Isaiah 22:15–25. To the minister of the court of King Hezekiah, Shebna, the prophet announces the captivity in Mesopotamia. In Shebna’s place, the God-fearing husband Eliakim will be appointed, who will be a support for the king and for his own family. Isa.22:15. Thus said the Lord, the Lord of hosts: go, go to this courtier, to Shebna, the ruler of the palace [and tell him]: “To this” is an expression with a tinge of contempt. “To the ruler of the palace” - that is, to the minister of the court, the person closest to the king (Is. 36:3; Is. 37:2; cf. 1 Kings 4:6; 1 Kings 18 and 2 Chronicles 26:21). Isa.22:16. What do you have here, and who do you have here, that you are hewing out a tomb for yourself here? “He carves a tomb for himself on a hill, he carves a dwelling for himself in the rock. Shebna, as some conclude on the basis of his name - not Jewish - was a stranger and it was not appropriate for him to build a tomb for himself in the rocks near Jerusalem, where, perhaps, the tombs of the kings were located (west of Jerusalem). Isa.22:17. Behold, the Lord will throw you over as a strong man throws you, and will crush you into someone; Isa.22:18. having rolled you up into a bundle, he will throw you like a sword into the vast earth; there you will die, and there your splendid chariots will be a reproach to your lord’s house. Isa.22:19. And I will push you out of your place, and I will overthrow you from your degree. How a strong man throws - translated from Hebrew. “without pity, O strong man!...” There is irony here in relation to Sevna, who considered himself especially strong and secure in his important place. “Like a sword” – it is more correct to read: “like a ball.” “The land is vast” – probably Mesopotamia. "Chariots". After the mention of death, it is strange to somehow mention Sevna’s property. Therefore, Condamin's assumption is very likely that here in Heb. The text originally contained the word chever - coffin (in the present text there is the word rechev - chariot). In this case, the second half of verse 18 can be translated as follows: “there you will die, there will be your magnificent (irony!) tomb, O shame of the house of your master!” Isa.22:20. And it shall come to pass in that day that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, Isa.22:21. And I will clothe him with thy garment, and gird him with thy belt, and put thy power into his hand; and he will be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. Isa.22:22. And I will put the key of the house of David on his shoulder; he will open, and no one will stop him; it is a ban, and no one will open it. Isa.22:23. And I will fasten it like a nail in a strong place; and he shall be as a seat of glory for his father's house. Isa.22:24. And all the glory of his father’s house, his children and grandchildren, all the household utensils down to the last musical instruments, will hang on him. "Eliakim" (cf. Is.36:3; Is.37:2). From the fact that the prophet calls Eliakim a servant of God, it is clear that he was a God-fearing man and, probably, a friend of the prophet. “Clothes... and a belt” are signs of his high service. “He will be... a father” - he will care about the true good of the people, while Sevna was more concerned about himself (digging the tomb). “Keys” are a symbol of power, by virtue of which he alone has the right to admit petitioners to the king (these words served as the basis for an image found in the New Testament (cf. Matthew 16.19 and Rev. 3:7)). "Like a Nail". This expression is explained in v. 24. “Seat of glory,” that is, he will glorify his entire family and give it access to important positions. “All household utensils” - translated from Hebrew. all small vessels, from goblets to wide bowls, Isa.22:25. In that day, says the Lord of hosts, the nail that is fixed in a strong place will be shaken, and will be knocked out, and will fall, and all the weight that is on it will be disintegrated: for the Lord says. "On That Day". This conclusion again speaks of the fate of Sevna. Special notes. Even the most severe critics do not see any serious reason to doubt the authenticity of the entire prophecy of the 22nd chapter. Only the 25th verse, which is not included in the series of stanzas, is considered an addition made at a later time. As for the time of origin of the first half of the chapter, most critics place it at the time of the beginning of the conquest of Palestine by the Assyrian king Sennacherib. From historical books (2 Kings 20:20; 2 Chronicles 32:23, 30) we see that Hezekiah, in view of the invasion of Sennacherib, took care of the water supply of his capital city and in the book. The wisdom of Jesus son of Sirach praises him for the construction of the pool (Sir.48:19). These hydraulic structures (cf. Commentary of the Bible, vol. 2), mentioned both in the historical books and in Isaiah in the 22nd chapter, give reason to think that our prophecy was pronounced around the year 701. The prophecy about Shebna and Eliakim was pronounced somewhat earlier than the year 701, as critics of the book of Isaiah unanimously claim. In fact, even before Sennacherib's invasion, which occurred in 701, Eliakim had already occupied the place of Shebna (cf. Isa.36:3; Is.37:2), who was demoted to the position of secretary. The verses of the prophecy are arranged in this order: 1st stanza – art. 1–3 – (2, 3) 2nd stanza – art. 4–5 – (2, 3) 3rd stanza – art. 6–7 and 8a) 1st stanza – art. 8b)-11 – (2, 3) 2nd stanza – art. 12–14 – (2, 3) 1st stanza – art. 15–19 – (3, 2, 2) 2nd stanza – art. 20–24 – (2, 2, 3) In the Slavic translation of Isaiah 22:3 - “All your princes have fled, and were bound in captivity, and the strongholds in you have fled far.” Note ed. 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